Bus driver assignments to vehicles

New Users (or anyone else) is/are welcome to ask questions in here to which the answers might be obvious to most but you simply don't know yourself or are unsure where to find the answer. You can also ask questions about the working of the forum or anything else you may think of.

Moderator: MAN 16.242

Forum rules
### This section is a NO FLAMING ZONE! That means you cannot reply "harshly", abusively, sarcastically or in any negative manner to members. ###
Post Reply
Comeng64
Posts: 66
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2014 5:05 pm
Location: Warrandyte, Melbourne

Bus driver assignments to vehicles

Post by Comeng64 »

Hello all,

I know that a few of you have/do work for a variety of operators around Australia.
I am interested to know how bus drivers are assigned to the vehicles that they drive, especially metro runs.
Is it a kind-of "first bus in the row" sort of thing or more like a rotation where you are given a bus number?

Thanks
User avatar
boronia
Posts: 21567
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 6:18 am
Favourite Vehicle: Ahrens Fox; GMC PD4107
Location: Sydney NSW

Re: Bus driver assignments to vehicles

Post by boronia »

Smaller companies often have a "one bus, one driver" policy, although drivers/buses may be swapped around to meet operational needs.

Larger operations, especially where buses are normally parked in rows, would work on the "first bus available" principal. Buses are allocated from a random stack in order of departure time.
Preserving fire service history
@ The Museum of Fire.
User avatar
Rick R
Posts: 1151
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 11:14 pm
Location: Dee Why, Sydney.

Re: Bus driver assignments to vehicles

Post by Rick R »

It really depends on the operator/owner's preference. The four ways I've seen are:

- Bus to Driver - with spare buses available when that driver is off or the bus is needed for maintenence,

- Bus to Shift - with spare buses available when that bus is needed for maintenence,

- Bus to Route - with a pool of buses only used on that route and spare buses from that pool or a general pool when buses are needed for maintenence, and,

- Buses allocated as parked - where buses are parked as they arrive according to vehicle type (low floor, high floor, vehicle age, reliability, high capacity, dedicated livery etc) and dispatched in that order when required.

If depot space is tight it can be difficult for the top three to work, but that doesn't mean an operator won't still used their preferred system. Depot space/shape will also determine how the fourth way works, with different depots from the same operator often needing different strategies.
Enjoy.
User avatar
Fleet Lists
Administrator
Posts: 23803
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 12:49 pm
Location: The Shire

Re: Bus driver assignments to vehicles

Post by Fleet Lists »

Different pool may also be used to allocate wheelchair and non wheelchair buses.
Living in the Shire.
User avatar
Sydney_Buses_CB60
Posts: 82
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2016 8:11 pm
Favourite Vehicle: STA Volvo B12BLE CB60 #1504(F)
Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Contact:

Re: Bus driver assignments to vehicles

Post by Sydney_Buses_CB60 »

Well in about 2010, I was invited to visit State Transit's Mona Vale (F) Depot and I recall the Driver showing me around saying that you basically are told (e.g), "Right, here's your shift, your bus is 1887". That might have changed since then, but that's what I remember about how the STA does it.
The One & Only
User avatar
Fleet Lists
Administrator
Posts: 23803
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 12:49 pm
Location: The Shire

Re: Bus driver assignments to vehicles

Post by Fleet Lists »

I can recall visiting the Veolia Taren Point depot as they were known then, on one occasion when they used that method but a few minutes later one driver came back saying that he could not find the bus he had been allocated. A check found that the bus should have been back in the depot but had been delayed and so the driver was allocated another bus. So there has to be some flexibility.
Living in the Shire.
User avatar
boronia
Posts: 21567
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 6:18 am
Favourite Vehicle: Ahrens Fox; GMC PD4107
Location: Sydney NSW

Re: Bus driver assignments to vehicles

Post by boronia »

IIRC, a few years back ACTION had a one driver /one vehicle policy. If the driver had a day off, "his" bus would usually stay in the yard.

In companies where there are vehicles normally allocated to particular drivers, when a driver had a day off and someone else drove his coach, there would always be complaints about the bus being damaged, or not cleaned properly, when the regular driver returned.
Preserving fire service history
@ The Museum of Fire.
User avatar
ZIB-585
Posts: 258
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 10:32 am
Favourite Vehicle: Mercedes Benz O305G
Location: Canberra (On route 40)

Re: Bus driver assignments to vehicles

Post by ZIB-585 »

Depends on how many years back you're talking, but I doubt they would ever have enough buses to simply leave some in the yard.

What happens at ACTION currently is each shift is allocated a bus type (low floor, articulated, Steer Tag) and drivers will be allocated a bus accordingly. Usually low floor shifts will not be allocated Renault buses - unless there is no other choice - but the reverse will occur.

Some drivers may be assigned a particular bus or a model (some drivers for reasons that escape me prefer Scania K320UBs over MAN 18.320s), but this is only done in limited cases.
Fully accredited Hino Poncho driver.
Post Reply

Return to “New Users/Ask a Simple Question”