Gateway to London The Route Masters: Running London's Roads

This programme contains some strong language.

London is full up...

Are you going to allow them to jump on the back of your bus?

I'm afraid I won't be able to take any more passengers.

..thanks to a million more people arriving in the last 10 years.

Transport for London now has more than 30,000 workers battling

day and night to stop the city grinding to a halt.

-Three people being shot up there.

-It is war.

I'll get the police and ambulance straight down there.

The first week I was here, I thought, what have I done?

With unique access to the nerve centre of the capital's transport system,

this is the inside story of the people who keep London moving.

You're not only a bus driver, you become a psychotherapist

and psychiatrist.

People talk to you, some of them even flirt with you.

Sit down quietly, we're not going to Hell, we're going to Ilford.

It is the lifeblood of London, the buses are red, aren't they?

There's my certificate, I'm a bus driver.

-Thank you very much, you're so nice.

-No problem at all.

London has changed a lot, but I love it, it's London.

PA. 'Welcome to Victoria Coach Station.'

It's 6am at Victoria Coach Station.

It's just opening for business.

Over the next 24 hours, more than 32,000 passengers will come

through the doors of Transport for London's only coach station.

Mind your bikes, please.

Come on, guys.

It's now busier than Glasgow and Liverpool airports combined.

Take your things with you.

Thanks to cheap coach fares and mass migration in the last 10 years,

one of the oldest parts of London's transport infrastructure has

become one of the busiest.

I need to get the bus from Heathrow, how do I get it?

You need to cross over the road there.

Customer service assistants must now cope with huge volumes

of passengers from the moment the doors open.

Morning.

You need to go that way, that is the way out.

Could you just stay a bit closer to the coach there?

You get people coming very early in the morning, half asleep,

not really knowing where they are.

Can I stop you for a second?

Just for a moment. For your own safety.

They come in from all over Europe, from Germany, from Holland,

from France, we don't only get people coming here from far away,

you get a lot of commuters coming on those buses

from places like Milton Keynes, we've got

people coming to work from as far as Southampton or Bournemouth.

-What have you got in there?

-You don't want to know.

-I don't want to know?

I won't ask.

-Thank you.

-People carry all sorts of things.

She said, "You don't want to know", you know. Discretion, I will not ask.

-Sorry.

-Dead one on the back.

-Dead one?

-Well, can't wake him.

-Is he drunk?

-A little bit.

Young man, hello? You're in London, my friend.

Come on. This way.

-London, yes?

-Yes, you're in London.

Well, as I said, it's early morning, I think he must have had a few

last night, because he was not quite sure where he was.

6.40am for some people is the middle of the night,

and they find themselves in strange surroundings,

Victoria Coach station, sometimes it is a bit too much to take.

The staff here have had to cope with a revolution in the last decade.

In the last five years alone,

passenger numbers have gone up by a quarter.

There is more and more people coming here every year.

There is an increase, definite increase.

What I remember when I started, and what we have now, it is

a lot more people coming through these doors.

People coming, people going, confused, worried,

never travelled before, all human life is here.

That's the coach station.

I can't stand up!

With so many people travelling,

coach station staff must be prepared to deal with anything.

No, no, no!

Don't you think this is enough now?

I know you're quite funny, but don't you think it is enough now?

Seriously.

'He was drinking, he drank too much, fell out of the coach,

'the police were in arrivals this morning, there was'

a broken bottle of something, by the time he got over here

he had missed his coach, so when he tried to get another ticket,

he had to pay an extra five pounds to update his ticket,

he was not having that.

As you can see, that's what we have just dealt with.

The coach station is just one part of a bigger transport hub

in Victoria. It includes buses, trains and the Tube.

All are now at capacity.

By 7am, Transport for London's control centre has

a battle to keep Victoria moving.

What we don't want to see

when we're looking at Victoria is what we've got here.

This is a long queue of traffic heading from Hyde Park Corner

trying to get into the Victoria one-way system, which it is doing here,

the next camera, that is where that is heading to.

They are all coming round the corner, running into this.

Victoria, Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, all part of the free route.

If you lose one, it doesn't take long to lose the other two.

If you lose those three, you lose central London.

Hello, yes, restrictions there, down to one lane.

This morning it is the underground which is the weak link in the chain.

We have delays, what is the delays?

Evacuation of the underground station.

Ladies and gentlemen,

please be advised there is no service on the District Line.

Basically, once they get a lot of people into the station,

they will shut the doors of the station,

to keep the crowd safe, obviously people then have to come

up into the bus station to find their alternate journey

through London, and the first port of call is the bus station.

