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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To complain about the bus driver

80 replies

Complainornot · 14/08/2017 23:04

This is not a thread about who has priority over the wheelchair space at the front of the bus

This afternoon I was on the bus with my DC. Youngest was in the pushchair in the space at the front of the bus. A wheelchair user needed to board the bus and the driver, not at all prompted by me, said to her that a pushchair was in the space but there was a bus five minutes behind going to the same destination and could she wait for that one. Woman began shouting that she has a right to the space, that its a wheelchair space not a pushchair space. The shouting was unnecessary especially considering it was the driver who had asked her to wait and not me.

I said to the driver I'd fold the pushchair, not a problem at all and there was no need to have asked her to wait for the next bus. Driver told me no, i couldn't fold it because there was no luggage storage so me and the DC would have to leave the bus. I asked for a forwarding ticket and was told that they don't give them.

DC and I were ordered off the bus in an area I don't know very well. There was a bus five minutes behind I hear you say? Yes. There was. Except I only had £2 in my purse as I'd used the cash I did have to pay for our tickets on the first bus so I could afford to get on that bus.

I had to walk until I found a cash point. In this time my other DC (sensory problems, ASD) had a huge meltdown about being put off the bus then a meltdown about needing a wee because I didn't know where there was a toilet and we had to go looking for somewhere anywhere and he won't simply wee behind an emergency tree. He ended up pissing himself so when I did eventually find a cash point, wait for another bus (with his jacket wrapped around him to hide his shame) and get to our destination I also had to go and buy him a whole new outfit.

AIBU to complain about the driver putting us off the bus in an unfamiliar area with no forwarding ticket potentially leaving us stranded? I had my bank card but could just as easily left it at home if I was going somewhere that didn't require me to have money with me or the nearest cash point could have been miles away as the bus passes through several semi-final areas along it's route. At the very least they should be offering forwarding tickets, shouldn't they?

OP posts:

Vinorosso74 · 14/08/2017 23:13

The driver should be able to give you a transfer/forward ticket. That is ridiculous. My DD is beyond the buggy years but buses need space for wheelchairs and buggies.

Vinorosso74 · 14/08/2017 23:14

So yes I would complain.

RedStripeLassi · 14/08/2017 23:17

I'd complain too. Buses need wheelchair priority but also buggy space. He should have given you a forwarding ticket for you and for the wheelchair user who must have felt embarrassed as well.

JessieMcJessie · 14/08/2017 23:30

Was it the type of bus where your fare varies depending how far you are going, or is it flat fare?

I'm bemused about this "no luggage storage space"- is a folded buggy really much bigger than a shopping trolley? Can people not get the bus if they have a shopping trolley or a wheely case? Was the bus so full that the folded buggy couldn't just go in an empty seat? Or even be tucked in beside the wheelchair once she was safely boarded. It would be worth complaining to the bus company if only just to get clarity on this.

Maisy313 · 14/08/2017 23:31

Would he have stopped someone boarding with a suitcase as there was no luggage area? I bloody well doubt it. Definitely complain, it was cruel to kick you off the bus if you could fold your buggy and the very least he should have done was give you a forwarding ticket or even a note. Sorry you went through that, sounds a nightmare.

Original poster

Complainornot · 14/08/2017 23:54

It was a bus where the fare varies by distance. I was told I couldn't have the folded pushchair in an empty seat in case anyone wanted the seat and it was a health and safety risk.

OP posts:

Letstryagainshallwe · 15/08/2017 00:15

I would have just kept quiet tbh. And if your ds isn't one who is able to just go behind a tree maybe it's best to bring spare clothes out just in case.

DarkerWeb · 15/08/2017 02:08

What should the driver have done? I can see why a buggy folded and leant up could easily fall. Especially as the parent will likely be holding on to their now standing child.

It's the entitled shouting of the woman in the wheelchair which I don't like.

emmyrose2000 · 15/08/2017 02:17

Definitely complain. You were treated disgustingly. It seems the driver is also a liar about the forwarding ticket. He should've given you a refund for the fare you already had paid and weren't getting the use of. Demand that reimbursement from the bus company.

The wheelchair user sounds like she has a real chip on her shoulder. What would she have done had the space already been taken by another wheelchair user? Continued demanding the space anyway??

As for storage space, I've been on more buses than I can count where passengers have simply held their folded up pushchairs or trolleys next to them, so the driver was spouting shit to say you couldn't have done that. I'd have just gone ahead and done it anyway. There is absolutely no way I'd have gotten off the bus.

Topseyt · 15/08/2017 02:18

Yes, absolutely complain.

You offered to fold the buggy. What more could you have done?

Unless you were in any way aggressive there is no reason why you should have been asked to leave the bus.

