Meet Darcy, Your Friendly Gold Coast Tram Driver

[@peregrinemccauley5010]

' Tramp ' . A noun , which describes a person who goes place to place on a tram .

[@angeloangelides713]

Darcy an amazing guy and a skilled tram driver. Keep up the great work G Link and Darcy

[@tressteleg1]

Thanks for that. I will send your comment on to him 😊

[@adammurphy6845]

Great stuff! Darcy seems very friendly!

[@tressteleg1]

He sure is!

[@scottyerkes1867]

Darcy Drive is perfect. Thanks Tressteleg1.😀💚👌

[@IHonestlyDontKnowNow]

he seems very friendly

[@tressteleg1]

Yes, gentlemanly and friendly. And quite a tram fan.

[@calvinliu6304]

Nice one mate

[@tressteleg1]

😊👍

[@Roadrunnerz45]

turning the gear level like he does must be how the driver safety device is operated. seems to be much easier on the hands perhaps than others? rsi injuries may be common on the citadis sydney, that one seems to be overly sensitive. if only they could take feedback from drivers before designing these systems.

[@tressteleg1]

I decided to ask Darcy for the real facts, and this is what he just now said: “I can imagine the thumb movement vigilance on the Citadis would be prone to RSI issues. For the GC Flexitys, the vigilance needs downward pressure applied to the handle of the controller. The handle rotates freely for driver comfort but the rotating movement doesn’t satisfy the vigilance system, only downward pressure does. The handle spinning you can see in the video is just fidgeting.”

[@Roadrunnerz45]

@@tressteleg1 thanks for that appreciated.

[@tressteleg1]

@@Roadrunnerz45 Your appreciation has been forwarded on to Darcy. I also learnt from his response.

[@voltare2amstereo]

hear the local dialect there at the start

[@tressteleg1]

I did not listen to it with headphones but the accents did not sound Australian. Darcy did check it with headphones and described the conversation as 'colourful'.

[@Sydneyferries.]

nice

[@tressteleg1]

😊👍

[@yolo-tk7jd]

Please do Victorian train/ tram driver!

[@tressteleg1]

Unfortunately Yarra and Metro are not necessarily the nicest people to work for, so I always make sure that the driver of any tram I video cannot be identified in case they want to be vindictive about something recorded. Consequently the chances of anyone being happy to be videoed is minimal but there is one guy who may agree next time I head south. Maybe we will be lucky.

[@kdpt8376]

​@@tressteleg1 It would be great to film with Bruce Whalley, Melbourne’s Happiest Tram Driver :)

[@tressteleg1]

I guess you saw my reply to yolo. Either way, I don’t know Bruce.

[@McArg_]

how does he not go mad with the announcements?

[@tressteleg1]

I will check but I believe the glass wall behind him keeps out 90% of the noise. Too bad for us passengers, especially on rotten tram 10 which is deafening.

[@vsvnrg3263]

5:30, darcy is leaning forward to study the screen. bad cab design. the screens need to be bigger and.or installed closer to the driver so driving is easier. other options the designers should consider is bigger buttons and more screens so button pushing is easier.

[@tressteleg1]

I will see what he says about this.

[@tressteleg1]

His response: Leaning forward doesn’t bother me at all. Apparently it can even be beneficial for ergonomics as it stretches your back, as long as you don’t move in an awkward manner. Don’t think the screens could be much closer or even short drivers would be hitting their knees on them! The seat can be moved forward but I prefer it as far back as it goes as I have longer legs. Don’t think the screens could be much bigger either… after all I do have to see out the windscreen when I’m driving! Overall I think our cab setup is pretty standard compared to all the modern trams/trains that I have seen. If anything I get the impression that trains generally have buttons and screens further away due to the larger cab and more controls than our trams.

[@vsvnrg3263]

@@tressteleg1 , well, the man in the seat is satisfied. if it was my tram i would be changing things. it is not appropriate to stretch to reach controls or take your eyes off the road for more than the blink of an eye when driving a car. but its not my tram and a tram is not my car.

[@tressteleg1]

As you saw, drivers get relieved outside the depot. What you did not see is the first thing they do before moving is to set the seat how they like it. Up or down, back or front. As for leaning forward to check the screens, the only time the driver needs to look away from the windscreen is to glance at the speedo which is showing rather prominently on these trams. If you want a true ergonomic failure, look at any Melbourne W class tram. If you could stand up all day, no great problem. But if you need to rest and sit down for awhile, your legs dangled off the end of the seat which was too high. The I nside dome from the headlight was polished bright silver from all the drivers jamming their feet in there trying to create a footrest. I stood until my legs ached, sat until my back ached, then stood up again. Horrible. All modern trams are first class luxury compared with those Ws. Don’t count the current W8 class as these have been updated, around 100 years too late.

[@vsvnrg3263]

@@tressteleg1 , oh yes, how true about the older trams. to the extreme of this was the great western railway company who refused to provide weather protection of any kind for their steam engine drivers. i regard it as evidence of discrimination against the working class. just the other day i watched a video mentioning how this lack of protection was a big killer of engine crew in uk. australian government railways werent trying hard enough either.

[@stepfordclass730]

How does he know you?

[@tressteleg1]

He saw me taking video of this tram but did not contact me in til he saw the video. We had met some years earlier when he was doing a PR job at a model train show. Unloading New Gold Coast Tram 21 kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4XGZGOVdq9snNk