Ride 'em cowboy

[caddyman]

Being a little late leaving the house this morning, we jumped on the 86 bus on the High Road as a precaution. I think we could have made the trip to the station on foot, but just to be safe, the bus was handily coming up as we passed the stop, so we caught it.

I don’t know whether it was a mechanical thing, or just some idiosyncrasy in the driver’s technique, but there were some mournful and distressing sounds emanating from the bowels of the bus’s engine. Imagine the tones from Close Encounters of the Third Kind being played on the tuba by an untutored asthmatic and you’ll have the feel of it.

The ride was as smooth as it ever is on a London bus, with their rodeo trained Bronco Billy drivers (the sort who accelerate to a stop and take corners in fourth with their foot down), but something mechanical somewhere wasn’t enjoying itself.

Comments

[changeling72.livejournal.com]

I'm convinced London bus drivers run a book on how many passengers they can send flying each day. They particularly like braking when one's descending the stairs from the upper deck.

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

They are a sadistic bunch, it is true!

[bluesman.livejournal.com]

Didn't they phase out all the old Routemaster buses? I thought the current buses were new?

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

New compared with the old Routemasters. They are supposed to be getting a modern version of it at some point.

Anyway, whatever the age of the bus, it doesn't change the Bronco Billy style of driving adopted by the staff, so you get thrown all over the place in a newer bus, is all!