Topseyt · 15/08/2017 02:21

Oh, and I am certainly not saying that you were aggressive, by the way.

Sounds like the bus driver might have been though, possibly.

MVLipwig · 15/08/2017 02:26

I imagine if you showed your original ticket to the next bus and explained he would have let you on? I agree he was unreasonable to force you off but it may be policy

quercuscircus · 15/08/2017 02:39

That's awful OP. Yes you should definitely complain very strongly about the whole thing. He was just so wrong in every way. It is a disgrace that you had to leave the bus.. and the no refund/ forwarding ticket bollocks? WTAF?

It was also awful that he told the disabled woman that she couldn't get on, and giving the impression that it was your doing. I'm not surprised she was shouting as she wasn't to know that you weren't refusing to move (and we all know that some people with buggies do refuse to move) but also I can only imagine the emotions she was feeling in being refused access to the bus because of her disabiity. She must get so sick of attitudes like this driver had.

It sounds like he just wanted to be a bully-jobsworth and be goady. What an utter bastard. Pitting you and the disabled woman against each other like that for no reason was just disgusting and cruel. There was no need for anyone to be having a bad day until he created the situation.

I despair of people sometimes - please complain so he will get his arse kicked.

RhiWrites · 15/08/2017 02:47

OP, why didn't you wait for the next bus? The driver could have radioed to confirm what happened to you.

worridmum · 15/08/2017 04:54

Maybe the disabled person has been waiting ages for a bus since there are more buggy users then wheelchairs users i have been there with a friend and 8 buses went by saying there is a bus a couple mins behind aka 10 mins each so she could of been waiting ages to be able to get on a bus.

Stressalot42 · 15/08/2017 06:06

OP was not questioning wheelchair user, she was asking if bus driver was BU.

Yes complain ridiculous situation to expect you to pay again!

HollyBuckets · 15/08/2017 06:12

Nope, the wheelchair user wasn't "entitled". It was a wheelchair space. You don't know how many times a day she is refused access or service. What you had to do was difficult and inconvenient, but I imagine that is what it's like for the wheelchair user all the time.

Painfulpain · 15/08/2017 06:13

YES you should complain. I think he was being awkward. I don't believe at all, that you can't sit holding a folded pushchair in front of you. I also don't believe he couldn't issue a forward ticket...he could have printed a day rider for example

Longdistance · 15/08/2017 06:16

Did you wait for the next bus and explain to the driver what happened?

insancerre · 15/08/2017 06:35

You should have just waited for the bus and explained to the driver
But Yanbu to complain to the company abut their policy of not giving forward tickets

ANewAlias · 15/08/2017 06:35

Painfulpain

But the tickets he printed would need to match the money he hands in at the end of the day.

None of us know if he was able (or not) to print another ticket, forwarding ticket or whatever else.

Companies often have policies regarding H&S and their legal requirements but it is down to the driver. He would be responsible if he knew the OP was riding dangerously ie. trying to hold a buggy and a child.

I don't think the driver was an "utter bastard" who wanted to see a fight. They have to kick mothers and children off if someone in a wheelchair demands. Damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

On the other hand, there should be means for a ticket for the kicked-off people to get the next ride for free. Even if it's a signature / initials from the previous driver.

Original poster

Complainornot · 15/08/2017 06:43

I missed the next bus while looking for a cash point as I'd been led to believe by the first driver that I'd need to pay again. He told me that they don't issue forwarding tickets so I had the expectation that I'd need to buy new tickets on the next bus. After the bus five minutes behind, there wasn't another one for 30 minutes and it's that one that we ended up getting on. I did ask that driver if we definitely had to pay again and he said yes

if your ds isn't one who is able to just go behind a tree maybe it's best to bring spare clothes out just in case

I used to when he was small but I wasn't expecting it to have been an issue as I wasn't expecting to be put off the bus in an unfamiliar area with a lack of public facilities. Next time though I probably will have to do that just in case it happens again.

OP posts:

flumpybear · 15/08/2017 06:50

I would have told him I'm not getting off unless I can get in the bus behind without paying extra

missmollyhadadolly · 15/08/2017 06:55

Why didn't you do this, why didn't do that

Sounds awful, OP. I don't know what I would have done, but based on what happened to you, if it happens to me, I will demand a refund/forwarding ticket before I get off the bus.

MaverickSnoopy · 15/08/2017 06:56

Complain away. Based on what you have said it sounds like he was "in charge". He wanted to tell the woman in the wheelchair what's what and he was boss and you showed him up by offering an alternative. So obviously you had to be put in your place, more so by not helping you with the ticket. He needs reminding that his job is not about serving his ego.

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