0:00:02 > 0:00:05RADIO: 'The A13 westbound is moving slowly between...'
0:00:07 > 0:00:08Hold on tight.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10London is full up...
0:00:10 > 0:00:12HORNS BLARE
0:00:12 > 0:00:15Are you going to allow them to jump on the back of your bus?
0:00:15 > 0:00:19I'm afraid I won't be able to take more passengers.
0:00:19 > 0:00:24..thanks to one million more people arriving in the last ten years.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Transport for London now has more than 30,000 workers
0:00:28 > 0:00:30battling day and night...
0:00:30 > 0:00:32WHISTLING
0:00:32 > 0:00:35- Wake up!- ..to stop the city grinding to a halt.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38- Three people have been shot up there.- War, it's war.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41All right, I'll get the police and ambulance straight down there.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45The first week I was here, I thought, what have I done?
0:00:45 > 0:00:49With unique access to the nerve centre of the capital's transport system,
0:00:49 > 0:00:53this is the inside story of the people who keep London moving.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57You're not only a bus driver, you become a psychotherapist and psychiatrist.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00You get the people that like to talk to you. Some of them even flirt with you.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02I said, "At the moment, mate, sit down quietly.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05"We're not going to hell, we're going to Ilford."
0:01:05 > 0:01:09'It's the lifeblood of London. That's why the buses are red, aren't they?'
0:01:09 > 0:01:11HE LAUGHS
0:01:11 > 0:01:13There's my certificate, look. I'm a bus driver!
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Thank you very much. You're so nice.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19Don't worry, no problem at all.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23'London's changed a lot, but, yeah, I love it. It's London.'
0:01:23 > 0:01:31This programme contains some strong language.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47- Morning.- Morning. How are you? - Fine, thank you.- Morning.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49Morning, son.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Morning, Sandra.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55- Good morning.- That bus is there, yeah, yeah. Quick as you can, mate.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58The time is now 5:07am.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02The time to play with buses this morning, I think.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06I don't even know what day it is. I'm spending too much time here.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08It's the start of the day shift.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11All right, let's go and get some coffee down our necks.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16An army of bus drivers is preparing to take 8,500 iconic red buses
0:02:16 > 0:02:18out onto the streets of London.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Man, where did I park the bus?
0:02:22 > 0:02:24Let's get ready to meet the adoring public.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Have you got your gum shields ready?
0:02:26 > 0:02:29- Bit more.- Wicked.
0:02:29 > 0:02:30Right.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34Thank you very much. Have a good day.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Demand for buses has exploded in the last ten years.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Everyone else is queueing. We can all manage it.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Let's all be nice human beings today.
0:02:46 > 0:02:506.5 million journeys are now made by bus in London every day.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Twice as many as on the Tube,
0:02:52 > 0:02:54and more than on the rest of England's buses put together.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56All right?
0:02:56 > 0:02:59As a result, the job of being a bus driver in the city
0:02:59 > 0:03:01has changed beyond recognition.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Got to go. Got to go, got to go.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07First runner of the day.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10If people put an effort in, I'll wait.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12People are so busy. Busy, busy, busy.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15I don't know what they're doing, but they're busy.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Everything's about getting there on time.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21I don't think people are doing more, I just think they're hurrying more.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26You know, it must be dreadful, constantly rushing.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28I'd have a nervous breakdown.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Sadie has been driving buses for just four years.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Says something about driving a red double-decker bus
0:03:37 > 0:03:39that I've always wanted to do.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41'Even when I used to get on one to go to work, it's like,'
0:03:41 > 0:03:43"Oh, I'd love to have a little go."
0:03:43 > 0:03:47I thought I'd be waving at everyone and everyone would bring me...
0:03:48 > 0:03:50..sweets and biscuits,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54and everyone would be very grateful and they'd be lovely, but no.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56Absolutely not like that whatsoever!
0:03:56 > 0:04:00Some days it's mental.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Excuse me, there's a queue right down the back there.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04Let's all be nice to each other.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07I touch my Oyster, you drive the bus!
0:04:07 > 0:04:09That's the agreement!
0:04:09 > 0:04:11The bus stop is closed.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to open the door.
0:04:14 > 0:04:15BUZZER SOUNDS
0:04:15 > 0:04:18Oh, no, he's not going to do it. Oi!
0:04:18 > 0:04:21- Please, man, I've got ten minutes to get there.- If you can pay now...
0:04:21 > 0:04:24I ain't got the money on me, I've got to get it from my girlfriend.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27- But you're not listening to what I'm saying.- Four stops?
0:04:27 > 0:04:30- It doesn't matter whether it's one stop...- Can I get on then?
0:04:30 > 0:04:33The guy hasn't got no respect! You can't talk to a customer like that!
0:04:33 > 0:04:35'This bus terminates here.'
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Oh, no! No, it doesn't terminate here.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40It doesn't terminate here!
0:04:40 > 0:04:44You don't normally terminate here, you normally go round the left.
0:04:44 > 0:04:45SHE GROANS
0:04:45 > 0:04:49People will complain about anything.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51- And everything.- The bus is very cold.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Very cold? It's summer, sir. We turn the heating off on 1st May.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58- No, you don't put no heater on. The drivers are aware. - 1st May, the heaters get turned off.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Takes me an hour to get to Hackney, it's cold. This is the only place that I get cold.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03My office is warm, my house is warm.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10But few passengers realise that,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14in order to keep 8,500 buses running smoothly,
0:05:14 > 0:05:19every bus is now tracked, monitored and told what to do
0:05:19 > 0:05:22by a system unique in the world.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24Tango 118, Tango 118.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27You've come through to CentreComm. You've got no route or running number displayed,
0:05:27 > 0:05:31so nice and clear, your route, your running number, in that order for me, please, over.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35Years ago, you'd have a bus inspector with a peaked cap
0:05:35 > 0:05:36somewhere in the street with a clipboard,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38noting off the times of buses.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41But, he could only see from one side of the road to the other.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44'Now, we've got absolute precise geographical information
0:05:44 > 0:05:47'through GPS on all 8,000 of our buses.'
0:05:47 > 0:05:50We know precisely where they are and what they're doing.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52CentreComm oversees buses across the whole city
0:05:52 > 0:05:54and responds to emergencies.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57I'll liaise with the police and I'll come back to you.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01I think people don't realise how much goes on behind the scenes
0:06:01 > 0:06:02to keep the service running.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04'All people see, when they wait at the bus stop,'
0:06:04 > 0:06:08they want to know how long the bus will be, they want a clean, tidy bus that will get there on time.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11They don't realise the amount of things that go on behind the scenes.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15He's got head injuries? OK. We've got an NTC on the way. 1012.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18We have our mapping system,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21we have cameras absolutely everywhere.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24There aren't too many places that not only a bus
0:06:24 > 0:06:28but an individual could hide within London that we can no longer see.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Morning.
0:06:31 > 0:06:32Morning, darling.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36Move the kitchen sink out the way and you will find your pass.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40Alex is an old hand who's seen this new system come in.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44If they'd have been able to see these buses
0:06:44 > 0:06:47and what we're driving and the job we're doing now,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50if I'd been able to see that 22 years ago, I'd have thought,
0:06:50 > 0:06:54"This is Space:2001, isn't it?"
0:06:54 > 0:06:56'It's nothing like it used to be.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58'Everything's automated.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02'You've got people in the control room watching your every move,'
0:07:02 > 0:07:05they can tell what road you're on, what time you should be there,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08how early you're running. They can tell everything.