Heads-up, they are having major problems downstairs.

There are going to be major hold-ups, District Line,

west and east, major delays.

Mind the bus, please.

Join the queue, please.

We are human beings, not animals.

The queue starts down there, please keep walking down.

Everyone else is doing it, let's all be nice to each other.

We are not like the Tube, we don't push, we don't shove, we queue nicely.

This is what we call pleasant travel.

Mate, get out of the road.

Mind the bus, please. Mind the bus.

Shit, here we go. You all right?

-Yes.

-Are you sure? Hang on.

-You OK?

-Tell the driver I'm OK.

-You sure?

-Yes, I was just too close to it.

-You're OK?

-I'm sure.

He tried to walk behind the rear of the bus,

and as the bus turned out, it flicked him back onto the island.

Clear example, he wasn't watching.

Mate, your bus is no extension of your dick, yeah?

It would be 10mph, yes?

OK, let's go.

Mind the bus, please.

It only takes something small like that, you can

see the impact that already had, just with the buses slowing down,

load-ins are higher, you watch buses coming out absolutely stacked,

just those few buses taking the weight of those passengers,

slowed the whole process down, bus station became congested, the road

started to get congested, it is that easy, that balanced on a knife edge.

Yeah, 19 will be fine, I'll clear it first. How many have we got, five? Over.

By 9am, coach station operation manager Andy Gibb is dealing

with 40 coaches arriving at once.

Yes, no problem at all. Can you keep back, please?

Keep on the roadway, please. Coach won't move.

It's a bit like an airport, the coaches here book a departure time,

departure slot, a piece of concrete.

At this time of year, we are probably having about 700 coach departures a day,

and that is 700 arrivals as well.

That is what comes and goes.

We squeeze a quart into a pint pot,

we manage to do some gate rejigging, we manage to inform passengers.

Control to mobile two, are you receiving?

Was that 440 the 8.30, because it was showing Leicester?

It is showing Leicester, which is a 9.30 departure.

The coach station has changed beyond recognition since it opened.

But the way it is run has changed little in the past 80 years.

-It is quite old school, isn't it?

-Yes. Very old school.

I think technology passed us by somewhere, I think.

The only thing older than me here is the infrastructure.

34 years for my sins.

Sometimes it does look a bit like a time warp when you come in here.

When it was built in 1932, the coach station was intended to serve

small sightseeing tours around Britain.

'Here in London is the largest coach station in Europe,

'links to other coach terminals in all the cities and towns of Britain.

'On all coach journeys, one passes through interesting

'and attractive parts of Britain.

'From the strategic fingers of our Roman highways,

'a network of 200,000 miles of road has grown in 1,900 years.

'A network linking the many coloured jewels which enrich

'the pages of our island's history.'

PA. 'Please accept our apologies for the delay.'

Now the same building must serve 1,200 destinations in Britain

and 400 across Europe. The strain is showing.

I queued for 15 minutes.

Nightmare journey,

they held us there for ages after being an hour late.

Filming a shit service.

I think it's a laugh, it's disgusting.

I'm ashamed that this is the gateway to England for many people.

Victoria Coach Station was transformed 10 years ago,

when millions of Eastern Europeans became eligible to work in the UK.

Migrant workers started to arrive here in large numbers.

They came by coach.

The largest group to arrive in the last 10 years are the Poles.

Now with an estimated UK population of 500,000.

The first coaches of the day from Poland arrive by mid-morning.

IN POLISH

Hello!

How are you?

52-year-old Polish national Ernest came to England eight years ago,

and now works as a care assistant.

-How did you get to England?

-How? By bus. Do you know why?

-Why?

First, I can take a big luggage. Two suitcases, 50 kilograms each.

Try to do that in Gatwick, no way.

I wanted to go to England, not to the United States,

not to any different country,

Germany, no. Italy, funny.

Spain, not exactly. England? Yes.

Because...it is a very reasonable country. I like them.

It is reasonable.

Every single time I wanted to visit this country, and my dream was true.

-Not France?

-Never ever.

No?

They checked my luggage, one hour, and the dog sniffed it, next,

he pissed on my suitcase, and I come back to England!

-The dog urinated on your suitcase?

-Yes. French dog.

Ticket office supervisors find speaking Polish helps.

When we opened to Europe, masses and masses of Poles who had never

been abroad, they suddenly arrive here for the first time. "They".

It was quite, quite amazing, and they were very excited,

"We are from Poland, can you help us?"

