FirstGroup – First To Last
When regular public transport users aren’t cycling into work with Dave and Boris, the bus is an easy alternative. Or is it?
In the early years Essex had several different bus companies, Arriva, FirstGroup, Cedrics, etc. However slowly, one by one, the mighty hand of the FirstGroup loomed over each of the competitors and eventually we were left with only FirstGroup buses.
A few years later with FirstGroup being the only fish in the bowl they have almost tripled their fares, turn up whenever they like, and quite possibly have the rudest and most miserable drivers. Do you have to have appeared on an episode of ‘Grumpy Old Men’ to qualify as a bus driver for FirstGroup?
Now they’re on strike because their wages haven’t gone up this year. To be honest at this period in time they should be grateful for even having a job, I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who would happily take their place.
With the slogan ‘Transforming Travel’ there is only one way they really are transforming it.
Would it kill FirstGroup to have a day where the buses turn up when they’re supposed to, the bus drivers greet you with a smile and the buses don’t have the aroma of the bus driver’s pants?
Rebecca
I don’t read your blog or have the time to see what its focus is – I only came here through a Google Alert (for FirstGroup) but I am on a crusade against stupid and unthinking comments like yours “To be honest at this period in time they should be grateful for even having a job, I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who would happily take their place.”
Firstly – it’s not true, otherwise they could be driving a right bus now, and this is an industry where staff turnover has been as high as 45%, now at FirstGroup it’s under 20%.
Secondly, it is not the fault of working class families that there is a recession or a financial crisis (both the worst in living memory. It is the fault of neo-conservative policies of the past 30 years that demand excessive profits, short-termism, greed, debt, deregulation, privatization and an uncaring society. None of those responsible receive the due criticism or punishment (in fact you want to give Thatcher a State funeral – yes you children of Thatcher who have created an uncaring society).
Lastly – many of the things that you all take so much for granted – holidays, sick pay, education, health care, maternity leave, employment rights, the “weekend” – all bought to you by UNIONS and the hardships suffered by members to gain those rights. Your forefathers should be turning in their graves that you give it all away so readily. If you don’t agree or accept that history – then you should be honest and relinquish all those rights and live like a serf, becasue that’s all you deserve.
Steve,
I found your post entirely pointless. You seem to have turned a rant about the lack of service provided by FirstGroup (which I can vouch for, being left stranded at a bus stop for 2 hours because the drivers couldn’t be bothered to stop) into an anti-Conservative rant.
The quality of service provided by FirstGroup is appalling, I have lived in a 3rd world country and although the bus might have had a hole in the floor they arrived on time and didn’t charge the moon to travel 3 miles.
Granted there are ups and downs to each job, but drivers with a lack of self worth getting their giggles by not stopping at a bus stop need to be removed from the service and people willing to perform their duties without the attitude need to take their place.
- A Digruntled East Anglian
Hi Rebecca,
Great post couldnt agree with you more.
Its pathetic that these bus drivers are striking over their pay not going up, and let’s just repeat that point: It’s not a strike because of pay cut, NO NO it’s a strike because their pay hasn’t been increased! What an absolute joke!
@Steve you appear to quite clearly work for FirstGroup or have some affiliation with them due to the fact you have ‘FirstGroup’ as a Google Alert and love regurgitating the pointless statistics. Sitting at home instead in your underwear on the internet feeling all hard done by instead of on the buses eh? Your comments are ridiculous, extremely poor argument and it appears to me you are just trying to blame the indispicable behaviour of the bus drivers of FirstGroup on the author.
Yes, there are plenty more people who would love the opportunity to take the jobs of these bus drivers and I’m sure if the strikes continue much more then it will happen. Maybe we’ll get a smile from them too!
Steve – “stupid and unthinking comments” – I think you need to read your own before you make any judgement on what is a stupid comment! The bus service in Essex, namely Colchester in my experience, is nothing but appalling! A one mile trip costs me £1.50, the drivers are generally rude, the buses are filthy, and they’re generally always late!
I saw a driver BLATANTLY ignore a lady at a bus stop on Turner Road the other day and I dare say this happens on a daily basis. A couple of weeks ago a driver was smoking a cigarette on the bus! Being a smoker it didn’t really bother me but it’s still not on when children are on-board.
As for the strike, what an absolute load of rubbish. It’s hardly a difficult job, you sit, you drive, you take money, you give change. Why on earth do you need to be paid more? It’s an unskilled job for which you get paid relatively well. Plenty of people would be glad of a job right now. I fail to see the purpose of the strike, it’s moaning for the sake of moaning and disrupting peoples’ travel for no apparent reason.
Steve – again to use the current theme “POINTLESS POST”. You’ve opened a can of worms on the subject.
The bus service in Essex is appalling: not too long ago, I was waiting for a bus to take me to the hospital for a routine check up. The digital bus timetable said it would be arriving in 3 minutes; 25 minutes later I was still waiting. Starting to get a little annoyed, I rang the FirstGroup switch board to see if they had any news – it took me a further 10 minutes to get hold of anyone and when I did finally talk to a human, she was unhelpful and had no clue as to where the bus was and when it would be there.
I decided to give-up and walk the 25 minute journey as luck has it the bus turned up as I was half way down the road and drove right past me, the driver didn’t even acknowledge me even though I was waving my arms frantically to get his attention.
This is just one of many times the bus has been late. When I do get on the bus I am either greeted by an unfriendly driver or some young kid who could not care less and doesn’t even look old enough to drive.
How they can ask for a pay raise is beyond me, it’s not really hard to drive one route, take money and sit on your backside all day. No skill there, really.
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