0:07:08 > 0:07:14What speed you're doing, how your braking is. You're watched over.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18- Like a babe.- Your location, 37? How are you doing for time?
0:07:18 > 0:07:21The new system makes 21st-century bus drivers
0:07:21 > 0:07:24among the most monitored workers in the country.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27If you can just hold a couple of minutes for me, please.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30As well as being observed by the central control room,
0:07:30 > 0:07:34each bus driver is tracked and directed from separate, smaller control rooms,
0:07:34 > 0:07:38known as iBus, based in depots across the city.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Yeah, driver, just to let you know that I'm informing you of report
0:07:41 > 0:07:45for delaying the service at Romford, over.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48No problem, driver. Thank you very much.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52He likes calling me "love" for some reason. I don't like that.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55If he called me "babe" I might have let it go, but...
0:07:55 > 0:07:57SHE LAUGHS
0:07:57 > 0:07:5910:30am, and the morning rush is over.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Yeah, 36 receiving, over.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04But Vicky Joblin is one of 1,000 iBus controllers
0:08:04 > 0:08:08who'll continue to scrutinise a driver's every move throughout the day.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13Driver, can you leave Finsbury Park three minutes late for me at 15, over?
0:08:13 > 0:08:16My best friend calls me the bus pimp.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Basically because I tell the buses what to do and where to go.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22'I do get called Blakey, sometimes, though, from On The Buses.'
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Or The Fat Controller's another one, that's my sister's favourite.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Vicky's job is to space out the buses
0:08:27 > 0:08:30and keep an even gap between them.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33This is our beloved route diagram.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37These blobs here are individual buses, and then just down here,
0:08:37 > 0:08:41this number here, just tells us how early or late the bus is running.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44I'm looking for buses not running together, that's what I'm looking for.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47I'm looking for a nice even space between the buses.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50'We call it custard, when it's a full screen of yellow.'
0:08:50 > 0:08:53That means everything's on time.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55It's either a bowl of custard or bus bingo.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59When you've got every single bus on time and they're all in order.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01House!
0:09:01 > 0:09:04Right, so, driver, you're currently now 12 minutes late,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06it's given me a really big gap in my service now, over.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11Yeah? Any mechanical problems,
0:09:11 > 0:09:13whether or not you get your friend to help you,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16you must call us and let us know. Do you receive that, over?
0:09:16 > 0:09:20You know, we're not asking them to fart gold, or anything like that,
0:09:20 > 0:09:24it's just...drive your bus on your timecard, if you can.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27It's not... It's not a rocket science job.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Controlling is, though.
0:09:30 > 0:09:31Oh, yeah.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35We've got degrees and stuff.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Well, we've got a BTEC.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39Does that count as a degree?! It's advanced!
0:09:39 > 0:09:43Running number 247. Have you departed yet?
0:09:43 > 0:09:46No, I need a toilet break, as well. I've just arrived.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49I mean, you've seen all that traffic, they know there's loads of traffic.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53And then... "Have you left?"
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Can you just give them about three or four minutes and then go?
0:09:58 > 0:10:01They tell you to turn somewhere, you just do it, you know?
0:10:01 > 0:10:03They're running the show, you know what I mean?
0:10:03 > 0:10:06Can you show Piccadilly, run it by Shaftesbury,
0:10:06 > 0:10:08pick up back in service from Bloomsbury?
0:10:08 > 0:10:11They can get on your nerves and go on a bit, you know what I mean?
0:10:11 > 0:10:14On your ear all the time, you know?
0:10:16 > 0:10:17It's timing.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20They give us these timing sheets from one end to the other.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23How are we supposed to get there in them times and pick people up?
0:10:23 > 0:10:25Cos you're, at the moment, standing at 20 minutes late.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28The controller goes, "What's going on with you down here, driver?
0:10:28 > 0:10:31"Where are you? Where are you?" "I'm in the bus."
0:10:31 > 0:10:34"Where's the bus?" "The bus is in the road! Course it is!"
0:10:34 > 0:10:36Then they say, "No, no, you're under no pressure."
0:10:36 > 0:10:38Of course you're under pressure.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41You're running too close to the bus in front of you with a gap behind you.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47Can we get off? We've got a hospital appointment. We didn't know it was coming down here.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51Just round the corner, I'm going to turn right, and you should be there to Euston, please, yeah?
0:10:51 > 0:10:54Everybody's on top of you.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57The public, the passengers, the managers.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59The iBus.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02You can never please them.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07When I started, I started on a Routemaster with a conductor.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12It was a different time. They got away with murder.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14Thank you.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Three, please.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Three, please.
0:11:22 > 0:11:23In the '50s and '60s,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26buses were run by both a driver and a conductor,
0:11:26 > 0:11:28or clippy, as they were known,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31who looked after the passengers on the back and sold tickets.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36I do miss what it used to be. It was much more relaxed.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38As long as you were driving from A to B,
0:11:38 > 0:11:42you were doing what you had to do, you were never bothered.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46You were literally your own... As if you were in your car,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49your little box, and away you went.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52They don't have the fun we had, for one thing, you know?
0:11:52 > 0:11:55'What people do who were mechanically minded,'
0:11:55 > 0:11:58they knew if you did certain things to a vehicle,
0:11:58 > 0:12:00it wouldn't start, so...
0:12:00 > 0:12:03What about the one where they let the diesel out?
0:12:03 > 0:12:06'They used to let the diesel out and say they'd run out of diesel.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08'They used to take the bulbs out, some of them,'
0:12:08 > 0:12:11- and say the kids took them out. - And say the kids took them out!
0:12:11 > 0:12:13'Yeah, a lot of that went on'
0:12:13 > 0:12:16because people just didn't want to go to work that day.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20'My clippy, she needed to do her little bit of shopping,'
0:12:20 > 0:12:25I would stop en route and she would whizz off a bit quick
0:12:25 > 0:12:28from the back, where there was no doors,
0:12:28 > 0:12:32she would do her bit of whatever she wanted to purchase, etc,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35back on the bus, and we'd carry on.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40'Nobody being any the wiser. You were never bothered, no.'
0:12:40 > 0:12:44There was no spy in the cab, there was nothing like that.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51As pressured as it may be,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54with a starting salary of around £26,000 a year,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56people are queueing up to become drivers...
0:12:56 > 0:12:58Just stick with me, please, guys.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01..with 30 applicants a week at this test centre.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07She's 14 foot five inches high, she's eight foot four inches wide.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10You're looking at approximately 36 feet long,
0:13:10 > 0:13:12and you're looking at a 10-tonne vehicle.
0:13:12 > 0:13:17So, have any of you have ever driven a vehicle that heavy? That big? No?
0:13:17 > 0:13:18Got a surprise for you.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21You probably need to bring your chair a little bit forward for me.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23So, at the front of the chair, there's a little bar.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26You just lift that and it'll go forward. Nice and comfortable.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28In West Ham garage, in east London,
0:13:28 > 0:13:33training is just beginning for 44-year-old Christine Ball.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37Lift the column. That's it, nice and gentle.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40And just lift it. And away you go.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42Hold tight, everybody.
0:13:42 > 0:13:43Move yourself up.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Gentle, gentle, gentle. We're going to stop at the crossing.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51- Squeeze the break. Squeeze it. - Oh, sorry.- Ohh! Gentle, gentle!
0:13:51 > 0:13:52SHE LAUGHS
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Gentle, gentle!