Sometimes, I help them, I think on a few occasions I have put them up

because they missed the last coach

and didn't have anywhere to go or any money.

I live next door. So I put them up.

I put up once five girls going to Scotland.

Five girls with me in my room. In one room.

They actually sent me a postcard.

Yes, you know, occasionally I help people.

The huge increase in people passing through Victoria

has given rise to serious problems.

So Transport for London pays for a special department

of the Metropolitan Police to patrol this new border.

The core phase is high visibility policing around the strategic hubs,

which will be Victoria Train Station,

the bus station at Terminus Place, and Victoria Coach Station.

Every morning, Sergeant Sean Doyle briefs his officers on the day ahead.

Obviously we all know there is

a lot of activity around this area which includes drug thefts,

people trafficking, 12 million people a year come through the coach station,

the message is crime reduction, and my motto is

making Victoria a hostile environment for criminals to come to.

-Hello, you all right? How's it going?

-Fine.

Just doing very routine checks on people.

Where have you travelled from today?

It is a soft entry into the country, they come through the borders,

but they don't actually check every single person

on a 50-odd seater coach.

Often when we do checks, we'll find 4-5 people who have drugs

with them, some kind of immigration discrepancy.

So it does end up being like a minor port,

and we are working on a border, although we are inside London.

-You all right? How's it going?

-Good.

-Where have you just come from, if you don't mind me asking?

-Carmarthen.

-OK.

People do smuggle things in and out.

We see all sorts of weird comings and goings.

I'm going to do a search of you, to see

-if you've got any cannabis on you.

-I haven't.

-None at all?

Because if you have, let me have it now,

and that will save me going through a process or whatever.

Sergeant Doyle has received a call about a passenger

just arrived from Manchester who is drunk.

You all right?

-He has a few gin bottles.

-Has he been drinking?

-He has been drinking.

I think you might as well pour his alcohol away.

-Yes.

-If he had it open.

You are not allowed to have these in Westminster.

HE MUMBLES

I'm going to pour them away.

'We have a power, we call it de-canning.

'It's basically taking alcohol off people'

who are drinking in public places, and it stops them

carrying on drinking and becoming a nuisance through the day.

That is the difficult thing, he is not actually disorderly.

Yes, he is drunk, but the difficult thing is,

does a drunk need a police cell or a hospital bed?

Do you have any identity or papers on you?

What have you got in your pockets?

I'm just going to ring immigration to check that you're all right. Yes?

The frustrating thing for all parties is the fact he's got

criminal offences against him,

he's not bringing anything beneficial to the UK economy

or anything, he's going

to be costing our health system no end if he continues the way

he's going, and like you say, could potentially die on the streets. Yes.

Yes.

They can't give him assistance to pay him to leave the country

because he's got previous convictions,

and they're literally saying he will be one person who,

with a cold snap, would not be very good.

OK. There you go.

HE MUMBLES

All right.

I think there's 12 million people a year travel through this

particular coach station, that's not including the international

arrivals and various bits and pieces like that,

so if you've got 12 million people going through anywhere,

you're going to get some drunks, some homeless people,

some people who are wanted, you know?

We obviously deal with all of those people.

By late morning, the rush-hour over, the station is calm.

It's an ideal time for some passengers who like to

travel by coach.

-Hello, sir. Do you want to go to the disability lounge?

-Yes, please.

Customer service assistant Hayley moves

between all areas of the coach station.

It's very nice, very nice.

It's busy in here today. Give me your ticket and I'll book you in.

'Mid-morning to lunchtime, you've got all the elderly

'and disabled coming in, it's a better time for them to travel

'and it's not as busy as it is first thing in the morning.

'We are there to assist them to the coaches,

'make sure they get on the right coach.'

What time is your coach?

-Six o'clock.

-Six o'clock? You've got plenty of time.

I'm completely blind, I can't see a thing,

and I cannot see how I can get into Liverpool Street

and be put on the Tube, get off the Tube at the right place.

It is marvellous because the service I get here gives me

the independence to go wherever I want, really.

I've got a dodgy back, and my knees, I'm waiting for new ones.

And carrying bags becomes, balance becomes imperfect to say the least.

I have a bit of a wobble.

But these lads here, all the years I've been coming here,

they've been fantastic.

The service is just bloody brilliant. It really is.

We have been treated magnificently,

everyone has been really lovely here, really.

Don't, I shall cry.

-102.

-Bye-bye, love.

She doesn't look 102, does she?

Outside, with limited space in high demand,

Hayley must juggle the constant flow of arriving coaches.

