Photograph details
03/09/2008Web comment
Great photo, takes me back to my bus driver training at Chiswick. What you're looking at is a perfect illustration of lesson number 1 in how to drive a London bus, getting in the cab. As a new driver you had to report to the Chiswick Training School for a couple of days classroom training whilst you waited for a 'vacancy' with an instructor, (ie someone passed or failed!). After being allocated to someone he would come and get you from the classroom and take you out to the bus. You'd meet the other trainee and off you went, watching the guy to see how it was all done. After a while it would be your go and first off you were shown how to get into the cab. Left foot in the footstep and then use the two handles to haul yourself in whilst placing your right foot on the cab floor.No ifs or buts, that was the way you were to do it. When, (hopefully), you reached the required standard to sit your PSV driving test the LT examiner would watch you get in on your test and if you did not do it properly and put your foot on the front wheel you would fail. Just like that, never having started the engine. Then fingers crossed that you were granted a retest. Why was this? Why so picky? LT did not want drivers stepping on the front wheel as they were worried that drivers could accidently tread on the tyre valve and break it, meaning the tyre would go flat. This would lead to that unimaginable sin, a bus being delayed in service. Times have certainly changed! Nice view, by the way, of the sliding cab door always fitted to London Buses instead of a normal hinged one. This was because space was always at a premium in London bus garages and the sliding doors meant that you didn't need so much room between the vehicles and they could be parked closer together. Sometimes it really was a squeeze and often you would have to walk the long way around a bus as there wasn't room to walk between two without brushing up and risk getting dirty.
01/11/2008Web comment
If memory doesn't fail me the sliding driver's door only appeared with the advent of the RT. Before that it was just a "hole in the wall" -- freezing in winter.
03/09/2008Web comment
Great photo, takes me back to my bus driver training at Chiswick. What you're looking at is a perfect illustration of lesson number 1 in how to drive a London bus, getting in the cab. As a new driver you had to report to the Chiswick Training School for a couple of days classroom training whilst you waited for a 'vacancy' with an instructor, (ie someone passed or failed!). After being allocated to someone he would come and get you from the classroom and take you out to the bus. You'd meet the other trainee and off you went, watching the guy to see how it was all done. After a while it would be your go and first off you were shown how to get into the cab. Left foot in the footstep and then use the two handles to haul yourself in whilst placing your right foot on the cab floor.No ifs or buts, that was the way you were to do it. When, (hopefully), you reached the required standard to sit your PSV driving test the LT examiner would watch you get in on your test and if you did not do it properly and put your foot on the front wheel you would fail. Just like that, never having started the engine. Then fingers crossed that you were granted a retest. Why was this? Why so picky? LT did not want drivers stepping on the front wheel as they were worried that drivers could accidently tread on the tyre valve and break it, meaning the tyre would go flat. This would lead to that unimaginable sin, a bus being delayed in service. Times have certainly changed! Nice view, by the way, of the sliding cab door always fitted to London Buses instead of a normal hinged one. This was because space was always at a premium in London bus garages and the sliding doors meant that you didn't need so much room between the vehicles and they could be parked closer together. Sometimes it really was a squeeze and often you would have to walk the long way around a bus as there wasn't room to walk between two without brushing up and risk getting dirty.
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