0:13:54 > 0:13:58- Are you all right?- Yeah, sorry!
0:13:58 > 0:14:00'On my birth certificate, where it says name of dad
0:14:00 > 0:14:03'and what he does, it says "bus driver".
0:14:03 > 0:14:05'He used to drive the old 21 bus,'
0:14:05 > 0:14:08so it'd be nice to follow in his footsteps cos he's no longer here.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11This time we're going to squeeze the break.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14'All my driving experience is all down to him.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17'He taught me to drive in a van.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19'Just wish he was here to see me do it.'
0:14:19 > 0:14:22Wonderful. Put the vehicle in neutral.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24Well done! You just drove a bus!
0:14:24 > 0:14:26APPLAUSE AND CHEERS
0:14:28 > 0:14:31I've heard all his stories, different things you could get away with
0:14:31 > 0:14:34'all those years ago that you wouldn't get away with today.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36'He used to stop off at a pub halfway on his route,'
0:14:36 > 0:14:38leave all his passengers on the bus, say,
0:14:38 > 0:14:42"Right, I won't be a minute," then he'd get off and he'd go round,
0:14:42 > 0:14:44go in the pub, get himself a pint,
0:14:44 > 0:14:46get some jellied eels from the jellied eel store,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49stand round the other side of the pub, eat, drink his pint
0:14:49 > 0:14:50and go back, get on the bus,
0:14:50 > 0:14:54and his passengers would be getting annoyed, and he'd get back on the bus and drive on,
0:14:54 > 0:14:56and no-one would ever say anything to him!
0:14:56 > 0:14:58'Yeah, he's told me some stories.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01'I don't think he would've ever coped with today.'
0:15:01 > 0:15:05Today's a lot stricter, from what I'm finding out from just being here a week, you know.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Uh-uh, don't cross them hands.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10Right, just keep your eye on that nearside as you go through.
0:15:10 > 0:15:15Training takes six weeks and a quarter drop out in that time.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18- I can't believe I'm driving a bus on the road! - Not bad for the first day at all.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22It's in the genes, you see. In the genes.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27The thing is, with this job, it does get in your blood.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Some people come into this industry, "Oh, I'm only going to do it
0:15:30 > 0:15:33"for a year." 20 odd years down the line, they are still in it.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35They're still doing it, yeah.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38I think in a job, you've got to be doing it because you like doing it.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43I think so many people do jobs just for the money and they are miserable.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47And I think this is a job that I can do, that I'm going to enjoy,
0:15:47 > 0:15:52and I've got a reason to be doing it, to follow my dad's footsteps.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56That's perfect, Christine, well done.
0:16:03 > 0:16:08By lunchtime every day, there are 6,700 buses on the streets,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11all being kept to time by the controls.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Let's be quick, please, we're about to depart.
0:16:13 > 0:16:19But London's roads can always spring a nasty surprise.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22In Plumstead, in the southeast of the city,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25a lorry has overturned on a vital bus route.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28If it is not cleared before rush hour hits,
0:16:28 > 0:16:32thousands of passengers will struggle to get home.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Road traffic is all being sent eastbound up the bus lane.
0:16:35 > 0:16:36- What was it carrying?- Rubbish.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38It just come round the corner and it's tipped over.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42All traffic on this route is now being forced through just one
0:16:42 > 0:16:45bus lane, and tailbacks are already building.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48How are we doing time-wise, what's your delay?
0:16:48 > 0:16:53Simon Blackburn is TfL's network traffic controller, first on the scene.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56It couldn't be in a worse place here, because right down there,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59where the bridge is, everything pinches into one lane.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01Traffic is just absolutely mullered.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06If you look at that camera there, that's CentreCom up there.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08They're watching us.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12Do not alight your passengers in a bus lane only section.
0:17:12 > 0:17:17Let's have a look and see what delays we've got down there now. Right.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22That bus there is that one there, so that's 59 minutes late,
0:17:22 > 0:17:24that's an hour late, that bus.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27And this is probably about two miles down the road.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29So as you can see,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32the traffic is literally going back through to Woolwich Ferry.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35It just affects every bus down the line, all the buses that will
0:17:35 > 0:17:38come into this, it will literally go through every bus.
0:17:38 > 0:17:44- Thousands of people now face severe delays.- I know there is an accident.
0:17:44 > 0:17:45Get the buses out of the depot
0:17:45 > 0:17:48and let us come out, do you know what I mean?
0:17:48 > 0:17:51People have had a hard day at work, people want to get home.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54They haven't got a clue, they really have not got a clue.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01Transport for London set performance targets for the bus companies.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04It is down to the iBus controllers to hit them.
0:18:04 > 0:18:05If you carry on for now, please...
0:18:05 > 0:18:07But today in Plumstead iBus,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10the team are struggling to maintain their service.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13He has got delays at Greenwich Highway coming back,
0:18:13 > 0:18:15before they actually get to that, I think.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19You haven't left Woolwich yet, have you?
0:18:19 > 0:18:22It's all about just trying to get the buses back on time.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Days like this, it's what we call firefighting.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27We try and do the best we can,
0:18:27 > 0:18:31put a bus where we can give the best service we can.
0:18:31 > 0:18:36Doesn't happen that often. But when it does happen, it is chaos.
0:18:36 > 0:18:37I've got to take these calls.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40181, do you receive?
0:18:40 > 0:18:42Hold on, he wants me, I think.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45Carry on for the time being and give us a call when you get back.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49It's been like this all the way from Peckham, though.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52- It's been murder. - 'I'll leave you to it, good luck.'
0:18:52 > 0:18:56I don't know what's going on in Plumstead, but they can see everything, you know.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Let them decide. It's up to them now.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01Sorry, driver, can I get off, please?
0:19:06 > 0:19:09It's 5pm. Three-and-a-half hours since the crash.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Yeah, release it. All right.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17Half a tonne of rubbish still needs to be cleared before they can
0:19:17 > 0:19:19even start to move the lorry.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22- All right, my love. - HORN BEEPS
0:19:22 > 0:19:25Suddenly, there is a new problem.
0:19:25 > 0:19:26PHONE RINGS
0:19:26 > 0:19:28CentreCom, Steve speaking.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Hello, Simon. What's the problem?
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Well, we've got a bus that's broken down at that set of lights
0:19:33 > 0:19:35on Pettman Crescent.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Right, bear with me, I've got a camera there, let's have a look.
0:19:38 > 0:19:39It's just gridlocked down there, so...
0:19:39 > 0:19:42I think I've got it on camera, mate.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44He's literally right at the lights, in the bus lane,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48so he's literally blocked everything up for us!
0:19:48 > 0:19:50Obviously that's why nothing is moving.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53I'll give you a call back, Simon. Thanks, mate, cheers, bye-bye.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55Don't you break down!
0:19:55 > 0:19:58All traffic being diverted around the accident is now
0:19:58 > 0:20:01- stuck behind the broken down bus. - Which one is it, this one?
0:20:03 > 0:20:05What, have you lost your gears?
0:20:05 > 0:20:08- It's the doors, Simon, they are stuck open.- Oh, my God.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11So, this is obviously going to have a knock-on effect on traffic,
0:20:11 > 0:20:13delays in the area again now.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15You couldn't have picked two worse things to happen.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28A safety feature fitted on all modern buses means that
0:20:28 > 0:20:30if the doors are jammed, the bus won't move.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41iBus. That's 70 late, 80 late.