You're too early.

About 21 minutes early. That's pushing it, darling.

Get chatted up a lot. Yes.

Hello, darling. You all right?

Very nice.

Go, before you make me blush.

All sorts. You're embarrassing me now.

You having a bad day, darling?

-I just woke up.

-You just woke up?

It was on autopilot!

I call everyone babes, love or darling, you know?

It always works, that's how you get round men. Be sweet to them.

They can hardly be mad when a woman is sweet to them.

That's what I figure out about men. That's one thing.

If you're sweet to them, you go, "Hello, darling."

They might be coming in a grumpy mood,

they will just go all soft then, that's how you deal with them.

Show me how you flirt so the camera can see. Hello, my darling.

-There you go. What number are you?

-Er, er, Glasgow!

I've just realised my wife is going to see this!

THEY LAUGH

It's all right, he's being a good boy, really.

I've done many jobs, stunt work, bodyguard work.

-You were a stunt woman?

-Yes, I did a couple of bits of that.

I did some kickboxing, you see. I was a kickboxer at the time.

Little bit of bodyguard work, only once a month, a poker night.

That was interesting.

The buzz of the coach station also attracts other unofficial workers.

Hi, Alan, you all right?

This is one of our all-time coach watchers,

he knows more information than we do.

Alan is sort of like part of the family, really.

Alan?

How many years Alan has actually been here, I'm not quite sure.

Quite why he does what he does is one of life's mysteries.

He does get very upset if you call him an anorak.

-This is purely private, it is my own interest.

-What have you learned?

-Sorry, how long have you been doing this?

-Well, since the '60s.

So, well over 40 years, now.

And the changes one has seen, one has learned a lot.

You see all life here. That is the interesting thing.

The social dimension, that attracts you.

You've got the able-bodied, but you've also got the disabled.

There are particular problems, language is a great problem.

Many do not speak English, therefore they do not understand often what

is being said to them, and they will disappear in the wrong direction.

There can be problems with drink and drugs.

It is always unpredictable,

you never know what is going to happen next.

All life is here, that is the one thing, and it is not

like Euston, King's Cross, it's here, Victoria is the hub.

One of today's five coaches leaving for Poland must

depart in the next hour.

It's Anja's job to round up her passengers on time.

There are now three Polish coach companies based in Victoria,

catering exclusively to the Polish community.

If Anja's coach is late leaving, the coach station will fine her company.

IN POLISH

I have five minutes until the first coach will arrive to board

-the passengers.

-You must lose your voice doing this.

-Yes.

After departure, yes.

She can also be fined for her customers smoking.

We will start fining you £1,000 for everyone I catch.

-They are not supposed to smoke in here at all.

-I know. I know that.

I was reprimanded by Victoria controllers

-because of our customers smoking cigarettes.

-They don't see the sign?

They see it, it's in Polish.

SHOUTS IN POLISH

They don't read the signs.

The signs where it says in their own language

-they cannot smoke over there, read it.

-Jack grew up in Poland.

He is the only customer service assistant to speak Polish.

The knowledge of Polish here comes as a tremendous advantage.

IN POLISH

-Where are you going?

-I'm going to Bradford.

-That's it.

Gate number one. Sometimes I get it wrong as well!

What's the problem, Jack?

She is doing the double checking-in, which I don't understand.

I need to ask the rep what the story is with this.

I'm not that impressed now with what's happening here.

Unfortunately, that applies to not just Poles

but people from Eastern Europe.

The meaning of queue to some of them is unknown.

They don't know what it is.

I don't know where it all comes from, I think it is going back

to 30, 40 years ago, the remains from a bygone era of communism,

I've got to get there first, because if I don't get there first,

someone else gets there and I'm going to be left out of it.

IN POLISH

Coach travel changed for good in 2003.

We have already heard about the no-frills airlines,

how about no-frills buses?

New bus operators slashed the cost of tickets,

and today's era of cut-price coach travel began.

Between Exeter and London,

the fares overnight went down from £8.50 to £3.50.

But I think we lost a very respectable, well-dressed clientele.

More and more people using the coach,

the economic climate like it is as well, people are after a bargain.

When you see coaches advertised for £1, you know,

it's very easy to see why people book that over a train.

It is cheaper. Yes. It costs us £20, here and back, from Devon.

-That's a bargain.

-Also, on trains, they are very noisy.

And you can't sit down.

At least with a coach, you are guaranteed a seat.

It is comfortable travelling, it's cheap as well.

