“As a non-driver and consequently a regular bus user I cannot say I have found all bus drivers to be grumpy. Some are, some aren't. In most cases it depends on how you are with them, like everything else in life. I do get irritated by people who have been waiting for a while for a bus and then don't have their fares ready and those who produce £20 notes for fares under £5.. The idling at bus stops has been caused by First Bus sacking drivers who arrived too early in their schedule which is not always their fault. At the end of the day they are just protecting their jobs. First Bus are only interested in making huge profits. I wouldn't want to work for them. They don't care a jot about their staff or their passengers. Look at all the fuss about the Diamond pass. Buses are now well used in the day, but there are no more of them, regardless of what First Bus say about having to buy extra buses. Also, the ticket you are given is invariably for a longer journey than you want which presumably means the system is being billed for more fare miles than are being used. Why are there are no return fares under this scheme? As to saving time, why can't we swipe our Diamond cards as this would make for speedier boarding. Last year I was in Florida and the bus from the airport to the hotel was First Bus. The driver was OK but the bus was filthy, just as most of them are in Bristol., although at least we weren't knee deep in Metros. If we did away with the stupid figure of eight system on the Centre this would, I am sure, make the traffic flow much easier - but then, that was thought up by Bristol City Council, so you can't blame First Bus for the problems it causes.”

“Who cares if they dont put on a smile 24/7! they have to drive aroend all day in traffic! And i take the bus regulary and i've seen some of the loud rude people form kids even adults, that cause trouble on buses! And might i add who really does smile all day long while they're at work??!”

“With the fares hikes due to 'oil prices rises' and surprise surprise no reduction now the crude markets are back to circa $50/barrel I decided to walk into town most of the time.

Amazingly it's around the same time as the bus journey and I feel healthier, plus I keep my hard-earned money in my wallet.

On Sunday I waited for a number 8 which hadn't turned up (at least 20 mins late) so I used the train.

PS- Would be handy if the Clifton train journey could be extended to Bath as I read most tickets are bought for Bath anyway.”

“I don't really think the main problem is the drivers mood or attitude, though some of them wouldn't last very long in a more customer focused field of employment. The problem can be placed solely at the feet of the city council, who allowed First to control the public transport system in the city for far too long! I am, unfortunately, a regular bus user and a shift worker at a certain central city hospital, i am often late at least twice a week due to buses not turning up or running late, though i rarely see traffic congestion at 6am! this, however is never a problem at the weekend when there are no buses to get me anywhere near work and i find myself walking from Ashton... Can you believe in this day and age the bus service is still aimed at Monday to Friday workers! The timetable operated in the city is appauling and should be completely overhauled and all users should be considered... Other operators should also be considered if this national company can't get it right!”

“I am a very recent former employee of First (thankfully) and my obvious thing to say is drivers are not as bad as people think they are, the majority are not, but it is the small minority that make the job 10 times harder, link that with a shameful team of management that includes numerous manages who cannot even drive a Bus, then sprinkle in all of the laws and regulations the drivers and company have to abide by it is guaranteed to come unstuck somewhere along the way.
  I had to chuckle at the comments made by Suzanna Marsh about the new timetables from the tracking system, this is blatantly a lady that has not gone out with a stopwatch at numerous times during a day and driven from one end of a route to another and seen how some journeys have a ludicrous amount of time.  For example at around 4pm the service 1 bus is given 8 minutes to get from its stop on Rupert Street to the very next one opposite the Hippodrome, I would love to hear an explanation for that one, then when you bear in mind 3 other services head in a similar direction towards Blackboy Hill Top all with increased running times within 1-2 minutes of each other it is no surprise 3-4 buses can turn up at once.  So drivers have to sit around waiting time out this infuriates the customer who on occasion vent their frustration at the driver who cannot do anything about it as the management of First have their ears covered and running a Bus even one minute early is a sackable offence.
  Going to the original point about drivers being miserable, yes there is a portion of drivers that are miserable, even in the depot on their meal breaks some continue whining about the job, these drivers make the job harder than it is and unfortunately their attitudes rub off onto other drivers and so you have a domino effect.  You then of course have the jolly drivers subjected to a torrent of abuse from the general public, being threatened, called names or having stones and bricks thrown at windows on a frequent basis, it will bring the drivers mood down and unfortunately the customer then suffers. 

We can all help each other to make the Bus services in Bristol more efficient and pleasurable and I am afraid to say it has to start with the Drivers, former colleagues of mine remember you do not have to speed to get everywhere on time, the timetable is a guideline remeber the golden rule "There is every excuse for running late - there is no excuse for running early"  So what if you are running a few minutes late because you wait for customers to sit down don't forget you get paid for every minute you work. 
One thing I would say is to the management grow a spine and come out and say "We are getting it wrong but we will resolve to get it right, we will do all we can to ensure this fine city of Bristol gets the public transport service it deserves"  And I mean all of the Bus companies should say that not just First but the shambolically operated Wessex Connect and South Gloucestershire Bus and Coach Company should do the same as well.  If the management were to work in a professional manner with its colleagues then Bristol would have the service it demands and deserves until then people it will only get worse.”

“It's good to read a couple of councillors are taking part in this comments section. To be homest though I can't see it getting more popular on the buses in Bristol becuase it's far too painful. Slow, unrealiable, over priced and inaccessible.”

“Agree with both Patricia,and Steve,although Steve does not seem to have taken on board the point she made about the reason Labour have done nothing about Public Transport.”

“Patricia,

I completely agree with you, yes it was down to the Tory's hopeless plan to deregulate public transport that we are in this mess now.

However, Labour have had 12 years to sort out the mess and they have singularly failed to do so.

Perhaps deregulation might of worked if we had true competition, perhaps with 3 or 4 operators vying to provide a decent service. Instead we have a monopoly running a woeful service whilst charging exorbitant fares.

The only way we will get decent public transport, reduce congestion and make Bristol's bus drivers a happier bunch is if we have a properly funded transport system, in public ownership.

They manage it quite well on the Continent but in greedy, incompetent Britain the powers that be have totally failed us.”

“Steve,was it not Thatcher's Tory Government who de-regulated Public Transport,and we have all suffered the consequences ever since,of course you are correct ,Labour have sat back and done nothing,they are doing exactly what the Tory front bench accuse them of doing,that is carrying out their policies,Public Transpot will never improve untill such time it is returned to our (public ownership) if then it is not to our liking we can resort to the ballot box.”

“I totally agree with Bus Driver.
I caught the 52 from Temple Meads to Broadwalk tonight just after 4. One woman offered a tenner for a £1.80 fare - causing delays for everyone on the bus. Couldn't she have made sure she had a couple of quid before she got on the bus. Why are people never ready when the bus arrives. They fumble in their handbags and then their purses - and the women are just as bad ! Not to mention those who stay on their mobiles and grunt at the bus driver expecting him to understand them while they carry on their meaningless conversation. How rude.
And if people say that Bristol Bus drivers are miserable remember that most Bristol Bus Drivers are Bristolians and there isn't a known cure for that”