0:20:41 > 0:20:47Everything's all creeping up to an hour late now, it's out of control.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Some of these buses, when they get through, it's all...
0:20:56 > 0:20:58Try it again, fella.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04All right?
0:21:05 > 0:21:06Let's go.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Ah. Doors are closed, so that's a good sign.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14Wahey! At last.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Traffic is on the move again and the truck should be cleared soon, too.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24Transport for London will make allowances for accidents
0:21:24 > 0:21:28like this, but in iBus, spirits are still low.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30This is turning out to be a bit of a nightmare.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32Massive delays and cancelled buses mean
0:21:32 > 0:21:35they have missed today's performance targets.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39The biggest demand on a controller is targets, meeting targets.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42They are constantly being monitored as to their performance.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45And if the route has had problems and we haven't met the targets,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48there is an inquiry into what has gone wrong.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50When it's been a day like this,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53at times you do feel like we monitor too much.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57But it's the way of the world now, everything is targets.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00And if we kept getting bad results, not hitting targets,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03they are going to turn round and say, "You are not controlling it
0:22:03 > 0:22:06"how we expect you to do it, then we'll give it to another company."
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Because if you lose routes, you start losing jobs.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14And it's not exactly easy out there to find another job at the moment.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20Over six hours after the lorry crashed,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23the road is finally open to traffic again.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26I'm not saying that we used to fiddle in the past,
0:22:26 > 0:22:30but there were, sort of, things you could, um, manipulate,
0:22:30 > 0:22:31which you can't do nowadays.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Which is probably a good thing.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Targets came in with privatisation.
0:22:37 > 0:22:42By 1994, London's bus network had been sold off to separate companies,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45each vying to run the 700 routes.
0:22:46 > 0:22:52It started to change, in my opinion for the worse, when it went private.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57There is not the closeness now that there used to be, cos you had dances,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00you had outings, you had holidays.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05All the sports grounds, social side of it, were sold off,
0:23:05 > 0:23:07and it was just lost.
0:23:07 > 0:23:12They cared about their staff, that was the biggest difference.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14You weren't a number.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Now they just train them to do the bus job and that's it.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25Today, the buses are owned
0:23:25 > 0:23:29and operated by private companies on behalf of Transport for London.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33Each company's buses are meant to clock up a certain number of miles.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Lost mileage due to a missing driver or a breakdown means
0:23:37 > 0:23:39they lose money from TfL.
0:23:39 > 0:23:47We need it in five, 10 minutes. If we can do it. Give it a try.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51So in Catford, roving engineer Graham Bellinger is keen to
0:23:51 > 0:23:54make sure that faults are dealt with as quickly as possible.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Yeah, it's always a race against time.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01But we always get there in the end.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07Where has that bus broken down in Dulwich? OK, no problem.
0:24:07 > 0:24:12I should be 10, 15 minutes getting there, if the traffic lets me.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14If we get too much lost mileage,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17obviously it reflects badly on the garage, because each garage
0:24:17 > 0:24:21every day has a sort of football league, you know, of lost mileage.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24And we don't like to be down the bottom, obviously,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27we would sooner, ideally, we would like to be at the top.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30If we have zero mileage, we can get some cakes,
0:24:30 > 0:24:33that's a little bonus for us.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35I think that's them up there, with the boot up.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39- See that bus up there on the left? - HE BEEPS THE HORN
0:24:42 > 0:24:45How are you doing? Good?
0:24:47 > 0:24:49- How long have you been here? - Too long!
0:24:49 > 0:24:51Too long. Right, where have we got a leak, do you know?
0:24:51 > 0:24:54There, it's coming out of there.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57That pipe, if you squeeze it, you can see it just dribbles. Or it did.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Got a split in it, see? It's just perished.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14You never know what you're going to find.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Could be anything, like, you know?
0:25:16 > 0:25:17Could be a few things as well,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20it could be one thing which leads to another.
0:25:21 > 0:25:22ENGINE STARTS
0:25:22 > 0:25:25Definitely puts pressure on you to save the mileage,
0:25:25 > 0:25:27but that's your job.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Jobs these days, you know, it's what you have to do.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35There is always some kind of pressure for everybody in the garage.
0:25:36 > 0:25:41Listen, what happened with this duty, 222? Where the fuck is he?
0:25:41 > 0:25:43And he hasn't been back since?
0:25:43 > 0:25:46In each depot, there are managers who make sure that drivers
0:25:46 > 0:25:50turn up on time and that there is a bus ready for them to drive.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54A driver has not turned up for his second half. Um...
0:25:54 > 0:25:57But he won't answer his phone, so we don't know where he is.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Abdi, get over to Ladbroke Grove for me,
0:25:59 > 0:26:03- see Mo, sign it on, get going, mate, you should be taking over.- Thank you.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05All right. Those that have gone red,
0:26:05 > 0:26:08they are the people that should be here, but they are not,
0:26:08 > 0:26:10he should have been here at 1602, it's 1608.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13The ones in yellow are the ones we've got to keep an eye on.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17It's getting close. 1615 he's due in, you know? So he's got 7 minutes.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20But it's the ones in red, we don't like them ones.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22You can't come in 10 minutes late and say,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25"I'll work through my lunch," or, "I'll work 10 minutes late."
0:26:25 > 0:26:26You come in 10 minutes late
0:26:26 > 0:26:30and that bus misses that slot, that's a gap in service.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32We don't get paid.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34Right, I've given 21680491.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37- Which is where? - Which is in bay five.
0:26:37 > 0:26:38Before privatisation,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42only four out of five of the scheduled buses actually turned up.
0:26:44 > 0:26:45Before privatisation,
0:26:45 > 0:26:49if the services didn't run because we didn't have the staff or
0:26:49 > 0:26:52didn't have the buses, there was no real comeback.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56You know, of an evening, buses used to run virtually empty
0:26:56 > 0:26:57because they were so unreliable
0:26:57 > 0:27:00and people didn't know another bus was going to turn up.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03But now, you can say a bus is going to turn up
0:27:03 > 0:27:07more or less around the scheduled time, so people use the buses more.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14The number of bus passengers has gone up by 60% since 2000.
0:27:14 > 0:27:15For many, many years,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18the bus service in London was run for the benefit of the industry.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20Now, of course, it is run for the benefit of the passengers.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23We are now living in a retail culture, aren't we?
0:27:23 > 0:27:26People are expecting really high customer service standards.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29They expect them in the supermarkets, online, on the airlines,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32and we are no different here in London with our transport system.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36Now passengers have become customers,
0:27:36 > 0:27:40drivers are being taught how to give service with a smile.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44This is my little cubby-hole.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47I think sometimes, the size of the office shows
0:27:47 > 0:27:50how important you are. So you can see the size of this room.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Which is quite interesting!
0:27:52 > 0:27:55And as you move down the corridor,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58the rooms tend to get much, much bigger.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01So, I'll let you make your mind up.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04Oh, what's over there?
0:28:04 > 0:28:07It's Malcolm Critchard's job to encourage drivers to
0:28:07 > 0:28:09empathise with their passengers.
0:28:09 > 0:28:14People viewing bus driving from outside will probably think,
0:28:14 > 0:28:15yes, they get in the cab,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18they switch it on and off they drive, they open some doors,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21they stop at some stops along the road, and that's it.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24That's all they do. But I'm afraid it's much more than that now.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28I think it's the people skills side that needs development.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30Remember, I'm not here to tell you off.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32I don't like the word "fail" at all,
0:28:32 > 0:28:35I don't believe anyone fails in this world.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39It just means they've got what I would call deferred success.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45Malcolm is a great believer in the role-play technique.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48I'm the customer and you're driving your bus, OK?
