To think bus company should let OAPs on at 9.27

[Mitmoo]

My mum can hardly walk, degenerative heart disease and nearing 80, the bus driver couldn't let her on as it was 9.27 and the bus was not even half full. He was very apologetic but said he could lose his job if he did.

AIBU for thinking the bus company are being unreasonable for not allowing drivers to use their common sense. ie. empty bus, let the OAPs on a few minutes earlier than they are supposed to?

[hocuspontas]

Or a loaf of bread before they sell out. A parcel that needs to catch the post. Dentist. Doctor. Other appointments. Just because you're ancient doesn't mean you stop needing financial advice, solicitors etc. Trying to catch a train, another bus further up. I'm sure they are not doing it just to annoy you.

[Mitmoo]

Gwendoline You are so right my mum has a 9.45 hospital appointment across the town. In all honestly she wouldn't be able to make it on her own and couldn't get there on her bus pass. She is just not well enough to make a 4 different buses on one journey.

The choice is hospital transport which would cost the NHS a fortune or to pay for the bus. What will happen is that I will drive her there and back. The hospital will charge anything up to a tenner depending how long her appointment lasts.

I just think this issue is crying out for a common sense solution.

[frazzle26]

I have a disabled bus pass and the same rules apply. However, I've never understood the thing about "peak time" being only before 9.30am. It's always pretty busy around 4.30-6pm yet you can use OAP/disabled passes then. It seems crazy that they deem peak time as before 9.30 so situations as described by the OP arise.

[Mitmoo]

Sorry hospital parking is up to a tenner, I wasn't clear.

[maighdlin]

NI senior bus passes can be used at anytime. find it strange that their are restrictions in some places.

[usualsuspect]

Twirlys as they are called round these parts

[Mitmoo]

Maighdlin I can understand restrictions to free up the rush hours for those who are paying, I do understand the logic.


For me it is just about not allowing drivers to use their own judgement.

[allsmeggedup]

thread hijack
Maighdlin - I might just use that in my "why we should move to NI" argument. Think DP would like that (he's only 40 - but very tight ).

[A1980]

YABU

Your mum doesn't work and knows full well her pass is not accpeted until 9:30. Is there any reason why she cannot wait 5 more minutes in the house? It isn't as if she had a job to go to and if it was for an appointment, she could make a later one as again, no necessity in having an early morning appointment.

I may sound insensitive but I pay over £2000 per year for my travelcard and I can hardly get on a bus in the morning becasue of school children, who are not paying fares and who could damn well walk the two short stops to their school but they just can't be arsed as it's free to go on the bus. Add pensioners to the mix, again who aren't paying and can acutally wait to go out later, and I either can't get on the or never get a seat. It's the same deal on the trains. I have arthritis in my knee and if it gets jolted or twisted (as it does standing on a bus and it can really hurt). But I look young so i get evil eyes from the older citizens.

I don't accpet the "they need to get to a doctors appt" argument either. Pensioners don't work! They can take a mid afternoon appointment, I cannot as I would have to take the day off work. I need the early morning appts to be able to work but get to the surgery in the morning and the waiting room is packed with pensioners. If it's for a fasting blood test then that's fine but for a standard dr appt they can take an afternoon one.

[ChristinedePizan]

She could have paid to go on the bus though? That's what I don't understand. If she has to be somewhere early like today, then she just pays. I don't understand why she can go by bus if it's free but it's four different buses and too much for her if she can use her bus pass.

Or are these two things entirely unconnected?

[hocuspontas]

lol at pensioners being able to dictate when they can have a drs appointment! Here it's get here at 8.30 Tuesday morning and we will try to see you within 2 hours or we can fit you in in December!

[ChristinedePizan]

can't use her bus pass

[Mitmoo]

A1980 we are not talking about a full bus but a less than half full bus where no one else would have been inconvenienced.

My mother can't work she is dying through heart failure.

The problem today was the heat, she had struggled to get to the bus stop, I was working or I would have taken her, she reacts badly to the heat, the bus was not even a quarter full to have let her on wouldn't have hurt anyone.

Is common sense too much to ask for.

She actually said to me which really saddened me "That's the last time I'll be able to go to town"

How sad is that for a woman who has given her life to the NHS?

[Joolyjoolyjoo]

Buses must get well used round your way. The thing that winds me up is seeing 3 buses, one behind the other, with one or two passengers each! Almost every bus I see is less than quarter full. If they're going to chug around almost empty, polluting the air and getting in everyone else's way, let the OAPs on, I say!!

[A1980]

She could have paid to go on the bus though?

Exactly! Hadn't thoguht of that. If they need to use the bus service outside the validity of their pass the option of actually paying their fare is open to them.

Problem solved for the OP's mum's 9:45 hospital appointment: she can't get there on her pass but she can pay her bus fare to use the bus. Being a pensioner she will most likely be able to claim the cost of travel back and this would be the cheapest option for the NHS.

I have no sympathy because if I was ever caught with an out of date, out of zone, etc pass, I would be charged a hefty penalty fare. Pensioners should not expect to circumvent the rules and should be treated like everyone else using a pass outside it's validity.

[amothersplaceisinthewrong]

YABU. If the rules are bent for one, they will end up being bent for all. Pensioners get free bus passes, that is enough.

[Mitmoo]

Jooly You've got it.

[ChristinedePizan]

Mitmoo, I am sorry your mum is so ill and it must be dreadful. It's irrelevant how full the bus is - there could have been thirty pensioners waiting and if he'd let her on, he'd have had to let them all on.

[A1980]

Mitoo I do sympathise but on the instance your mum is talknig about, she could have waited until it was 9:30 to leave the house. Why did she leave so that she ended up so early?

[mayorquimby]

It's tough but the problem is with any unoversal rule you're going to get individual situations which appear unfair. If you bend the rules for one you have to do it for all.
Although this happens all the time in Dublin:

[FabbyChic]

An OAP can get on the bus before 9.30 they just have to pay it isn't rocket science.

[A1980]

If it was early picking up in the village i.e 9.27 etc then he used to refuse to let them get on for free

If he's 5 minutes early he should let them on and sit at the stop for 5 minutes and then leave.Then they won't be travelling on an invalid pass is he actually deaprts when he's supposed to at 9:32.