angry 185 bus driver - the sequel? (Lounged)

[hellosailor]

I am so sick of the 185 bus driver who is legendary in these parts for having, shall we say, 'anger management issues' and finds a way to be unpleasant or rude to every new passenger to booard the bus (that is, when he actually allows them to board the bus as I have seen him deny people boarding for many spurious reasons!) that I have taken the step of contacting bus complaints today. I was in a real rush this morning to get to a hospital appointment and had to go through the usual rigmorole of him calling me back after showing him my one day bus pass (not flashing it but holding it up to the glass for a good few seconds as I know better than to flash it with him) and then having him insist I pass it through to him to turn over and over in his hands like he's examining a freshly discovered architectural artefact and then HOLDING IT UP TO THE LIGHT for about 30 seconds as if it was a forged banknote!

[KalamityKel]

Bet you would have been equally annoyed if someone boarded the bus with a dodgy pass and got away with it what with bus fares being quite extortionate, you having a bothered to have purchased your ticket and all...

[Gimme]

How could you get annoyed at someone boarding a bus with a dodgy pass and getting away with it???

You wouldn't know about it. What a daft thing to say!

Bus drivers shouldn't be treating people like potential criminals.

In fact, they should just get on with driving their buses safely and avoiding ridiculous manoeuvers round corners that send their passengers flying all over the place.

I don't give a hoot about whether a few people are getting away with dodging their fares. They'll get their comeuppance one day. When I get on a bus, all I want to do is get on and get to my destination as quickly as possible without total muppets intruding on that simple process.

More power to you and your complaints about aggressive or unpleasant bus drivers HelloSailor.

[KalamityKel]

Gimme... try being a bus driver I think you'll find it is A LOT more difficult that what you are making out to be.

I really fail to understand what the complaint is here other than the driver was doing his job and just happened to make one passenger out of the many of thousands who commute every day feel embarrassed. OH DEAR!

[Keef]

Come on Kel, if you'd been the OP, and if that is what happened, you'd be a bit hacked off. I have never seen a driver hold a ticket up to the light, what is that about, do they have water marks these days? :-S

That said, yes being a bus driver, and dealing with all the crap they do, must be a bit rubbish at times!

[Speccylecci]

We all have rubbish to deal with our jobs, but I would be sacked if I spoke to people or dealt with them in the way he does.

[Keef]

How does he speak to people exactly?

[alex]

But it sounds like this guy was clearly making a big performance out of examining the bus pass. Why does it take 30 seconds to decide whether a bus pass is genuine?

Some - not all - bus drivers in London do like to go on a power trip sometimes. I've experienced extreme arrogance from them on a number of occasions.

[KalamityKel]

They do have the right to refuse a passenger if they feel it necessary... it's nothing to do with the ridiculous "power trip" idea.

I don't get it, I really dont - people moan that others get away with murder (practically in the literal sense) and yet complain when others try to do something about it (whether you think it is a justified action ore not)

[paulino]

I am sceptical that the bus driver held it up the light for about 30 seconds, as the OP says.

Are we seriously talking about holding it up for a full 30 seconds.....or just holding it up for two or three seconds?? let's clarify!

Yes, the bus may have taken a little longer to reach its final destination as a result, but i side with the other poster who has indicated that the bus driver is correct to be making sure that he is checking tickets. most people seem to have oyster these days, so if there is a small # of times that the driver needs to check paper tickets, then no problems.

for what it's worth, in my cash-strapped student days (when paper tickets were far more common), i used to be able to travel around on my one-week bus pass for months at a time before i ever felt compelled to change it. maybe one or two times that a driver ever caught me out and wouldn't let me board. think how much revenue is lost in situations like this, or non payment on bendy buses, and think how this in turn impacts the rising ticket prices, shoddy services, reduction in frequencies, etc, etc that we all whinge about.

[Mark]

I've seen this driver do exactly that however I would say that the call back, take card, examine card, give back card (no smile or thank you) takes about 10 seconds, so with the two old dears in front of me that was, in my opinion, simply a waste of time. On that 10 minute journey from Forest Hill to Goose Green he also had two passengers argue with him. He doesn't come across as a nice chap.