0:28:48 > 0:28:50So I'm standing over here at the bus stop.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53OK, you're coming towards me and you're observing.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10- OK, what have you observed? - Hurried for time.- Lovely.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13You was a little bit wet, trying to get yourself...
0:29:13 > 0:29:14Absolutely pouring down.
0:29:14 > 0:29:19- And what things might I say as the door opens?- Where have you been?
0:29:19 > 0:29:26- Yeah, in that tone?- No, but... - Do it in a nice tone, Dennis, go on.
0:29:26 > 0:29:27Where the hell have you been?!
0:29:27 > 0:29:30That's it, that's a bit more like it.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33What response might a driver say to that customer?
0:29:33 > 0:29:36How are you going to respond? Where the hell have you been?!
0:29:36 > 0:29:41- You're lucky I'm here.- What was that you said?- You're lucky I'm here.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44'I think it's very important to recognise those individuals
0:29:44 > 0:29:46'that don't particularly like or want change.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50'So you have to think of methods where you can try
0:29:50 > 0:29:53'and change them in a different way.'
0:29:53 > 0:29:55So, tell me what an ice cream cone feels like.
0:29:57 > 0:30:01Malcolm encourages drivers to get in touch with their feelings,
0:30:01 > 0:30:03by using songs from West End shows.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06So, what does she do? She went...
0:30:06 > 0:30:08# So I dug right down to the bottom of my soul
0:30:08 > 0:30:10# To see how an ice cream felt
0:30:10 > 0:30:16# So I dug right down to the bottom of my soul and I tried to melt... #
0:30:16 > 0:30:21'My background was drama, used to perform, let's say.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24'And I think that helps, sometimes. It is an act.'
0:30:24 > 0:30:26# Give me guidance
0:30:26 > 0:30:28# On my knees... #
0:30:28 > 0:30:30And I believe that as a bus driver, you are acting as well.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33As soon as you get on that bus and you have people involved,
0:30:33 > 0:30:36you have to act, you have to act positive.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42But not all drivers have mastered the art of customer service yet.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45Good afternoon, Buses Customer Services, Angela speaking,
0:30:45 > 0:30:48- how can I help?- What time did this driver go past that bus stop?
0:30:48 > 0:30:52- OK. Did you say it was a 390? - I understand your concerns.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55I mean, the drivers wouldn't see those details...
0:30:55 > 0:30:59It's unbelievable how much people complain,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02because we never run out of work, we literally sometimes get backlogged
0:31:02 > 0:31:06because there's so many people just complaining all the time.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08I think English people like complaining for some reason.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11Did you take any details of the bus in question?
0:31:11 > 0:31:15TfL receives 100,000 complaints every year.
0:31:15 > 0:31:20Tess is part of the 400-strong team working full-time to deal with them.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22Some people write in almost every day.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25It's like their life mission,
0:31:25 > 0:31:27to just point out what's wrong with our transport systems.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29They just go around from bus stop to bus stop -
0:31:29 > 0:31:31this timetable is wrong, this one is wrong,
0:31:31 > 0:31:34or they'll go on a bus, if it's delayed by a minute, they will
0:31:34 > 0:31:37just carry on complaining until they get what they want, I guess.
0:31:39 > 0:31:40Did you see the driver,
0:31:40 > 0:31:44are you able to describe what this driver looked like?
0:31:44 > 0:31:49But complaints about driver behaviour are taken very seriously.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51A customer will go on and they've not done anything wrong
0:31:51 > 0:31:53and they'll just get this rude driver that's completely
0:31:53 > 0:31:56short with them, then they will write in to us
0:31:56 > 0:31:59and we have to get the driver interviewed.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01We should be able to identify that bus driver
0:32:01 > 0:32:04and appropriate action will be taken by his management team.
0:32:04 > 0:32:09First of all, he was not expected to be rude or raise his voice
0:32:09 > 0:32:14at a customer, because they have been trained to be friendly, kind,
0:32:14 > 0:32:18polite and helpful to customers at all times.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20Mmm.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29Morning.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32Morning, mate. Morning.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36I say good morning to all my passengers, every one of them.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40Regardless. 99 out of 100...
0:32:40 > 0:32:45I wouldn't say that, 75 out of 100 won't even acknowledge you.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48Won't even know you said good morning to them.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50Because they are in their own little world.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53Morning, darling. Thank you, ta.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57'A lot of people are going to work, they can't be bothered.
0:32:57 > 0:32:58'You're just a bus driver.'
0:32:58 > 0:33:03I think we are considered the lowest form of life...
0:33:03 > 0:33:05- HE LAUGHS - ..by some people.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07All right, mate?
0:33:07 > 0:33:11'But if I had 100 people and just one of them says good morning,
0:33:11 > 0:33:13'it makes you feel good.'
0:33:13 > 0:33:16- Morning.- Morning, how are you?
0:33:16 > 0:33:19- I'm good, how are you, mate?- All right, thanks.- Good man, thank you.
0:33:19 > 0:33:25Yeah, they are the ones that make me happy. That's all it takes. Manners.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29Manners, my father would say, manners are a quality of princes.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41It's a bit lonely some days, you don't speak to anybody.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46It's probably why I like making announcements.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48SHE CHUCKLES
0:33:50 > 0:33:52I remember getting on a bus years ago
0:33:52 > 0:33:54and people used to have conversations.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56They don't now, really,
0:33:56 > 0:33:59cos everyone is on their earphones, everyone is on their iPhones,
0:33:59 > 0:34:04people don't communicate as much anywhere as they used to.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08It's a sign of the times, rather than what mode of transport they are on.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10Loads of room upstairs...
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Sadie only came into the bus industry after her
0:34:14 > 0:34:17confectionery business went bust.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19Mind the back doors, mind the doors.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22'2008, it all went horribly wrong,
0:34:22 > 0:34:24'I had to think of something else to do.'
0:34:24 > 0:34:27The recession has sort of changed everyone's lives.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30You know, in some way.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32When you dig deep, with any bus driver,
0:34:32 > 0:34:34it's amazing what they did before.
0:34:34 > 0:34:40Ex-policemen, ex-army, ex-teachers, just ex-everyone.
0:34:40 > 0:34:45We've got drivers that are better educated than the people we pick up.
0:34:46 > 0:34:50Believe me. A lot more educated.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Well, I used to be an investment manager
0:34:53 > 0:34:58and that was all very well, until I was made redundant,
0:34:58 > 0:35:01a few years ago now,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04and when you're in your 50s,
0:35:04 > 0:35:06especially in investment management,
0:35:06 > 0:35:11not that many people are interested in you, to be fair. So, er...
0:35:13 > 0:35:16I thought, well, I'd better find something to occupy me.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20And I became a bus driver. There's nothing wrong with that.
0:35:26 > 0:35:31Since 2008, the number of trainee drivers over 40 has risen
0:35:31 > 0:35:34- dramatically.- Well, I suppose I'm as ready as I'll ever be.
0:35:34 > 0:35:40- Today is the morning of Christine's test.- Any minute now, I'll be off.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42Have me last fag. It's like I'm going to be shot!