What with the price of trains and everything else

they are doing now, it is just beyond...you know, nominal prices.

With passengers from all over the world passing through

the coach station, the 30p for the toilets causes confusion.

-Did you get everything you needed?

-Yes, that's all right. Goodbye.

Lady, lady! Money.

Money.

Are you OK? Do you need help?

'They don't know the English money.'

OK, this is enough.

They gave us, I don't know what the money is, but they gave me

some different country, 50p, 10p, they said, "This is English."

It's not. I don't know the money.

-Ladies.

-Yes, but I haven't got any money.

-OK.

-I have a £10 note here.

-You have to go upstairs for that one.

-Does it upset you?

-No! I'm always smiling.

It's much money for some people, when they see that, "30p for the loo?

"That's disgusting." Some people come to the toilet, they will just jump.

"Are you stupid? How much money do you want me to pay?

"Why do I have to pay for toilet?"

I say, "OK, I will not say anything." There's nothing I can do.

Kimmy studied sociology in Nigeria.

Since she arrived in the UK, she has been a cleaner at the coach station.

People have said, you're a cleaner, you are this, you are that.

They will look at you. You are nobody. You are somebody.

I am part of what I'm doing.

Working as a cleaner, they see you as a nobody.

They call you all sorts of names, but I don't care.

I wish I could do a better job, but I need to move on from somewhere.

You have to start somewhere.

Before you can get it. This is the beginning.

But just after, that is me.

Mind your bags, please. Move to one side, please.

Whilst some passengers travel on a limited budget,

the coach station's gang of licensed porters rely on tips from customers.

This is the best experience I've had today. Mind your bags, please.

Move in, please.

Thank you very much. Anybody need any help?

Anybody need any help? Where are you going to, darling?

-Going to get a taxi, but I need the toilet first.

-No problem.

I'll help you, don't worry.

-No problem.

-Many thanks.

Many thanks.

'You get loads of pleasant people.'

They do ask you nicely to wait for them. That's another nice thing.

Pleasant, pleasant people, you can't beat them.

You get some nice people and some horrid people.

I had a woman, asking me for help, and she's like,

"you should be doing that out of the goodness of your heart."

And everything else.

She started saying everything you can think of under the sun.

It did make me feel upset.

At the end of the day, I'm strong enough to walk away from it

and not say anything back.

I had to walk away.

This is my first week.

-Your name is?

-Jason.

-OK, Mr Jason. Thank you very, very much.

You are very welcome.

PA. 'The left luggage facility is located by Gate 6.'

Hello, left luggage.

As the day wears on, so the left luggage gets busier and busier.

That'll be £5, please.

Paul Campbell worked on the railways before coming to the coach station.

The first week I was here, I looked in and I thought, what have I done?

I don't believe I have come from a fairly easy job to just pandemonium.

Put your bag in for me, please.

-Have you ever had anything funny come through?

-I've had a few things.

We had a young couple that came in and he had seven pairs

of handcuffs.

In his suitcase. And when we asked him, he said, "To tie her to the bed."

We just looked at each other and didn't know what to say.

We were gobsmacked.

What colour is your bags?

Two black bags, exactly identical.

Isn't that sweet? Young love.

The section right down the back that we don't use, this bit here,

and along to the window, is a section we just leave for luggage

that has been left here beyond the expiry date on the ticket.

Just got bags of clothes, we've got stuff like this,

where you might find, in one of these bags, some food.

Then of course, the food has been left there for too long,

it gets flies, so we stick it in that, and we normally start

shaking it, see the flies flying about, it is disgusting.

We've got a pushbike.

That's been here about 18 months. Don't know what to do with that.

We had a Polish guy, he left two air conditioning units, there is

one there and one up there, and a drill.

And he hasn't been back since, and that was just before Christmas.

He hasn't been back. We've got a little teddy bear there.

People leave all sorts.

Each day, 3,000 people arrive

and depart internationally through Victoria.

You could walk through Victoria Coach Station and see every

sector of life, every social aspect is in Victoria Coach Station.

Everyone is in Victoria. Everyone and anyone.

The police here are in touch with colleagues across the country.

Sergeant Doyle has been alerted that a potential missing juvenile

may be passing through the station.

Got a minute?

-How old are you?

-15.

-15? Whereabouts are you going to?

-Manchester.

-Right.

-What is in Manchester?

-I was going to go see my girlfriend.

We are a little bit worried for you

because we just want to make sure you're all right.

I know what I was doing and everything, I know how to get

-there and stuff, but I don't want to be at home any more.

