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news
McGill's bus in Glasgow (licensed CC BY-ND 2.0 by Eddie on Flickr)Bus driver who harassed Glasgow cyclists sent for retraining
A bus driver who harassed a pair of cyclists in Glasgow by driving close to them while repeatedly beeping his horn has been sent for remedial training by the company he works for.
Operator McGill’s buses wrote to one of the cyclists, Andrew Wand, to inform him of the action it had taken after he complained to the company following the incident on Dumbarton Road in Partick last month, reports the Glasgow Times.
https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/18826439.dumbarton-road-mcgills-sorr...
Speaking after the incident happened, Mr Wand said: “I’ve been cycling around the West End for about five years and I’ve never, ever had anything like this.
“Occasionally, there will be a car who honks their horn but never like this.”
“I take my daughter a cycle every day to school and back and it’s nerve-wracking.
“There aren’t nearly enough cycle-friendly spaces – especially with a 10-year-old – so I hope it continues to get better.”
Now, the bus firm says that the driver had been sent back to its training academy to receive further training on the need to ensure the safety of all road users, including cyclists.
The Greenock-based company also apologised to Mr Wand for the driver’s behaviour.
In the letter, it said: “At McGill’s, our drivers are trained to respect the rights of all road users and I apologise that this is not what you had experienced.
“Due to the nature of this incident, this driver was returned to our Training Academy for further remedial training where our training managers discuss and teach all drivers the importance of the safety to other road users and cyclists; especially when buses are overtaking cyclists who are more exposed and vulnerable.
“On behalf of McGill’s Buses I would like to pass on our sincerest apologies for the upset this incident may have caused both you and your friend.
“Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and allowing us the opportunity to investigate the matter accordingly,” it added.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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10 comments
It seems to be hard wired into Stagecoach drivers to bully cyclists. I've had loads of run ins with them, usually with a punishment pass from them for having the nerve to ride on the road when there is a perfectly........shit cycle path next to me. To be fair to Stagecoach, when I complain to them they seem to take it seriously, and I have had some positive conversations with one of their regional managers.
To be fair, I've had some good reposnses to my reports to transport operators. One was from a small coach company in Bath where the CEO got in touch to apologise and explain what the company would do, and the other was Tower Hamlets council who sent thier driver to be retrained after making a very dodgy pass when I was riding on CS2 near Bow.
Hopefully this sort of thing is becoming more and more standard and incidents against cyclists are being taken more seriously by operators.
That was nice of them. Sounds like a company that actually takes this seriously.
* Sounds like a marketing team that actually takes their job seriously.
However as some companies can't even do, good on them.
Wow! Why can't all bus operators, trucking firms and delivery firms be like this. Well done McGill’s, and I hope your shining example will be followed by the rest.
I got one of those formula letters when I reported one of their drivers too. I can't help but suspect it's just a public relations response rather than factual though. Otherwise you'd surely expect their drivers to get better (mine was a year ago)
I've a folder of these letters from McGills over the years. It's a PR stunt as it hit The Times!! Basically I'm told the driver has had a chat. The classic was that they are instructed to allow 'wriggle room'. Which covers 6 inches to 6 feet apparently! Their behaviour improves for a while then deteriorates. On one occasion I was forced off the road on several occasions because the driver didn't like me taking primary to pass illegally parked vehicles. The list of their exploits is endless. I've found that the Inchinnen depot has the better drivers in regards to interaction with cyclists. Maybe due to their being on popular cycle routes? I'll leave you with this one where from a #38 For clarity the lane on left is actually a lay-by and I wasn't further out due to the road all cut up in the middle of the lane. Ironically he stopped at the stop a hundred yards up the road and I was doing about 20!
30 November 2018
https://youtu.be/leB6hsEFcZs
Interesting, so this could be just the equivalent of greenwash. Have the local cycle campaign groups taken this on and pressed for proof of this retraining?
Pretty much! I doubt anyone would have been aware if it hadn't have landed in the laps of the Glasgow Times!! It's the standard spin I get - that the welfare of the vulnerable road user is paramount. This may be the official line but a lot of the drivers seem to have missed that particular lesson when at the driving academy!! Not sure if any local body has picked this one up but am sure that they will get the usual data protection flannel when asked for evidence regarding 'retraining'. I know I may come across cynical regarding this particular company, sadly though they have no consistency across their fleet. Meanwhile First Bus in Glasgow is actually pretty good!
The "!" key is stuck.