[alex]

not a ridiculous idea at all - i've seen some quite unbelievable petulance from bus drivers on that route. i've got no problem with bus drivers turfing people off if they don't show a valid ticket but ... i do have an issue with behaviour such as turning the engine off because people haven't moved down the bus far enough (even though there's no more room to move down), driving past a stop for no reason where there are people waiting (and there's loads of room inside), being extremely rude to passengers who politely ask if the bus stops in a particular place... shall i go on? At times, some of them behave like spoilt children.

[KalamityKel]

On occassion where they are running late they "run light" (miss stops) to pick up time. Annoying as it is.

[Moos]

...because it's more important to keep to the schedule than for passengers actually to be able to complete their journeys? Isn't this backward thinking?

[sophiesofa]

i'm going off topic here (sorry admin) but there is nothing more annoying than when half way through an intended journey they change the destination. Which is not quite so bad when you have a bus pass or travel card but generally involves forking out for another ticket when you don't.

I once stood at London bridge station from 1am until 3.15am and watched about 4 No. 47 buses go past that weren't full and it was blooming snowing. I was so so peeved off and cursed myself for being too stingy to get a taxi.

[Salsie]

I have had this happen to me - holding it to the light etc etc - and even when he had inspected my valid weekly pass he turned the bus off and said i had to get of the bus (for no reason whatsoever) apart from not holding it up against the glass when I first boarded the bus.

[Keef]

...because it's more important to keep to the schedule than for passengers actually to be able to complete their journeys? Isn't this backward thinking?

Obviously this is rubbish, but it wouldn't surprise me if the drivers were told to do this. I also don't blame them one bit if they check tickets. If an inspector found you with an incorrect ticket, the driver gets in trouble from what I can gather.

[Siduhe]

sophiesofa Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> i'm going off topic here (sorry admin) but there

> is nothing more annoying than when half way

> through an intended journey they change the

> destination. Which is not quite so bad when you

> have a bus pass or travel card but generally

> involves forking out for another ticket when you

> don't.

You need to ask for a transfer ticket when this happens, which allows you to board the next bus. There is often a lot of reluctance to hand these out (for reasons that are never quite clear to me) but if you are polite and persistent you can normally get one.

[jollybaby]

I think I was on the bus with this driver yesterday - he turned off the engine at least 3 times on the journey between Victoria and ED

[Domitianus]

I think the whole point is not about whether drivers have the right to check tickets (of course they have!) but whether one particular driver is doing it excessively, vindictively and out of a bloody-minded bitterness against the world. Drivers are there to collect fares when appropriate and drive the bus. If one particular driver seems to enjoy hassling people, stopping the bus on the slightest pretext out of some type of power trip, driving like a loon etc, then he is not doing his job and is a liability to the employer.

If his behaviour was the norm expected from bus drivers then why do so many people seem to have singled this one person out as a particular problem? I think that if he is as bad as people say, then complaints are well in order.

[Zaardvark]

Hi - this guys is seriously and bizarrely rude. I have experienced it about 6 months ago from him when I was with my daughter and got on the 185 at victoria. The oyster reader failed to register my card and then as I dug in my pockets for change he told me that he could not accept payment as, in his words, "you need to buy a f***ing ticket before boarding at this stop" in a highly agressive manner. He then continued to abuse other passengers while I went and charged my oyster and the bus was still there when we got back - and then we found it was the oyster card that was broken not people's cards being empty but not one word of apology was forthcoming.

He is not a normal bus driver - I have never, ever seen a bus driver be so rude to passengers. He should not deal with customers. How come every other bus driver I have ever seen in my life was not so rude? Presumably their working lives are just as difficult?

Best

Z

[KalamityKel]

Dom indeed if that is the case and people should go and complain to the bus company instead of using this forum to bad mouth someone!

One thread, even two (I'm sure I've seen reference in other places) is more than enough must we really continue this line of moaning? If it bothers you (collective not singular)so much go do something about it!

**edited to add: there is mention of vindictivness from the driver... HELLO!!!!

[Zaardvark]

People have tried to complain to the bus company but it has been ignored. Beyond complaining to the bus company, what is there to be done?

Best

Z

[Domitianus]

keep complaining. or start an action group. "Disgruntled passengers against the c**t on the 185"?

[KalamityKel]

Yes very mature Dom