0:35:42 > 0:35:46SHE LAUGHS Any last requests? Mmm.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51Still, it's helping to calm me nerves a bit.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56- Hello, good morning.- Good morning. - I'll be your examiner today.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58- Show me to your vehicle, please. - OK, this way.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00How are you today?
0:36:00 > 0:36:03- OK, a bit nervous. - First-timers are always nervous.
0:36:03 > 0:36:04That's easy for you to say!
0:36:06 > 0:36:08The test lasts an hour-and-a-half.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20I done it! I passed!
0:36:22 > 0:36:25Only just did it. But I did it.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27There's my certificate, look, I'm a bus driver!
0:36:27 > 0:36:31I'm going to get a cake and some chocolate, I deserve it, I think!
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Good excuse. I've got a trifle in the fridge,
0:36:34 > 0:36:36I'm going to have a bit of trifle when I get home.
0:36:36 > 0:36:41Yes! THEY LAUGH AND WHOOP
0:36:45 > 0:36:46- Well done.- Thank you.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49'I don't think my dad would have ever got through it today,
0:36:49 > 0:36:52'because he wasn't very good at reading and writing.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55'When he went for his interview, they said to him,
0:36:55 > 0:36:57'"You've got to fill this form in."'
0:36:57 > 0:36:59He couldn't fill the form in, he said, "Look, I can drive."
0:36:59 > 0:37:01So they took him out on the bus, you know,
0:37:01 > 0:37:04and he proved to them that he could drive,
0:37:04 > 0:37:05so someone else filled the form out for him
0:37:05 > 0:37:08and did whatever they had to do, and he got through it
0:37:08 > 0:37:12and he was a bus driver, but today, he would never have done it.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18SHE SIGHS
0:37:18 > 0:37:20Off we go.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23Christine may now be a fully fledged driver, but it's only on day one
0:37:23 > 0:37:27that she comes face-to-face with the travelling public on her own.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30We'll have all these people looking at me,
0:37:30 > 0:37:33I don't care, I shall ignore them until I'm ready.
0:37:34 > 0:37:35OK.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40Wait a minute, all right?
0:37:40 > 0:37:42That's it, do me blind...
0:37:42 > 0:37:44If I can see where to do it.
0:37:48 > 0:37:55Oh, shit. I've now messed up the machine with me jacket.
0:37:56 > 0:37:57Shit!
0:37:58 > 0:38:01That's it. OK, you can get on now.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04MACHINE BEEPS
0:38:04 > 0:38:06'I don't know if it would be obvious to the passengers
0:38:06 > 0:38:09'that I'm on my first day driving.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12'But hopefully not.'
0:38:12 > 0:38:15There we go. Stopped.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19- MACHINE BEEPS - 'Tyre system pressure OK.'
0:38:21 > 0:38:23But I'm not going to get flustered.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27It would help if I was in drive, wouldn't it?
0:38:30 > 0:38:34The first day is, um... It's nerve-wracking.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38Because you're let loose, you're just let loose, with this!
0:38:38 > 0:38:42We do tend to have a lot of drivers that pass their test and they
0:38:42 > 0:38:47are only around for a few weeks or a few months and then they are gone.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49They can't handle it.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51'This bus terminates here.'
0:38:51 > 0:38:53- 'Carry on into Bromley.'- Yeah.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56- 'As if you was a 269.'- Right.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59After a cautious morning, Christine's controller has
0:38:59 > 0:39:02asked her to terminate early and run back to the garage.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04..where the old police station used to be?
0:39:04 > 0:39:07'That's it, turn left there, that's Kentish Way.'
0:39:07 > 0:39:09But it's not the route she's practised.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11'..past the Ford garage.'
0:39:13 > 0:39:15I'll be lost in a minute, you watch.
0:39:16 > 0:39:17Oh!
0:39:20 > 0:39:21Oh, no, I am lost!
0:39:22 > 0:39:24Oh, shit!
0:39:25 > 0:39:27I'm sure it was there.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33Fuck! No, I've totally fucked it.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39I'll have to phone him back up. He's going to think I'm mental.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44Ohh!
0:39:44 > 0:39:46Hello, yeah, I've totally gone wrong, I've cocked it up
0:39:46 > 0:39:49and I'm going the wrong way and I'm frightened to go any further,
0:39:49 > 0:39:52because I might rip the roof off on a bridge.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56'Hang on a minute, let's see where you are. Yeah, just carry on.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00- 'At the traffic lights, turn left.' - OK, thank you.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04Aah! I wish I was still in bed. SHE LAUGHS
0:40:10 > 0:40:15Well, I wouldn't say that was, um, the perfect of mornings.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21But then, I suppose it could be worse.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23I never damaged a bus, or damaged a person.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27It should be the other way round, damaged a person or a bus.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30It's perhaps not the ideal start to her career.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33But Christine is at least following in the footsteps of her dad,
0:40:33 > 0:40:36- who died two years ago. - I think he would be proud of me.
0:40:36 > 0:40:37I hope he would.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40He'd probably see it as easy bus riding, really,
0:40:40 > 0:40:44these buses, compared to the old ones. They are easy.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46He used to drive the old Routemasters.
0:40:46 > 0:40:50I'm going to press to see if I can drive a Routemaster one day.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55I remember it, getting on the Routemaster and tapping on the front
0:40:55 > 0:41:00bus, because they were sectioned off in the cab at the front.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03With its distinctive design, the Routemaster remains
0:41:03 > 0:41:06the definitive London bus, for drivers new and old.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12From the moment it first appeared in the 1950s,
0:41:12 > 0:41:15the Routemaster was loved by staff and passengers alike.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23The Routemaster has a cult status. It is part of London.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27You had a conductor with you, there was a camaraderie, there was
0:41:27 > 0:41:30something that as a one-man, you haven't got.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32Especially now, the modern-day ones,
0:41:32 > 0:41:34they are behind an assault screen,
0:41:34 > 0:41:37they have no contact with the public, other than it's just
0:41:37 > 0:41:40a face who throws money at them or swipes an Oyster card.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45With its hop-on and hop-off platform, it was the last
0:41:45 > 0:41:50London bus designed to be operated by both a driver and a conductor.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53That's you two and the lady over here, is that right?
0:41:53 > 0:41:55- One for the Royal Academy.- Yes.
0:41:55 > 0:42:02A lot of the people in London have probably never been on an RM.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04They don't even know what they've missed,
0:42:04 > 0:42:09they have missed the part and parcel of London, the RM.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13But in 2005, the axe fell on the Routemaster
0:42:13 > 0:42:15after almost 50 years of service.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18They were hard to use if you were disabled
0:42:18 > 0:42:22and buses without a conductor had long become the norm.
0:42:22 > 0:42:23It was much mourned.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25- Hold on tight. - BELL RINGS
0:42:25 > 0:42:29So to keep both tourists and Londoners happy, 10 original
0:42:29 > 0:42:33Routemasters have remained in service on special heritage routes.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35St Paul's!
0:42:38 > 0:42:39Thank you.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43- This is one of the old buses? - Yes, mate, it certainly is.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45- How many do you have of these?- 10.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53- Thank you.- Where are you going to? - I don't know!
0:42:53 > 0:42:55We just hopped on the bus!
0:42:58 > 0:43:05We came here just for to ride this bus. Because it is my love.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08It takes you back. THEY CHUCKLE
0:43:08 > 0:43:11I remember conductors first time round.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13And smoking on the top deck.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15- Thank you very much. - Thank you, mate.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17Let people off the bus, please.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20- I actually waited for it.- Did you?
