(02 Sep 2024, 4:16 pm)R852 PRG wrote Just an addendum to this thread.

I was on a Go North East bus late this morning when an incident occurred (the details of which I'll be intentionally vague with, just in case any of the sadcases working at GNE with nothing better to do while stealing a living try to engage their brains and pursue). Following this incident, which was really but a minor transgression, the driver, easily old enough to be my parent, came to wait their time on stand in a bus station. From here, they called the depot and spoke with the Operations Supervisors (formerly Leading Drivers) on duty, from whom they appeared to receive a mouthful of what I can only assume was their idea of corrective coaching for going against the procedure in an instance such as this. 

Shortly thereafter, they asked all passengers to alight and look for alternative passage pending the arrival of a yardman, which we all complied with. I hovered in the vicinity, and noticed that they were overcome with emotion. I let myself back on through the exterior door control and sat down to chat with them, if nothing else than just to lend an ear. They were visibly shaking like a leaf and struggling to articulate themself. They advised me that they had only been driving for a few months.

Now, while I have no doubt that this individual probably entered company service in good faith, they were more likely than not catfished by the bullshit Elite Driver Academy advertisements forced down our throats. Indeed, they indicated this matter to have been their first incident and that they were completely unprepared and uninformed as to the correct protocols to follow - to me, quite a damning indictment of how some of these recruits have been raced through the school like battery-farmed chickens, then thrown in the deep end and expected to swim. Perhaps most concerning of all, I was left with the distinct impression that my brief discussion with them was very likely the most concern anybody had shown for their wellbeing in the time since they joined the business.

My main concern here would be the mental health of the driver in these situations, and how it evidently isn't being helped by the current culture at GNE. A driver continuing to drive after an incident cannot be safe for them, their passengers, or other road users. You then have to assume that anyone doing so is under pressure, which will only amplify any negatives to an already risky situation. A senior management team which allows the creation of that sort of environment, especially when they are in a business which is literally responsible for the safety of thousands of people on a daily basis, are not fit to hold those positions. Of course there needs to be accountability and discipline when required, but there is a balance to be had and creating a culture of fear is wholly irresponsible.

I've been on vehicles of other large NE operators (and elsewhere in the country) when 'incidents' have occurred, and in each instance it has been abundantly clear that the driver had been trained on exactly what to do in each situation. I don't believe, from what you have described, that the driver intentionally broke procedure in this instance and likely wasn't sure on what it was - someone who blatantly goes against a procedure isn't going to feel as bad as they did so shortly afterwards. Therefore it points to an issue with the actual delivery of the information at some stage, but then isn't that an issue across the company right now? Ineffective people in positions they shouldn't be in, making poor decisions because they don't have the experience or capability to make the right ones. One way or another, the people working on the front line to earn the money which funds the management's massively inflated salaries are the ones to suffer.