Idiot bus driver on the 208
gpsBRM
Posts: 123
Now I know cycling in London is hazardous and you will get the occasional run in with other road users. However on the way home today I had the worst experience on a bike I've ever had (and that includes falling 20ft down a cliff in the alps).
I was cycling along the A21 just coming upto Catford. I was in the bus lane cruising at 25mph. I heard a bus come up behind me then went to overtake me. As he was doing this he then decided to pull into the bus stop ahead. He hadn't passed me at all and I was stil in line with the front doors of the bus. He then proceeded to pull into the bus stop, thus squashing me and my bike between the bus and the curb. I had to jump up onto the pavement just to free myself. I went round the the drivers cab and knocked on the window. He denied any knowledge of the incident, then said he couldn't hear me. I took down all the details and have since complined to TFL. A few people at the bus stop saw what happened and asked if I was ok, which was nice.
It just winds me up so much that a so called professional driver could drive like this and nearly cause me an injury or even worse. There is no way I could of been in the wrong at all.
I was cycling along the A21 just coming upto Catford. I was in the bus lane cruising at 25mph. I heard a bus come up behind me then went to overtake me. As he was doing this he then decided to pull into the bus stop ahead. He hadn't passed me at all and I was stil in line with the front doors of the bus. He then proceeded to pull into the bus stop, thus squashing me and my bike between the bus and the curb. I had to jump up onto the pavement just to free myself. I went round the the drivers cab and knocked on the window. He denied any knowledge of the incident, then said he couldn't hear me. I took down all the details and have since complined to TFL. A few people at the bus stop saw what happened and asked if I was ok, which was nice.
It just winds me up so much that a so called professional driver could drive like this and nearly cause me an injury or even worse. There is no way I could of been in the wrong at all.
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Hard luck, at least you're OK though.
I understand that bus drivers are required to provide thier licence number when asked, but hopefully TFL will be able to work with the info you've provided. There are some muppets out there - thank God they're in the minority.Bike1
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I had exactly the same thing happen to me a couple of years back - on the Strand in London. I assumed this was because the driver had underestimated my speed - and therefore gave her some slack, while pointing out her error (calmly). However, she obviously wasn't satisfied with doing it just one though, and repeated the move at the next bus stop - but even more aggressively. So I placed my bike between the open doors at the front of the bus and pointed out that if it happened again I would dial 999. It didn't. But in retrospective I should have called the police anyway - the driver definitely needed training or a brain transplant.Time VRS Pro-Team 08 – weekend steed
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Just had a response from TFL who said they need more information. What a load of rubbish. I have given them the number of the bus, the registration number of the bus, the bus stop number, the bus stop name, the name of the road and the time of the incident. Almost have the mind to reply to them with the OS grid reference number!
Its definatly a case of the bus driver not thinking that a cyclist can keep up with the traffic.0 -
sounds like a fob, off the only time i've had a problem with a bus on a bike, got a letter of (we're sorry honest gov) not terribly sure i believe them, but hey ho.0
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If its any consolation I complained a while back to London United about one of its buses doing a school run, who stopped well out from a bus stop, me naturally and foolishly following the line of the cycle lane up the inside then almost ran into the adult passengers that were being let out 10 feet from the kerb. Silly me, thinking that because it wasn't in the bus pull in bay that passengers wouldn't be getting off?
The response I got was quite incredible, that while it may have been their bus it wasn't their service, it was being run by the school!
I've had similar run ins as the main poster here too, after a while I just give up and accept they're going to be right arrogant and let them get on with it.'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze....0 -
Indeed, that is more than enough information to track the driver down. I think they are obliged to try harder and its worth pushing them further. Are they signed up to a code of conduct or a passenger charter or anything like that where they promise not to act like that?roger merriman wrote:sounds like a fob, off the only time i've had a problem with a bus on a bike, got a letter of (we're sorry honest gov) not terribly sure i believe them, but hey ho.0 -
gpsBRM wrote:Just had a response from TFL who said they need more information. What a load of rubbish. I have given them the number of the bus, the registration number of the bus, the bus stop number, the bus stop name, the name of the road and the time of the incident. Almost have the mind to reply to them with the OS grid reference number!
Its definatly a case of the bus driver not thinking that a cyclist can keep up with the traffic.
You've been fobbed off. I would say contact the Police and let them deal with it. Then they'll be forced to take it seriously :?0
