Are single jobs / trolley jobs the jobs to for nowadays ?

[Mr Rush]

We don't have any HCT duties so solo van duty + LWT is the dream but I'd need at least another 10 years service to get and hold one. I don't think it's a coincidence all the old crewbus drivers fled to the solo duties when P&L came in.

After that we still had quite a few duties going semi-solo using the pouch boxes which I loved - a decent compromise (even encouraged by the planners who recognised looping is a huge inefficiency). Unfortunately that's not really possible anymore between the lack of space in boxes for packets and the lack of standing boxes.

[SMS1969]

Single van job is the dream like others say.

-Can do the job exactly how you want to do it.
-Can work at your own desired pace.
-Nobody to annoy you.
-Nobody to wait for and nobody to make you go faster.
-Need a toilet break - you can just drive off and do so.
-Hungry? - just drive to the nearest shop.
-You never have to worry about working with new people that don't know where they are going.

HCT - if it's peeing down all day you are going to get drenched. At least with a van you can somewhat dry off, easily change into another coat/jacket, let the brief heavy downpours pass, and can go to and from the office in the dry.

Yes, all of the above makes my single duty all the more enjoyable- well if you can enjoy this job that is.

[Perseus]

Single duties in ours, by and large, have escaped any sort of revision over the past decade easily. Most get a maximum of 30-40 tracked a day too. Compare that to shared vans that average 150-200 tracked every day. So it's not hard to see why they are coveted.

[TooManyLoops]

I'm a single duty, my experience is,

Cons:

You have nobody to chat to

You have to do everything, you can't say, you do this loop, and I'll nip off and clear the SDs, or you load the bags and I'll grab the packets etc

You have to prep all the D2Ds

Pros:

Not having a lazy partner

My duty is 740 new build drops, average 70 Tracked

[Perseus]

I'm a single duty, my experience is,

Cons:

You have nobody to chat to

You have to do everything, you can't say, you do this loop, and I'll nip off and clear the SDs, or you load the bags and I'll grab the packets etc

You have to prep all the D2Ds

Pros:

Not having a lazy partner

My duty is 740 new build drops, average 70 Tracked

I'd actually call those 2 'pros'. Nothing worse than *thinking* that your van share partner will be at a certain point so that you can do the things you suggest, but they got held up. If you are van sharing with a new entrant you are basically having to do a hell of a lot of extra thinking/planning for them too. Door to doors - I wouldn't have it any other way than doing all of them - at least you know they have been done.

[Mr Rush]

I'd add a pro to P&L from a purely indoor perspective: a senior colleague gave up a solo duty about ten years ago and everyone thought he was nuts. As he explained to me, he wanted backup when it came to telling management there was no time for lapsing. The repeated arguments were taking a real toll on him.

[krussel]

I ve done both single van and HCT and both have their pro's and cons.

Prob the single van is the best as you can spread the workload over the heavy days and sometimes use a LWT. The down side is over weight parcels which are rising despite the super hubs. Having to check and re fuel the van when someone has spanked it on afternoon SA. Breakdowns and having to drive the van to the workshop for repairs.

The HCT routes are tougher walking and if you loop you have to carry a bag. No where to pee or take a break. Trying to pick up small 0.5kg parcels which turn out to be four all massive size. However less parcels is a bonus and you cannot get asked by the Com to go and pick this up or drop someone off on your way out. I am not sure spending so long out on your own helps your mental health much.

I ve tried shared routes and they are fine if you work with a regular. It all goes wrong when they are on hols or go sick and you end up carrying someone.

At the end of the day i dont think any of the above are easy jobs.