Horrendous behaviour by 176 bus driver

[Speccylecci]

On a happier note did anyone get on the bus the other morning with the driver who was saying good morning to everyone?

That fair cheered my day up guv'na.

[Applespider]

I'm obviously a freak. I always say good morning to the driver and nine times out of ten, they reply.

Unless it was an incredibly crowded bus though, there's no reason for being such a jobsworth at that time of night.

I've just had a reply from London buses after complaining about how busy the 176/185 routes are. Unfortunately, they just said that they'll pass the comment to the department that schedule bus timetable survey reviews. Ah well, I tried!

[HonaloochieB]

Applespider Wrote:

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> I'm obviously a freak. I always say good morning

> to the driver and nine times out of ten, they

> reply.

>

Yes but what do they reply?

[sakurasteve]

thats shocking, I was on the bus at about 11pm the other night (think it was the 40) and 2 girls got on, one of them only had ?10 and the driver refused to take it, after about 5 mins of arguing he said he would take a ?5 note (no idea why not a ?10) and one of the other passangers happened to have 2 fives....but I couldnt really see the drivers logic, he was more than happy to kick her off before he changed up a tenner for her!!

oh, and a couple of months ago, a 155 driver drove straight past me at a stop about 12pm, he had a pretty much empty bus and I was waving like a madman when I realised he wasnt doing the usual slowing down procedure, there were a couple of people at the stop and no one was impressed!

[jimmy two times]

I witnessed some horrendously sexist behaviour a few years ago by a bus driver on the number 11 which goes to the cemetery gates. He was constantly touching up the female conductor and making lewd comments. As soon as I got off the bus I made a complaint to his Inspector. I think he must have got a rollicking because as I was leaving I heard the inspector shouting at him 'I'll have you Butler!'

[Clinker]

I don't see anything wrong with her not having a lock on her bike, the possibilities of this happening are endless.

Maybe she was out at a friends and she borrowed their bike to get home, promising to cycle it back the next day...

Maybe she had bought the bike that day and went round to a friends on the way home.

Maybe she lost the bike lock that day. Maybe she left the bike lock at the friends by accident.

My bike lock doesn't fit on my bike (bad design) and I have to carry it separately in my bag and it's easy to forget it.

[Jimbob]

Keef Wrote:

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> Even if the policeman wasn't going to give her a

> lift home (maybe beyond the call of duty), he

> could have hung around and smoother her passage

> onto the bus.

>

> Exactly!

not even that would have been good enough, they have enough vans flying about doing nothing, wouldnt have taken too much trouble to run her up the road.

[solstice]

How can you call drivers behaviour horrendous, you don`t take bikes on buses, he`s doing his job properly, if he lets a bike on and a drunk gets on and falls over it, he`s the one that going to get sued, he is responsible for health and safety of his passengers.

[trident]

Lets not forget some of the lovlier ones - the driver who said good morning to Speccylecci and the p.13 bus drivers are always really nice... [when they come] The 176/40 bus driver with dreds sang a song to my friend as well

[Dullitch76]

That is outrageous. But I must say that that driver has probably been told that if he breaks the "no bike" rule then he will be punished, either by a disciplinary or even losing his job. Not saying he wasn't being an asshole, but I know a bit about the situation, I'll explain.

Bus drivers seemed to me to be getting more crazy by the minute. But when I overheard two drivers on the bus talking it started to make sense.

TFL started clamping down on time keeping, and you may have noticed that buses either stop for ages when they are running early, or drive like absolute fucking maniacs when they are late. I mean REALLY fast, and what happens if there is an accident? Do TFL take any responsibility and pay out compensation? Of course they don't. Drivers who are consistently late or early get disciplined and can lose their jobs. This clampdown puts added stress on the drivers and it clearly shows- I always make a point of saying 'hello' and thanking them when I get off, which is corny but I know they appreciate it. At least they used to- these days I usually get a dirty look. Another classic situation is when someone tries to pass off an old travel card or whatever and the driver clocks it- there is no rule or system for this situation, and often the bus sits there for ages while the driver argues with the person. I've seen these situations get ugly too- especially when passengers get involved. The driver is relatively safe but if someone gets aggressive it's the passengers who are at risk.

I find it outrageous that ONE person can makes dozens late simply because they don't want to pay. The reason the drivers don't simply let them on is because they get in trouble if they get caught. This is STUPID- I had a friend who was a bus driver and he said he NEVER argued with anyone about not paying in 3 years. The result? He was never late, never got threatened or assaulted and everyone was happy. Ok, TFL might have lost out on a few quid each day, but if he'd been caught he could have lost his job. Is that fair?

It seems to me that if TFL gave the drivers a bit more freedom and let them use their discretion, they would do their jobs more efficiently and most likely, with a smile. When you impose loads of excessive rules on people who have it bad already, of course the outcome is going to be negative. And the ones who get the worst of it are US, the customer, the very people TFL are trying to please.

So like I say, maybe the driver was just a prick, but more than likely he was a prick who was worried about his job and wanted an easy life. It's shitty, but it seems that is just the way it is. And THAT is why I'm moving abroad. Good luck!

[HonaloochieB]

Dullitch76 Wrote:

>

> So like I say, maybe the driver was just a prick,

> but more than likely he was a prick who was

> worried about his job and wanted an easy life.

> It's shitty, but it seems that is just the way it

> is. And THAT is why I'm moving abroad. Good luck!

Jesus Dullitch76, I don't know.