0:43:20 > 0:43:21I prefer the Routemasters.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23Especially when it's nice, hot weather.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27It's fantastic, I love them. one foot in the past, good old UK.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30- Thanks a lot. Goodbye.- Take care.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36Conductor Dave's only method of communication with Mandy is
0:43:36 > 0:43:39via a bell, which can be tricky when it's a 60-year-old bus.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49That's not good. I don't like that, that's not working.
0:43:51 > 0:43:52Yeah, we'll be going in a minute.
0:44:01 > 0:44:07- Nothing?- Nothing. Try and bang the back just a bit harder, Dave.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10Don't be frightened of it. Just go along.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13HE BANGS ON THE PARTITION
0:44:15 > 0:44:17Now try, now try. Try the bell.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20Try the bell!
0:44:21 > 0:44:22No, nothing.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27You tend to forget, because you work on them, then you sort of have
0:44:27 > 0:44:30to step back and go, hold on a minute, they are old, yeah.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33If people were, like, 50, 55,
0:44:33 > 0:44:36I suppose the old bones start to get a bit old, don't they?
0:44:40 > 0:44:41Wipers.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46Horn. HORN BEEPS
0:44:46 > 0:44:48Indicators.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52Every bus in London's fleet is serviced every 28 days.
0:44:53 > 0:44:54Windows good.
0:44:59 > 0:45:01But Patrick specialises in tending to the precious few
0:45:01 > 0:45:03Routemasters still in service.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05DULL THUDDING
0:45:05 > 0:45:07Punctured tyre.
0:45:07 > 0:45:09See?
0:45:10 > 0:45:11Hear the difference in this?
0:45:11 > 0:45:13LIGHTER THUDDING
0:45:13 > 0:45:15I love this job.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18I really, really do. I tell you.
0:45:18 > 0:45:19When the night comes,
0:45:19 > 0:45:22I'm just looking forward for the next day to come to go to work
0:45:22 > 0:45:24to repair vehicles.
0:45:24 > 0:45:26Oh, I just love it.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28Handbrake off!
0:45:28 > 0:45:30Just imagine, nearly 60 years ago
0:45:30 > 0:45:33and this thing still works so good.
0:45:33 > 0:45:34Built to last.
0:45:34 > 0:45:38See the old time system? Works so sweet.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41Before I didn't even come to London,
0:45:41 > 0:45:44I was praying one day I would like to come to London to ride these
0:45:44 > 0:45:47old buses, these double-decker buses.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50When I came here, the first thing I did was jump on one of these things.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54'Every visitor come to this country, they want to ride in the Routemaster.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57'They don't want to leave London without a picture
0:45:57 > 0:45:58'of our Routemaster.'
0:45:58 > 0:46:03These buses actually made the same year I was born.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05So, that's many, many moons ago.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09Patrick was born and brought up in British Guiana.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11His dad died when he was a boy,
0:46:11 > 0:46:15so a mechanic took Patrick under his wing.
0:46:15 > 0:46:18He was the one teach me everything I know.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22He always used to say to me, "Learn this work.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26"Someday, you might leave this country, go to another...
0:46:26 > 0:46:30"some part of the world and you would able to be somebody.
0:46:30 > 0:46:31"Learn this work."
0:46:33 > 0:46:37About ten years ago, I came to the bus garage and asked him
0:46:37 > 0:46:41if there was any vacancy for a heavy-duty mechanic.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44All my life I've been doing trucks, from nine years old.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48He said, "Boy, we need you!"
0:46:48 > 0:46:50And, straight away, I get a job with him.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54To be honest, I love these buses.
0:46:54 > 0:46:58We're actually... We're growing old together.
0:46:58 > 0:47:03I wish I never grow old, but that's some wish!
0:47:03 > 0:47:06It's going to be a sad day when they decide to retire these things,
0:47:06 > 0:47:08because nothing can replace this dog.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10Nothing can replace this bus. Nothing.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12Don't care what they build.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14Nothing can replace this.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19But, in a factory in Northern Ireland,
0:47:19 > 0:47:21Transport for London is building something
0:47:21 > 0:47:23it hopes will do just that.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33A new 21st-century Routemaster,
0:47:33 > 0:47:35complete with hop-on, hop-off platform.
0:47:38 > 0:47:41And the man who has staked his reputation on the resurrection
0:47:41 > 0:47:46of the Routemaster, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, has come to visit.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50Good morning. How are you?
0:47:50 > 0:47:54They've got the special health and safety stuff. Fantabulous.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57We'll take you on a short tour of the production line.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59Sorry, you're in the shot. Sorry.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01You want to unscrew that.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05Why is this bus such a triumph?
0:48:05 > 0:48:09Well, it's brilliant for passengers, isn't it?
0:48:09 > 0:48:12You now have the sovereign right as free, sentient,
0:48:12 > 0:48:17adult individuals to hop on and hop off the platform again,
0:48:17 > 0:48:21which was taken away by the health and safety fanatics in Brussels
0:48:21 > 0:48:25and has been rightly restored to the people of London.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30APPLAUSE
0:48:30 > 0:48:33Officially called the New Bus for London, it's already been
0:48:33 > 0:48:38nicknamed the Boris Bus and criticised for its cost.
0:48:39 > 0:48:45TfL are spending £354,000 per bus on 600 of them
0:48:45 > 0:48:49in the hope that they'll become as loved as their predecessor.
0:48:49 > 0:48:52The old Routemaster was much-loved and much mourned
0:48:52 > 0:48:56and I know that there will be aficionados of that vehicle
0:48:56 > 0:48:59who say this is not the same.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01Well, it isn't the same. It's better. It's much better.
0:49:01 > 0:49:06A Routemaster used to throb, and "Brrrm, brrrm..."
0:49:06 > 0:49:08It used to vibrate so much,
0:49:08 > 0:49:12it was like being in a washing machine, or whatever.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15So I think this is a vast improvement.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20Driven by a hybrid diesel-electric engine,
0:49:20 > 0:49:23the new buses are a far cry from the old Routemasters.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28This is state of the art, latest technology.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31I would imagine most of these things here,
0:49:31 > 0:49:33the mechanic would need a laptop
0:49:33 > 0:49:36to plug in to do diagnostics, et cetera.
0:49:36 > 0:49:40He would still be able to do some things, like the basic stuff,
0:49:40 > 0:49:43like axles, et cetera, are pretty much the same,
0:49:43 > 0:49:46but that hasn't really changed an awful lot.
0:49:46 > 0:49:50It's the drive system, the propulsion system,
0:49:50 > 0:49:52the hybrid system, where the engine doesn't actually
0:49:52 > 0:49:56drive the axle, it's an electric motor that drives the axle.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59The technology has moved on massively, probably.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06'When these give trouble, I know exactly what to do.'
0:50:06 > 0:50:08But with these modern-day laptop "ping, ping, ping"
0:50:08 > 0:50:10to find a fault...
0:50:15 > 0:50:19It's sad to see that the good old mechanics like us, we will disappear.
0:50:19 > 0:50:22Because I grew up in my old-time way,
0:50:22 > 0:50:27although I realise that yes, the
0:50:27 > 0:50:29world is changing to a computer world,
0:50:29 > 0:50:33but still, I'm not fully accepting it.
0:50:33 > 0:50:35'I know someday I'll have to retire.
0:50:35 > 0:50:39'And I wish that day would never come, but it will come.'
