In the social space, it is not uncommon to see outrages against public transport and drivers who leave stops too early, slam doors in front of their faces or are simply late. Their representatives both in Vilnius and Beautiful, both Klaipėda assured that everything is monitored in real time and drivers are punished.
In some places, drivers are not penalized for being late, because the delay can be caused by many other circumstances for which the employee is not to blame.
However, not a single company tolerates leaving the station too early. However, the representatives pointed out that passengers often confuse a bus or trolleybus that left too early with a late one.
Drivers in Lithuania earn 1,2 thousand to 2,2 thousand. euros. Leaving too early is allowed 1 minute, too late - 3 minutes. If these limits are exceeded, their salary decreases to 40 euros each time.
Bus delays and departures too early
Greta Makūnaitė, public relations specialist of Kauno Buses, did not hide the fact that, although public transport must follow the schedule, it, like other road users, faces disruptions that cannot be predicted.
"It can be traffic jams at peak times, accidents, traffic incidents, street repair works, massive events and etc.
We ask passengers for understanding and, in such a situation, to assess the possible risks of delay and to choose an earlier departure time or another route," the interviewer said.
According to Gintaras Neniškis, director of the company "Klaipėdos keleivinis transportas", such reasons beyond the driver's control justify the delays.
"Vilnius public transportstated that a delay of up to 3 min. without justifiable reasons is a permissible error.
The representative of "Kaunos buses" also mentioned the fact that drivers cannot leave the stops too early. According to her, such situations rarely occur.
"Passengers often mistakenly think that the bus/trolley left too early, but in fact it left too late." For example, bus 37 is supposed to arrive at the Kaunas Castle stop at 8:30 a.m., but due to morning traffic jams, it arrives at 8:40 a.m. The next route 37 is scheduled to depart from the Kaunas Castle stop at 8:43.
The waiting passengers think that this bus left too early, but in fact it was running late. And the one who has to arrive at 8:43 has not arrived yet and it is likely that he will also be late for a similar period of time", G. Makūnaitė shared her insights.
This is also noticed by Greta Vasiliauskaitė, communication specialist of the company "Judu", which manages Vilnius public transport.
According to her, cases of rush are not justified: "Often, when examining passenger feedback, we notice that there are complaints about a bus or trolleybus that left too early, and in the end it turns out that a latecomer arrived at the stop, which should have arrived before public transport tool."
One of the transporters of the capital - the Transrevis company - also added that departures are too early and schedules do not match when the computers are not working.
For each case - 20-40 euros less salary
G. Neniškis stated that "Klaipėdas keluinnis transportas" is a passenger transport operator that hires carriers to service routes.
"Now we have contracts with 7 carriers. There are no excuses for driving too early, and delays of no more than 3 minutes are allowed.
Contractual sanctions are provided for carriers for these violations, which on average, if there is no systematicity, amount to 20 euros for each such case. "Sanctions for drivers are decided by the carriers carrying out passenger transport," said the director.
Transrevis, a company operating in Vilnius, mentioned that the driver is penalized only if he leaves too early - there is no penalty for being late. She revealed that it is the first time the driver is warned. If the cases are repeated, the daily bonus for good work is reduced by around 30-40 euros (Transrevis drivers earn 1200 to 1500 euros in hand):
"We have 10-20 such cases a month and it's not always the driver's fault."
Penalties are imposed on the drivers of "Vilnius Public Transport" based on the company's approved internal procedures.
According to the representatives, each case in which the driver may be fined for not following the schedule is assessed individually:
"It is worth noting that cases when a bus or trolleybus is late due to the fault of the driver are extremely rare. Delays are mostly related to the road situation, traffic jams, weather conditions, etc."
Can leave no more than 1 min. earlier
According to G. Vasiliauskaitė's interpretation, public transport passenger transportation service is provided by 3 carriers in Vilnius. And, since they hire the drivers, Judu does not impose penalties on the drivers.
Penalties for identified violations are imposed specifically on the carrier serving the route: "Penalties are imposed for deviation from the schedule due to unjustifiable circumstances, non-punctual departure of public transport from the initial stop of the route."
G. Makūnaitė stated that "Kaunos buses", as a carrier, must ensure that the transport leaves the stop on time.
She explained that the service is completed properly when the bus leaves the stop no more than 1 minute early.
"If the driver leaves too early, there may be disciplinary sanctions, a warning or a reduction in the variable part of the salary (drivers' salary: from 1200-2200 euros in hand).
When evaluating the total number of stops at stops and the frequency of arriving at the stop earlier in January of this year, it was found that only about 0,19 percent. the stop bus or trolleybus left earlier than scheduled," the spokeswoman explained.
And if the driver arrives later than planned, no penalty is applied.
How do you monitor whether drivers are on schedule?
The "Judu" communication specialist assured that when organizing public transport in Vilnius, the greatest attention is paid to the convenience of customers.
As well as the punctuality of public transport, which the three carriers providing public transport service in the capital undertake to ensure.
According to the representative's explanation, every public transport vehicle has built-in GPS equipment, which provides data on the movement of public transport (arrival at stops, etc.).
Received real public transport movement data goes to the system for public transport traffic control, management and accounting.
"We evaluate the received data and, after identifying tendencies regarding bus/trolley rushes and delays, we adjust public transport traffic schedules as needed.
Also, every public transport driver can see the stops on his route in real time on the on-board computer screen installed in the vehicle and information about whether he is in a hurry or late to arrive at the stop", commented G. Vasiliauskaitė.
"Vilnius Public Transport" emphasized that the movement of buses and trolleybuses is monitored by built-in navigation systems:
"Information about buses and trolleybuses enters the company's dispatch room in real time, whose specialists immediately contact the drivers in the event of deviations from the route."
The director of "Klaipėdos passenger transport" also indicated that each vehicle is equipped with specialized equipment that shows deviations: "The public transport coordinator monitors the situation in real time."
Author: Deimantė Buslevičiūtė, TV3.lt
