Stagecoach/Provincial > Reviews > Sit down and shut up

Author's product rating:   

Quality of Rooms	Average
Customer service	average
Frequency of bus / buses	Frequent
Value for money	Poor
Reliability	Average

Advantages:	They're not as bad as you think, fairly reliable, usually works
Disadvantages:	Some surly drivers, buses are powered by apathy and half - assedness

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

I'll be honest....I don't think Stagecoach is actually that bad. I know they've got one hell of a reputation, and yeah, some of it's true, but in my experience, they've never actually been monumentally awful. I mean, they get me from A to B, only occasionally detouring through point C whilst the driver's mind in somewhere at point D.

Above all, I feel sorry for the lowly Stagecoach driver. It can't be easy, weighing 15 stone, or being a transvestite, or, at the more minor end of the scale, old with a moustache. Certainly, Stagecoach drivers appear to be a highly eclectic bunch, and admittedly, you can get some who are more downright surely than Basil Fawlty, but very rarely do I get the impression that they see passengers as freight which they misguidedly decided to transport years ago, and regret having taken that decision.

They have a thankless job, given the nice, safe nature of our city, as regular readers of my stuff will note (recent headline in local newspaper - 'Gloucester less safe than third world cities). In the last month 2 drivers have been treatened at knife point, so I'm willing to excuse them if they don't approach me with all the love and joy of humanity.

The one thing that really annoys me about Stagecoach though, is its big corporation attitude. Whoever's in charge must think he's on a par with with the CEO of AOL or something, given the high and mighty way in which industrial disputes are settled. The drivers get paid a pittance, and the customers pay a fortune to use the buses. Surely there's room for compromise somewhere.

Stagecoach isn't a BAD company as such, it's just that it's done in such a half-assed way it's depressing. The buses are usually on time, although they have a mysterious belief that only 4 people catch the bus between 3.30 and 4.30, when every kid in Gloucester is trying to get home, which creates that nice 'cattle truck' mentality. The price is a tad steep, but at least the buses are fairly clean, I guess.

A little effort wouldn't go amiss though from management. If you've got Stagecoach in your area, good luck. It could be worse. It could be a hell of a lot better too, but you've gotta be grateful for small mercies.