How many coach drivers does it take to change a wheel?
Four !
Two to do the donkey work, one to stand around pretending to do something and pose for the camera, and one to record the event for posterity (and supervise the work being carried out). 
You can see the drivers bunk window that’s been mentioned already.
Any pics of the bunk area? You can access this while the coach is moving? Just interested really.
Club cantabrica coach or x one of em anyway
My mate once got a job with a coach firm who occasionally went abroad. He was told he would be going to France with another driver and the boss . He thought it would be great to get some experience abroad so was well up for it until he realised he didn’t have a passport.
Told the boss who said dont worry they never check anyway lol and he would sort it out when they got to dover and drive if necessary and send him home.
Anyway they got to dover and got waved straight on, no checks nothing.
It was on the way back that it became a real problem as they got stopped and checked by immigration lol. When he was asked where his passport was he said he must have left it at home pmsl.
Border people did some checks and couldnt find it on the system and then he said it must have expired. They said that would explain why it wasnt showing.
They let him through in the end as he had a load of school kids but the border guy said he could have faced some serious penalties if they had decided to follow it up. Was a very lucky boy.
He did say the company were quite strict with tachos etc just not too fussed about him being an illegal immigrant lmao
bazza123:
You can access this while the coach is moving? Just interested really.
Yes, normally the access is from the emergency exit stair case.
1 of the coaches I used to drive had a central offside emergency stair case, as you went down it, the toilet was on the left, the entrance to the drivers bunk was on the right 
waynedl:
bazza123:
You can access this while the coach is moving? Just interested really.Yes, normally the access is from the emergency exit stair case.
1 of the coaches I used to drive had a central offside emergency stair case, as you went down it, the toilet was on the left, the entrance to the drivers bunk was on the right
thing is there’s more room in the toilet!
bertiebus:
waynedl:
bazza123:
You can access this while the coach is moving? Just interested really.Yes, normally the access is from the emergency exit stair case.
1 of the coaches I used to drive had a central offside emergency stair case, as you went down it, the toilet was on the left, the entrance to the drivers bunk was on the right
thing is there’s more room in the toilet!
Yeah, it was like climbing into a coffin, I never used it, had a look and decided I’d rather kick a load of kids off the back seat 
How many people does it take to fix a broken down coach on the side of a French motorway?
Four !
Two French motorway workers to shine a light and offer advice.
One student off the coach who can speak some basic French and can look up the word for driveshaft in a French dictionary.
One mechanic, working on the engine while puffing on a Gauloise.
At the height of summer, before low cost airlines knackered the industry, you could have six or seven coaches heading in convoy down to resorts in the Med four times a week.
bazza123:
Any pics of the bunk area? You can access this while the coach is moving? Just interested really.
On nearly all our coaches, the bunks were big enough to sleep two people. Often, the hostess would jump in with the driver on break (hope my wife doesn’t read this) to get a few hours rest herself, sleeping top to tail. All bunks could be accessed from inside the coach, plus an emergency flap door to the outside.
However, there was one vehicle on our fleet where the bunk was literally a coffin. About twelve inches seperated my nose from the bunk ceiling. I’m slim so could fit in, but the more ‘generously proportioned’ drivers could only poke their head in and dream about getting some kip in there.
“Hello love, room for two small ones in your little bed?”
citycat:
How many coach drivers does it take to change a wheel?Four !
Two to do the donkey work, one to stand around pretending to do something and pose for the camera, and one to record the event for posterity (and supervise the work being carried out).
You can see the drivers bunk window that’s been mentioned already.
Hi Citycat,
A lad called Phil Robinson drove for
Club Cantabrica in 1988.
Cheers Malc.
While we’re talking about bunks, my wife is a flight attendant (air hostess for you older blokes), and her airline operates Boeing 777’s with four bunks downstairs in the lower part of the tail, similar to those you’d find on a navy ship, with reading lamps, duvet and curtains that you pull across so they can get some kip on their break as they cross the Atlantic.
I thought the bunks were quite cosy really.Always had a furious sleep Some even had
a small radiator.Worst was a Neoplan Cityliner front bunk,you had to be an acrobat to get in,and only just enough room to turn over.Best was a Merc 0303,enough room to sit up for a read,and…a radio!!!
Im confused by this 30 hours to Austria malarkey.
It only took us 26 hours from Stafford to Lloret, Spain back in 1988 1083miles with plenty of stops, and a seriously long connection in London.
Ludlow to Saltzburg is 970 miles, and Google maps reckons 15 hours driving time including ferry!!
citycat:
How many people does it take to fix a broken down coach on the side of a French motorway?Four !
Two French motorway workers to shine a light and offer advice.
One student off the coach who can speak some basic French and can look up the word for driveshaft in a French dictionary.
One mechanic, working on the engine while puffing on a Gauloise.
Didn’t know Fred Dibnah did vehicle repairs 
Crikey not much room in there…
Re the 777 bunk spaces, I wonder if its true what the say about cabin crew and pilots (Your good lady excepted of course)…
This has been quite a comical thread, but all the time I was waiting for someone to mention the famous court case, coach drivers travelling as passengers and than taking over for a full shift, or driving their own cars to Dover and swap them for coaches. 
I do remember going to France on a coach and our driver shared the little bunk space with the young French teacher
Re the 777 bunk spaces, I wonder if its true what the say about cabin crew and pilots (Your good lady excepted of course)…
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At my wife’s airline, they have three pilots on board, and they take their two hour break in a First class seat that is allocated to them so they can be near to the cockpit in case of an emergency. On a 7 hour flight to Washington, each pilot only works four and a bit hours. That’s not a bad shift. As it is an American airline, there are normally two Sky Marshalls on board too. I won’t say where they sit, but they are normally recognised from their crew cuts and ex Navy Seal demeanor. If there are any ‘goings on’ between pilots and crew, it won’t take place on the aircraft where all the crew would know about it. It would probably take place at the layover hotel. My wife and I have a ‘good’ marriage so I don’t worry.
Regarding coach bunks, there were definitely some goings on between drivers and hostesses or passengers. The bunk was up the very back of the coach near the toilet and down two stairs, so people could slip in and out without passengers noticing. It was known as joining the 100K Club. Doing the business at 62MPH. It was normally the younger blokes who got lucky, though it didn’t stop the older, more portly drivers with nicotine stained fingers and missing teeth from having a go at trying to chat up the twenty something hostess. Before I met my wife (and she knows the story), I joined the 100K Club on the M6 southbound going through Birmingham. I could see the Dunlop factory through the bunk window mid shag. Not the most romantic view while getting it on in the bunk 
And the traffic through Birmingham was clear for once so it actually was 100KPH !
bald bloke:
My Daughter went to Barcelona or rather half hour out the other side and they did do it in about 23 hours but she seemed to think it was one driver to Dover then 2 different ones got on and the first driver disappeared.
She’s off to South bloody Africa next year how times change i went to the Brecons.
That’s exactly what happens,my daughters of to barca with school so asked my neighbour whos a euro coach driver 1st driver will take coach down on his own and 2 down there will replace him have his time off and bring one back up that’s just come back over
The coach firms block book rooms in local hotels for drivers taking there hrs off