-Right.

-Life at home, is it, how is that?

-I have just had enough of everything.

-OK.

-I want to be somewhere around where everything is calm

and there is no argument, and I know exactly where that is.

-Which is where, in Manchester?

-Yes.

-Have you met this person in Manchester before?

-No.

-OK.

The teenager's parents reported him missing this morning.

They were worried that he was travelling by coach to see

someone he had met on the Internet.

He is 15 years old, he's got ADHD, autism,

and Asperger's, which he is supposed to be taking medication for.

Had his last medication last night,

he is supposed to be taking one in the morning and one in the evening.

He is a real cause of concern for us,

for the parents, for society as much as anything else.

He is a juvenile, and more than anything else, I'm a parent,

I want to make sure he is safe.

That he's not going to go, I'm guessing, we are

supposing all the way along,

I'm guessing he's going to go up there

and he's not going to find a beautiful 19-year-old girl,

and that somebody is going to possibly abuse him in some way,

because of his severe vulnerability more than anything.

Even if somebody didn't pick him up at the other end,

he'd be very vulnerable.

I know he's very confident that this girlfriend is going to come

and pick him up, but the world isn't perfect.

I've contacted your parents.

I'll update your parents that you are fit and well.

Just look at us, will you?

OK.

I'm glad you're here.

The boy's parents have arrived to take him home.

-Very quiet, and a bit upset.

-Come on, mate.

-Thank you for coming.

You are free to take him home.

See you.

Thanks for being polite.

One of the biggest tests for the coach station comes at Easter,

the most important holiday of the year if you're Polish.

Easter is very important in Poland.

As important as Christmas, maybe more important than Christmas.

The most wonderful time is at home with family in Poland,

not in London, where nobody celebrates.

We have great food, we have fantastic drinks. Yes, of course.

Family, family, family.

We have 190 passengers leaving London today,

-so it will be quite busy.

-We are into Easter, Maundy Thursday.

There is a limit, of course,

to how much more this coach station can absorb.

We are getting almost near the limit of what can be coped with.

I'm also interested in trains, I'm always fascinated by points.

There is a kind of philosophical thing there, a bit like life.

You reach a point, and which way do you go?

The evening peak on Maundy Thursday means

the whole team must work flat out.

-Say again?

-Number 10.

-Just down there on the left.

Birmingham, 18.30. National Express? Will be going from...

We've got 58 extra departures today.

Those numbers of extra coaches are ramping up as the minutes

tick by, ending in a crescendo between 22.30 hours

and 23.30 hours of about an additional 25 coaches.

The plan there, to put that in perspective,

we would normally probably have 7-8 duplicates, we have 58.

It's a huge increase.

Gate 16. Come here.

NX507, going from gate number four and five.

Gate number eight, go, go, go! That way.

Thank you.

Cutting it fine.

The police are also on the lookout for touts targeting passengers.

There is one of our known taxi touts outside.

He approaches members of the public,

tries to get them into unlicensed taxis.

Not normally aggressive to anybody

but he doesn't like police at all.

We have taken him to court a couple of times recently.

Arrested me!

Enough is enough. You don't leave people alone.

I've got a right to be where I want.

The ironic thing is, he is registered blind,

but he could see us coming from a mile away.

-Hayley also has an issue with ticket touts around arrivals.

-That's him.

We're going to go and get him now.

Time to go. That's it.

Come on.

That's a good boy.

The ticket touts, they rip off TfL by taking

tickets from people at the train station, the underground station,

and then re-selling them to the people coming off the coaches.

Are you travelling on a coach? You need to buy a ticket.

Ticket office is that way.

He had no intentions of buying a ticket. He's drunk.

You could smell it when he's talking. His jacket is ripped open.

He was just checking out those girls.

-I buy ticket. 20 minutes.

-No, no, no.

You need to buy the ticket now, or leave the station.

He is staring at you. OK? Guys like him rob purses.

You are easy pickings. Do you get me?

Need to be a little bit more aware around here.

This is not a safe station.

For the ticket office, Easter is a real challenge

as most of the tickets have already been sold online.

Some customers who turn up to book on the day are disappointed.

There is no coaches tonight, all coaches tonight are full.

Yes. Today is the busiest day of the year.

Today is full, Friday is full, Saturday is full.

This is my 30th year here now, and in that time, I've seen some changes.

The amount of people is the main thing, that is

what has changed the most.

The actual coach station is just breaking at the seams.

So many people around, it is amazing this place can handle them.

-The next Paris is Sunday night.

-Sunday night is the next Paris?

That is the next Paris.

-There is not even one seat, let alone four.

-What about Saturday morning?

Nothing. Nothing Saturday.

I wanted to just drop my daughters to Paris, to my sister,

because she just gave birth.

You seem fairly cheerful, even though it is a bit...

What can you do? Do you want me to cry?

When people with different languages try to explain to you where

they want to go, it is

sometimes really funny to listen to the way they say the place names.

Somebody actually wanted to go to Turkey,

and we sent them down to Torquay.

-Can I get a ticket to Glasgow, please?

-It's full today. No seats.

-Nothing for tonight, man?

-Nothing to Scotland at all, no. Nothing.

It was last-minute, I got time off work,

-so I wanted to go up and see family.

-Did you manage to get a ticket?

I got a ticket to Edinburgh,

so I'll just need to get someone to pick me up from there hopefully.

Find in the morning if someone will come and pick me up or not.

They leave it last-minute, and this is Easter, holy day,

when you should book a week before, and they turn up last-minute

and say you want to go to Amsterdam, Paris,

then you say the bus is full until Sunday, they go,

"What? What?"

PA. 'Some destinations from Victoria Coach Station are served by multiple operators.

'Please refer to the operator and service number on your ticket.'

The central traffic control room is keeping a close eye

on the coach station this evening.

They do say Maundy Thursday is the worst day

of the year for trying to get away, for travelling.

Lots of accidents, people want to get away in the rush,

depends where you want to get to.

Accidents are probably the biggest factor, I think.

Andy has just received news that will interrupt

the rush of coaches leaving.

-There is a stowaway.

-Is there? Let's go and have a look.

We don't often get a stowaway. Go to arrivals.

Waiting for the police for a gentleman on board

one of the coaches that has arrived.

Let's find out what is going on.

There is a suspected illegal immigrant stowed away on a coach.

-Which one is waiting for the police?

-On this one.

-What have you got on there?

-Somebody who shouldn't be on there.

Your bus isn't going anywhere for a minute.

They've called the police and we're just waiting for them

to arrive to have a little chat with our friend

and probably take him away, I would imagine.

The stowaway has been arrested,

but it's had a knock-on effect on the coach station.

It's backed up the operation, it's really slow.

and also, that means you've got that one in there that ain't going

to go out on time, it's been 40 minutes already.

Ah, shit.

Anybody for Edinburgh?

23.00, gate number two, boarding now if you want to get away early.

Number two.

-Number two. Quick!

-Is there any way you can move up now, gents?

You're a star. You're going to go. Have a good trip.

We got bit caught out

because a couple of extra coaches came in we didn't know about

and we had the coaches and we didn't have the passengers.

I think we're sort of getting there. I think we're getting there.

IN POLISH

What are you going to do?

I'm going to use my credit card and book it for her, basically,

and she will pay me, as if I leave it until tomorrow,

I've done it before, and she will not,

and there were no seats the next day,

but the passenger got on the coach, so that was last time I did it.

-Easter time.

-This is a bit above and beyond, isn't it?

-It is. Yes.

Why did you miss the coach?

THEY LAUGH

-You weren't in the pub, were you?

-We went to the pub.

-Yeah.

We went to the pub for about five hours. Time just flew by.

-You'd rather sit in the pub than get your coach.

-Yeah.

You're lucky there is a seat.

Everything is full tonight, but we found two seats.

Do you know what, you are the best employee we've found so far.

-You're not going to miss this, are you?

-For you, no.

-You need to go to...

-We're going to pop to the pub for one...

-Ssh.

No. No pub. No pub, all right?

-Gate six.

-Gate six.

Rodney! Rodney! Rodney!

Rodney!

Well, we basically missed our bus

and then good old Rodders got us on the next bus.

Literally, what a legend.

Ouch, that's it. Totally shattered.

I've lost my voice, I can hardly walk.

Different nights bring different problems for Hayley.

Young man?

Hello, come on. Wake up.

Do you have a ticket to travel?

Have you been drinking?

-Yeah.

-You have? Let's have a look.

Ticket for my seat, that.

Don't fall asleep.

Come on, wake up. Hello.

What's happening?

You're falling asleep on your legs.

SHE LAUGHS

OK, I think you need to leave the station.

Come on.

It does concern me how some of them get from A to B sometimes.

Thank you.

Either high, drunk,

or some people are so medicated,

self medicated on something.

See this line?

Anything on that side fine. OK?

Whose is all this?

Ski season is an especially busy time.

Can't be blocking the walkway, OK?

This all can't stay here.

Whose bags are these? Hello?!

Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention?

These bags need to be moved to the side. You're blocking the walkway.

This is what happens when you try

and get 35 ski reps with luggage into a bus station.

Absolute bedlam.

This is the gentle chaos that happens every year,

that befalls Victoria bus station called "main event".

It's really, really cheap. It's like £500 in total.

-INTERVIEWER: Is that good?

-That's really good, for skiing.

Skiing is usually, like, a grand.

Guys! Hello!

Can you just move in off the walkway a little bit,

so people can pass you, yeah?

The arrivals hall closes at midnight,

but some people have nowhere else to go.

Hello, gents. I saw you both yesterday.

You need to leave the station, OK?

You know you can't stay here tonight.

OK? You need to get rid of the alcohol if you're staying here, OK?

-I'll drink it quick.

-OK. Quickly.

I'll be back in five.

-INTERVIEWER:

-What's your attitude towards the homeless?

She wasn't homeless.

-She's not homeless.

-Oh!

No, no. She's just in here having a drink.

SHE LAUGHS

Knocking it back.

You wouldn't like to be out here for one night, let alone years,

and weeks and all sorts.

You wouldn't like it for one night, even.

-WOMAN: No.

-No, it's scary.

When the coach station's arrivals hall closes,

many of the rough sleepers move down the road to the bus station,

where Niall Finlayson has just started his night shift.

-Our bus, please?

-Top of this road, turn to your left. N11.

-N11?

-That's it.

He's one of our... He's a homeless, but he's harmless.

He sits in the corner, stay warm. Don't hear anything from him.

And, come the morning, they'll move him on. But he's no harm.

To me, he's no harm to anybody. So, why upset him?

Just leave him as he is.

And this is probably the only place they can get to stay warm and dry.

And that's where they want to be.

And he'll cuddle up there.

He's not hurting anybody.

I've been with Transport for London, now, 26 years.

And I did ten years permanent nights as ticket inspector,

so night duty to me is just something I've enjoyed doing.

'I quite enjoy the night duty, cos you can help people more,

'because you've got to think on your feet how to get people home.'

Mate, where do you need to get to?

Hello, mate.

-Where have you got to get to?

-I don't know, mate.

Where do you live?

I live in...

SPEECH IS INDISTINCT

I think I'm going to London.

When I first joined Transport for London I thought it was

usual to see people in this state,

but after 26 years,

it's just an everyday occurrence.

'Anything and everything happens here, because we don't shut.

'24/7.'

Hello!

Have you been drinking? Hello!

Come on.

As you can see, it's drink or drugs.

To me, it looks more like drugs than drink.

SIRENS BLARE

Oh! Oh! Victoria at its finest.

'Quarter to four and Victoria is now

'probably as quiet as you're going to see it.'

Monday morning, you'll have, oh...

..200 to 300 people every 20 seconds

coming straight away through the station. Mass footfall.

At the moment, you look out the window and there's one person

with his suitcase and his guitar walking towards the train station.

That's it.

It's quiet, which is nice.

All safe at Victoria.

With a predicted one million more people expected to

settle in London in the next decade,

all the coach station can do is rely on its staff to keep things moving.

Hello, darling. Are you all right? Number two.

The coach station's a bit of what we might call a peculiar,

because it's an odd thing. There's nothing else.

It's something in its own.

Some people who I think, like me,

have got the coach bug, so to speak.

Number nine, please! Number nine!

I gave you 7.30, just making sure.

INTERVIEWER: Do you enjoy your job?

Oh, I wouldn't be here for nearly 20 years if I didn't.

It gets hard. Sometimes it's hard.

-Why is it hard?

-It's not always easy.

Well, joys of working with public, of course.

You've got to be an outgoing personality here.

You've got to have that to deal with the customers.

-Can you get me back to Gatwick?

-Gatwick.

There's... Yes, you can.

Do you know how much I love you, babe?

SHE LAUGHS

-You're a gorgeous little thing. Thanks, baby.

-You're welcome.

That was good, wasn't it?

You know, it's almost like being married!

You too! You too! I mean, you sort of...

What it is, if you don't love it, you hate it.

But if you hate it, you wouldn't be here. It's not a love...

Happy marriage?

Er... It has its ups and downs, put it this way.

I had loads of ideas at one point to what to do with my life,

but in the end, it's the coach station.

Victoria Coach Station, London.

Ten years from now?

I'll be running the place.

SHE LAUGHS

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd