Hosby Traffic Safety- Red Rocket Number 103

Practically everyone living in Hosby has a story to tell about how unsafe Arriva buses are operated on our roads. Personally, I've boarded the bus at the intersection of Hosby Langgade and Grønvej, sat in the front passenger seat and witnessed the speedometer register 70 k/t. Others have told me about seeing a bus round the bend in front of the pond on Hosby Langgade and have to brake very heavily to avoid a collision with a large truck coming the other direction. Another relayed a story about having to do an emergency stop to avoid being hit by a bus which was unable to stop to avoid a parked car and was in her lane, coming directly at her.

The simple fact is that Arriva's Red Rocket/Bus Number 103 zooms from Juelsminde to Horsens, and from Horsens to Juelsminde each direction, each hour.

Apparently the driver's believe that one (or all of) these are true:

1. The speed limit in Hosby (and Overby) is 80 k/t, or
2. Hosby is really part of a race track, or
3. Bus drivers have a license which allows them to drive whatever speed they wish, or
4. A driver must drive as fast as is needed to stay on schedule--no matter what!

The following is the story of how "the system" tries to wear down the user before it has to actually solve the problem:

On 3 August 2004 I followed Bus Number 103 on Grønvej and found its speed to be 60 or 61 k/t. I called Vejle Amts Trafikselskab (7582 9766), told "Bent" what had happened and he said I'd have to call the "bus company" to lodge any complaint about excessive speeds. He provided me with the number for Mette Thygesen (tlf: 7023 4244), at Arriva. [That counts as the first shuffle of the Bureaucratic Tango--The Amt's disclaiming responsibility or authority to right the situation, and throwing the case to some other desk.]

I called Ms. Thygesen on 4 August. I told her my complaint, she asked that I put it in writing and provided an email address (Mette.Thygesen@arriva.dk).

I sent a too long email on 5 August, and received no reply. Much of that email is quoted here.

I sent another email on 1 Sep 2004--and again, received no reply. It is included here, in full.

By 8 Sep 04 it was obvious I was not going to receive any reply. I remained frustrated that not all drivers were holding to the 40 k/t limit and that I was being ignored. So, I called Mette Thygesen office. "Lisa" (answered the phone) and said that Ms Thygesen would not be in until the next day. So, on Tuesday I called again and this time "Lisa" told me Ms Thygesen that she would be in the office until Friday. I asked if Ms Thygesen were sick (or what), since I had been told on Monday to call on Tuesday. Lisa then asked me what my call was about. I told her that I had sent Ms Thygesen two emails on the subject of bus speeds in Hosby, and received no reply. Lisa said she was aware of both of those emails and that the case had been transferred to Rita Pedersen (7230 2923) also of Arriva. It seems that Ms Thygesen is the chief of the economics department, and Ms Pedersen the chief of Arriva's bus department. [Bureaucratic Tango--shuffle to a different desk number two. But I have to ask: Why didn't Ms Thygesen give me the name and number of the right person to handle the problem in the first place? And: Why doesn't Vejle Amts Trafikselskab's "Bent" didn't have a correct list of who was in charge of buses at Arriva! ]

On 9 Sep 04 I called and talked with Rita Pedersen. She said she was unaware of the case, had not been given the information by Ms Thygsen and had not received either of my two emails from her. I gave her a very brief outline of our problem and told her I would forward copies of my complaint and follow-up that day, in email (to Mette.Thygesen@arriva.dk).

Interestingly, in that talk Ms Pedersen she said that she would have to forward the information to Connex since they are the company under contract to provide drivers. [Tango Shuffle number three.]

While I had her on the phone I asked her if the contract between Arriva and Connex required the drivers to follow the law OR to stay on schedule without regard to speed limits or vehicle safety--she assured me that drivers were required to drive safely and according to posted speed limits.

Unfortunately, as of this moment (10 Sep 2004) I've yet to receive a reply from Arriva and it appears (from here) they don't care how fast buses zip through Hosby (or Overby, Sejet, Glud and Snaptun). At least, they don't care enough to respond to a complaint.

Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way. Maybe I should be sending messages to the Juelsminde Kommune, Vejle Amt and Vejle Amts Trafikselskab. Surely there is someone in the Amt, its Trafikselskab or the Kommune whose job it is to make sure the contracts they write with commercial bus firms are fulfilled in accordance with the terms of the contract. And, I certainly hope that if bus drivers continue to break the law that there will be legal resource against Arriva and Connex as companies, and the drivers as individuals.

Today (14 Sep 2004) I learned that Arriva Danmark is part of a much larger Arriva. In fact it is an international company based in the UK. I wrote them a short note explaining the difficulty I'm having with getting any response out of their Danish subsidiary. Hopefully I hear something about the company's stance on both holding to schedules, and doing it within the law.

On the other hand, maybe a message to the Police in Horsens is the way to solve this long standing, and continuing problem.