0:50:49 > 0:50:52Eight prototypes of the New Bus for London have arrived
0:50:52 > 0:50:57on the city streets, complete with a new generation of conductors.
0:51:02 > 0:51:07But, in the garage, the brand-new bus is suffering teething troubles.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11Any more coming back? Because we haven't got one for the day.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16We've got one, two at the moment that are unfit.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18Don't know what's the problem with them.
0:51:22 > 0:51:26John is one of the new conductors, or Customer Service Assistant,
0:51:26 > 0:51:28as he's officially known.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30But, so far, he hasn't made it out of the garage.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34Today, we're supposed to be taking the bus out about half past eight.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37We haven't got one ready. This has been my second day.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40If I'm not on it today, this will be my second day. So...
0:51:41 > 0:51:43Wait and see what happens.
0:51:43 > 0:51:47There is a fully functional New Bus ready and waiting,
0:51:47 > 0:51:51but it's off on a promotional tour abroad.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53Jay! Why's it got all this on it?
0:51:53 > 0:51:54It's going to France.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58One's in New York, this one's going to France.
0:51:58 > 0:51:59It's going to France.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02I haven't even got a bus to drive today and this is going to France.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04So...
0:52:04 > 0:52:07Better get out of his way.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10I don't get why they get to take it to France and we don't.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12Wish they'd give us something to do.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14HORN BLARES
0:52:18 > 0:52:20Mind the bus, please!
0:52:20 > 0:52:21Mind the big red thing!
0:52:21 > 0:52:23Squishy squashy!
0:52:23 > 0:52:28John's New Bus is meant to have made it to Victoria Station by now.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30It's great. I like the new one.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33It's not here today, but the new 38 is lovely.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35Yes, I was on one the other day, actually.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37They were a bit throwback. They were quite nice.
0:52:37 > 0:52:39I was disappointed I didn't get on the back.
0:52:39 > 0:52:40I thought they were good.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43I love it. If there's one in the queue, I tend to wait for it,
0:52:43 > 0:52:46because it's a nice journey.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48- INTERVIEWER:- How long would you be prepared to wait?
0:52:48 > 0:52:51- Well, we've missed one at five to. - We've been waiting half an hour now.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54Because there's two less running at the moment.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57But we'll wait, because we made the effort to come.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09That's ours.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12We'll be going out in a couple of minutes.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14How long have you waited today?
0:53:16 > 0:53:18Half eight till half two.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21Just over six hours, so...
0:53:21 > 0:53:23Six and a half hours, it will be.
0:53:23 > 0:53:25It's a long time to wait for a bus.
0:53:28 > 0:53:30John is finally under way.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35ANNOUNCER: '38 to Hackney Central.'
0:53:35 > 0:53:37Papers for the passengers.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42DOOR BEEPS
0:53:42 > 0:53:44I do all the work. See how strenuous that is?!
0:53:55 > 0:53:59What's happening now, people hopping on, hopping off
0:53:59 > 0:54:00because they're at the lights.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02That makes it now.
0:54:02 > 0:54:08A lot of people that we speak to prefer a conductor on the back.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10Probably about 90 percent.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12I suppose I'm quite traditional.
0:54:12 > 0:54:16I personally like to go into a bank and I like to have a conductor,
0:54:16 > 0:54:19because I think it makes it more personal.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22I also think it must be nice for the driver.
0:54:22 > 0:54:26Having the conductor onboard makes things so much simpler and easier.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28You can focus on the driving
0:54:28 > 0:54:30while the conductor can deal with passengers.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33You want this stop.
0:54:33 > 0:54:35Go left at them traffic lights,
0:54:35 > 0:54:37it's down on the left-hand side. All right?
0:54:39 > 0:54:42People say "Good morning" to you, people say "Goodbye".
0:54:42 > 0:54:44And they are more talkative.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48Whereas, on other routes, when you're the driver only, depending on
0:54:48 > 0:54:49the route you're doing...
0:54:51 > 0:54:54..people don't even talk to you, don't even grunt.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56BELL DINGS
0:54:56 > 0:54:58'Watch out for traffic when leaving the bus.'
0:54:58 > 0:55:00Watch out for traffic!
0:55:00 > 0:55:02When you're leaving the bus!
0:55:04 > 0:55:08Mind the bus, please! Mind the bus!
0:55:08 > 0:55:11The New Bus has arrived at Victoria.
0:55:11 > 0:55:15Soon, there will be 600 of them on London's streets.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17We need a bus that, when you come to London, you can say,
0:55:17 > 0:55:21"This is the London bus." And I think that's what it should be.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24Whether that was the right bus or not, not my decision.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27In 50 years' time, if we're still talking about it, then it's made it.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30The Routemaster, we'll still talk about the original.
0:55:30 > 0:55:3350 years' time, will we be talking about it?
0:55:33 > 0:55:35Mind the bus, please!
0:55:40 > 0:55:43The original Routemasters still have a place
0:55:43 > 0:55:45in many drivers' hearts.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48Today, new driver Christine is being allowed to test drive
0:55:48 > 0:55:50one of the iconic old buses,
0:55:50 > 0:55:53following in the footsteps of her late father.
0:55:53 > 0:55:55It will be like a dream come true to get in one and drive one,
0:55:55 > 0:55:57what he used to drive.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00I feel like I'm sitting there for him, sort of thing.
0:56:04 > 0:56:05Got your handbrake off?
0:56:05 > 0:56:07ENGINE REVS
0:56:07 > 0:56:08Oh, bloody hell!
0:56:08 > 0:56:10That's well hard!
0:56:10 > 0:56:11Put your foot on the brake.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17Here we go!
0:56:38 > 0:56:40- That's brilliant. - Done it now, ain't you?
0:56:40 > 0:56:42Yeah, I have. It's good.
0:56:44 > 0:56:46Sort of like, as I've come round,
0:56:46 > 0:56:51I was trying to hold the tears back, which I did.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54It's just the job my dad used to have, driving one of them.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57It was a love for him. So...
0:57:00 > 0:57:01Sorry.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07Just to like do something that he did...
0:57:09 > 0:57:12..and experience it,
0:57:12 > 0:57:15sit where he sat
0:57:15 > 0:57:19and experience what he told me about,
0:57:19 > 0:57:21just is a great thing.
0:57:21 > 0:57:23Makes me feel close.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26Hold on tight.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34So many people work on these buses all the years.
0:57:34 > 0:57:39So many people come and gone and the bus is still around.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44I just love driving buses!
0:57:44 > 0:57:46You know, behind the wheel, it's great!
0:57:46 > 0:57:49Good morning. Do us a kindness, please.
0:57:49 > 0:57:53Could you just hold for a couple of minutes at your next stop?
0:57:53 > 0:57:57It is nice when somebody goes, "Thanks, driver."
0:57:57 > 0:57:59It really makes your day.
0:57:59 > 0:58:01- Bye-bye.- See you!- Thanks!
0:58:01 > 0:58:04The job hasn't got the same character. It hasn't.
0:58:04 > 0:58:08Times change. You've got to change with it.
0:58:08 > 0:58:10It's what you make it.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12My father said to me,
0:58:12 > 0:58:16"If you find a job you enjoy doing, you'll be happy all your life.
0:58:16 > 0:58:21"If you end up doing a job you hate, you'll never be happy."
0:58:21 > 0:58:22And that's right.
0:58:23 > 0:58:25It's a good job now.
0:58:39 > 0:58:42Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd