Aggregated Meal Breaks, R706MJH remembers R2 days, 25th October 2015.
The R2 was a real pleasure to drive and was one of my favourites as it had plenty of running time so was naturally suitable for a gentle pace. It also was dutied for the drivers to have aggregated stand time which meant with a good 20 to 30 minutes stand time on most journey's on arrival at Petts Wood the gentle pace plus plenty of stand time meant that although there was no meal break as such the accumulated stand time meant there was always time for a hot cuppa coffee and a sandwich. This was an inherent trait that was a Crystals Coaches way of doing things which Tellings Golden Miller continued. Indeed we were still on Crystals wages and duties. When route R8 was created as part of the R2 tender the aggregated meal breaks were stopped and the duties made like a modern bus company as apposed to an old style enterprise that approached bus operations in a slightly less ethical way. I was quite keen on how the Crystals duties were set out because they gave me time to interact with passengers and smile and enjoy the job. Late turns on the R2 were great fun and I missed the interaction with passengers when the Varios were replaced by dual doored Caetanos. Although the latter were most pleasant to drive, the R2 never felt the same since.
Seen here on the old aggregated meal break stand at Station Square, Petts Wood is preserved Vario 706 R706MJH.
Photo ( c ) Tom G.2015.
Aggregated Meal Breaks, R706MJH remembers R2 days, 25th October 2015.
The R2 was a real pleasure to drive and was one of my favourites as it had plenty of running time so was naturally suitable for a gentle pace. It also was dutied for the drivers to have aggregated stand time which meant with a good 20 to 30 minutes stand time on most journey's on arrival at Petts Wood the gentle pace plus plenty of stand time meant that although there was no meal break as such the accumulated stand time meant there was always time for a hot cuppa coffee and a sandwich. This was an inherent trait that was a Crystals Coaches way of doing things which Tellings Golden Miller continued. Indeed we were still on Crystals wages and duties. When route R8 was created as part of the R2 tender the aggregated meal breaks were stopped and the duties made like a modern bus company as apposed to an old style enterprise that approached bus operations in a slightly less ethical way. I was quite keen on how the Crystals duties were set out because they gave me time to interact with passengers and smile and enjoy the job. Late turns on the R2 were great fun and I missed the interaction with passengers when the Varios were replaced by dual doored Caetanos. Although the latter were most pleasant to drive, the R2 never felt the same since.
Seen here on the old aggregated meal break stand at Station Square, Petts Wood is preserved Vario 706 R706MJH.
Photo ( c ) Tom G.2015.