Two weeks ago, penalty charge notice was stuck on the windscreen of a bus in Mill Street. This was parked in an authorised bus stand. The Arriva bus driver was taking a break before resuming the journey to and from Knighton. Shropshire Council has now agreed a deal to stop this happening again.
I copy this below. What puzzles me is that Shropshire Council decided to slap a ticket on a bus rather that sort out a solution with the bus service parking in the first place. We need to move away from an “enforcement first and solutions later policy.” Buses are one of our most vital public services. I will be asking for new signs to be put in place when the new parking regime begins in November.
The response from civil enforcement officers at Shropshire Council
My Civil Enforcement Officers have of late seen an increase in the use of these stops/stands as a parking bay, with one bus driver taking a lunch break for in excess of 30 minutes whilst parked outside the Assembly Rooms. Both the bus stops/stands in question are in use by 3 bus companies (and coach companies too) and so any parked bus can cause an unnecessary obstruction causing other buses to disembark passengers onto the road potentially endangering them and other road users. We have been in contact with all three bus service providers and have agreed a way forward which will limit the use of these stops/stands for the parking of any bus to an absolute maximum time of 15 minutes and for any longer parking needs (i.e. for bus driver to have his lunch) the buses will instead park up in Smithfield car park free of charge. This will minimise any unnecessary obstructions and reduce any congestion whilst still providing bus drivers with the opportunity to use the stops/stands for a convenience break, to realign route timings. It will also improve access to the stops/stands for all bus service operators and minimise the need for passengers to disembark onto the road.
Hopefully, this clarifies the concerns raised and provides for a safer use of these locations by the bus service providers for the benefit of the public and other road users.
It’s a remarkably bland and simple solution to an understandable problem. That it needed to have been provoked this way points to a very divisive and divided organisation. To shoot first and ask questions after is no way to run a public service. At some point there had to be a conversation between “My Enforcer” (interestingly possessive) and the Boss (?) along the lines of,
Enforcer, “You want me to do what?!”
Boss, “Book the bus Dano – it’s the only way to show them who’s boss.”
Enforcer, “Whatevah you say, Boss”
Maybe not verbatim, but it must have been discussed. Why wait for the Rage of Common Sense before suggesting lunch in the car park?
Are we allowed to know who this person is referring to ” my civil enforcement officers “.
He/She must have quite a grand title !! In SC
I notice that the 30 mins has been cut to 15 for the drivers meal break. You can argue that the new rules also cut the drivers rights, contract.. I trust he can have the other 15 mins elsewhere. If not it is yet another way of cutting workers rights.