Brixton to East Dulwich in 9mins on the bus

[binary_star]

Last night my partner and I were waiting for a bus in Brixton. One came but it had all of it's internal lights out and no passengers, although it wasn't displaying an out of serivce sign. The driver pulled up at the stop, opened the doors and asked us where we wanted to go. When I told him Lordship Lane, he replied enthusiastically: "C'mon let's do it!" and gestured for us to get on. So we did. Being a bit tipsy I didn't really think too much about it. The lights remained off and we flew past all the stops without stopping until we reached Lordship Lane. Whole journey took less than 10 mins.

In the cold sober light of today I'm wondering what on earth that was all about! Can bus drivers just decide they wont take any passengers if they can't be bothered??? Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful he picked us up, but it did seem rather unfair, not to mention surreal.

[Twirly]

How bizarre - and lucky for you! Sounds like fun.

[dita-on-tees]

Wow I have ridden the beer scooter home before but not a genuine beer bus. Genius. If Carlsberg made buses....

[binary_star]

Twirly Wrote:

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> How bizarre - and lucky for you! Sounds like fun.

It was quite! Although the whole way my partner kept asking "He's following the route, right?"

Maybe the 'real' bus driver was tied up on the upper deck...luckly for us he didn't make a peep!

[felt-tip]

You should report him. This sounds dangerous and immoral.

[DJKillaQueen]

How much had you two had to drink? And was Sambucca involved? :)

[KidKruger]

Next the pubs will be giving you another 5 mins to finish your pint and the charity shops will be opening their locked doors to let you donate clothes even though they've just closed.

THEN where will it all end ?

[SeanMacGabhann]

more likely the bus route was finished and he was heading back to a depot and did someone a good turn - and now we have "immoral"??

[giggirl]

"dangerous and immoral". Amen to that.

[DJKillaQueen]

My dad (who was a bus driver) used to do that. If he was on the last bus, he would terminate in town, before then driving an empty bus back to the depot which was halfway along the route. If he saw anyone, especially women, waiting at a stop (not relaising they'd missed the last bus or otherwise) he'd give them a lift to anywhere long the route to the depot. For him it just seemed a safe and sensible thing to do.

[binary_star]

felt-tip Wrote:

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> You should report him. This sounds dangerous and

> immoral.

I'm not sure it was immoral, a bit irresponsbile perhaps. The journey seemed no more dangerous than a regular bus ride either...when I say 'flew' past, I don't think it was any faster than usual, just felt that way as we didn't stop. I certainly wont be reporting the chap!

DJKillaQueen Wrote:

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> How much had you two had to drink? And was

> Sambucca involved? :)

Enough! In fact, I'd personally drunk way more than enough, but no Sambucca thankfully...it was a school night after all :D

[binary_star]

DJKillaQueen Wrote:

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> My dad (who was a bus driver) used to do that. If

> he was on the last bus, he would terminate in

> town, before then driving an empty bus back to the

> depot which was halfway along the route. If he saw

> anyone, especially women, waiting at a stop (not

> relaising they'd missed the last bus or otherwise)

> he'd give them a lift to anywhere long the route

> to the depot. For him it just seemed a safe and

> sensible thing to do.

That is the conclusion we came to, but it seemed odd that a route would terminate in Brixton then come all the way back through East Dulwich again with no passengers - I'd assumed the last leg of the journey would also be in full service.

Well we were grateful anyway, and it was rather fun!

[Dorothy]

When I was a student a group of us were on a train en route to a party when we suddenly realised the train wasn't scheduled to stop at the particular station we wanted. It was one of those routes that involved a stop at every station on the stopping service but at major stations only on the fast service - and we were on the fast service. Anyways, we had a word with the guard (this was the early 80s, so there were guards :) on Saturday evening trains in the middle of the country), and he got the driver to make an unscheduled stop at our station just to let us off. Public transport employees can be human and flexible, thank goodness.

[Jeremy]

Complain at the "immoral" driver who did you a favour on his way back to the depot... marvellous idea.

[jctg]

"dangerous and immoral"

Hahahahaha!!!

[Twirly]

Dorothy Wrote:

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> When I was a student a group of us were on a train

> en route to a party when we suddenly realised the

> train wasn't scheduled to stop at the particular

> station we wanted. It was one of those routes that

> involved a stop at every station on the stopping

> service but at major stations only on the fast

> service - and we were on the fast service.

> Anyways, we had a word with the guard (this was

> the early 80s, so there were guards :) on Saturday

> evening trains in the middle of the country), and

> he got the driver to make an unscheduled stop at

> our station just to let us off. Public transport

> employees can be human and flexible, thank

> goodness.

It's not just students this happens to - my Dad fell asleep on a train on the way back to Swindon and missed his stop (this was probably about 10 years ago). Next stop Swansea! The train was delayed slightly due to signaling difficulties or something, and the guards very kindly let him off at Cheltenham or Bath or somewhere a bit closer to home. Apparently all the staff on the station he got off at to catch a train back towards Swindon knew who he was and why he was there! :-$ After that, he set his watch alarm to go off just before he got to his station...

[EDKiwi]

The driver would have just been going back to the bus garage at the end of his shift, probably the Peckham one. If the lights are off the bus is out of service (they don't always bother to change the signs) and some of those buses are pretty quick when they're empty, that and I guess the drivers are probably quite keen to get home too :)

My wife was on a bus a while ago late at night and it got to the end of it's run, as she was the last person on it the driver asked her if she was heading further up the road as that was the way he was going and dropped her off at the end of our street, nice to hear stories about nice bus drivers for a change, although she did fall asleep on the train once and was woken by a ticket inspector one stop on past ours at the time and he gave her a ticket even though it was obvious she has just fallen asleep (6)

[Ridgley]

That happen to me before, cannot remember what bus it was but he also stopped outside McD'S got himself a cup of coffee went right through :)

[*Bob*]

This happened to me once too.

The bus driver even offered me a nice drink (although it tasted a bit funny). I can't remember much more - except waking-up at home with a bit of a sore bottom.

[felt-tip]

exactly Bob

[Brendan]

You have to pay a lot more than 2 chunks bus fare for that in some parts of town.

[jctg]

*Bob* Wrote:

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> This happened to me once too.

>

> The bus driver even offered me a nice drink

> (although it tasted a bit funny). I can't remember

> much more - except waking-up at home with a bit of

> a sore bottom.

Hilarious.

[Ridgley]

Great thread Bob:)

[DJKillaQueen]

A joke about rape is funny is it?

[Izodia]

I once got to jump onto a moving train thanks to a kindly guard. I was the only person in the station waiting for the last train. Then a non-stopping train came crawling through, hoping the signal ahead would turn green before it actually had to stop. So the guard leant out, asked where I was going and then stuck out a hand to help me jump on. I was very glad to escape the somewhat spooky empty station and get home a little earlier! And no this wasn't in the countryside in the 1950s. It was zone 4 about a year ago.