Leaving the country over a bus driver not allowing a young woman to take her bike on a late night bus seems a trifle precipitate.

On the other hand, you could be just the sort of stubborn, principled sonofabitch the country needs right now.

Don't go.

[Tony.London Suburbs]

Dullitch:Why be a quitter?...Honawiththelongname is right! From your caring nature,principles and articulacy I reckon you are just the type of "old-fashioned" Brit that we need here right now and in the future.

Don't go.

p.s Lets hare no more of this talk.

p.p.s. I moved just 6 miles to the edge of London 25 years ago and have rarely encounted any problems during my everyday existence(and the house prices can be much cheaper!)..so you don't have to emigrate.

I know from personal experience.

[KalamityKel]

Dullitch wot a load of rubbish! May I suggest you do some factual homework before claiming to "know a bit about the situation"

TFL are NOT in charge of the drivers, that is the responsibility of the bus company e.g. Arriva, London Central. Whilst time keeping and such is important and the companies can be fined by TFL (more so if there is simply no bus at all - hence why sometimes you will see a single decker 185) to suggest a driver would "lose his job" is just completely incorrect. Deliberate lateness - yes thats different matter entirely.

Re: "I find it outrageous that ONE person can makes dozens late simply because they don't want to pay."

May I ask if you are one of those incredibly annoying passengers of a morning who start creating a scene if the driver pauses slightly which "has made me miss the train"? The kind of person whos blames their lateness on transport when really getting up and leaving slightly earlier is the solution?

"It seems to me that if TFL gave the drivers a bit more freedom and let them use their discretion, they would do their jobs more efficiently and most likely, with a smile." One assumes you have informed TFL of these views?

Again to suggest if a driver lets someone on board without paying and your comment "Another classic situation is when someone tries to pass off an old travel card or whatever and the driver clocks it- there is no rule or system for this situation" again is based on an entirely incorrect rumour or perhaps your own observation? - as mentioned in an earlier message it is NOT the responsibility of the driver to ensure fare dodgers are "dealt" with. Yes, when they know someone has boarded without paying they can hold the bus, telling whoever to get off and even in some cases call the police (is that not driver discretion?) at the end of the day drivers are not to put themselves or others at risk by insisting/demanding payment - it is for the Revenue (ticket inspectors) and even the transport police to deal with.

To call someone a "prick" seems rather petty too. Were you on board at the time and can make a fair judgement that this is the case? No? Deary me!

[boswell]

Just to say that I'm going to write a complaint letter today and send it off and I'll let you know the outcome. Also, a few stops later the bus driver let on quite a strange character who I'm assuming was a friend of his without paying. Everyone told me I should put it in my complaint but I'm not sure it's relevant, maybe a bit vindictive? It was a nice feeling though that so many people were actually concerned and willing to help each other out.

I think my main issue with this was his complete lack of compassion. I'd think it was a pretty terrible thing to do anyway but if someone was really scared about losing their job so said that they couldn't but clearly felt bad about saying no, it would make it more understandable. This guy didn't even give the girl a second thought, it was as though he couldn't even see her and the worried/scared state she was in - only the fact that she had a bike.

In terms of whether she could have walked home - I have to say there's no way I'd walk all that way through some not great neighbourhoods that late at night by myself.

Also, a very small irrational part of me was kind of hoping when I checked back today that she might have seen this and replied to say she got home ok!

[will dex]

similar experience last thursday night at denmark hill - tried to pay someone elses fare who had no money. driver point blank refused. F****rs 90% of them.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

While I think the driver was a bit of a jobsworth, it's really not that big a deal to walk home from over the river. I've done it many a time in various states of sobriety.

[boswell]

I've sent it off so we'll see what happens. I admit I think I do tend to be a bit on the wimpy side when it comes to walking places by myself at night but having known people who've been mugged (some of them multiple times - myself once at gun point and once at 'knife point') in all the areas surrounding here walking back all the way hampered with a broken bike isn't something I think I'd risk at that time of night.

[solstice]

My partner is a bus driver, I pointed out your post to him, he spoke to a few bus drivers and controllers for Arriva and Central, the out come is you can not take a bike, chest of draws, bed etc.. any oversized item on a bus, what ever the circumstances.

[Tony.London Suburbs]

You can not even take a chest of drawers onto a bus these days?

Is this a recent rule change or was it always this way?

[Carol]

Health and safety? Yeah, of course...in case the handlebar poked someone in the eye, or something. Let's hope she GOT home safely, eh?

Sadly, I'm not surprised. My experience with bus drivers (as a cyclist) have been totally hideous.

But this one sounds like an extraordinary c**t.

[Cassius]

jimmy two times Wrote:

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> No lock for her bike, no money and cycling around

> at 2am at night.......silly cow.

Obviously you have always been perfect in life - never made a mistake, never done anything silly or anything that you might regret in future - lucky wonderful you.

However even if she was a silly cow for not being as thoughtful as you would have been, she was still a human being in distress and thus deserved a modicum of sensitivity and care.

[PeckhamRose]

Take it you don't work in emergency services then, jimmy2x.

[jimmy two times]

Actually I bet the emergency services get fed up rescuing people who get themselves into trouble because of their own stupidity.

[Moos]

I'm sure they do. Pretty much the definition of the word 'accident', isn't it? Either your own stupidity or someone else's.

Does that mean they shouldn't be rescued?

[Brendan]

Social responsibility (also known as not being a dick) dictates that we should help people in need out, especially women on their own at night, regardless of their own stupidity.