My son has just paid for bus ticket with a twenty pound note...

[Miserylovescompany2]

The driver issued a ticket and stated he didn't have enough change - he told my son that he (my son) would have to go to the depot for his change.

All my son has is the issued ticked - it doesn't state how he paid? The depot won't refund him.

Surely it's the drivers responsibility to have change in the first instance.

What would you do?

He is still on the bus as I type...

I expect the ticket has a credit note printed on it, your son probably just doesn't realise.

I'm glad it all worked out, anyway.

Bit silly for people to jump to the conclusion of a scam, tbh, and if it was a scam he'd be a very stupid driver to be trying to run it on a bus where he is so easily traceable!

Yes - there will be money available to break the £20 notes because people have paid in smaller amounts.

But how much of a float should a driver carry - to ensure they have enough change available to break larger notes even if people are giving the correct amount?

This makes no sense. As you yourself acknowledged, apart from a pretty small amount at the beginning the driver will be giving change from fares taken. They don't need any more float than if they only took £10 notes. I completely understand why a bus company would give no change at all - though I think it's an annoyingly uncustomer friendly policy for what's supposed to be a service industry - but once you accept change making a fuss about certain denominations and not others is illogical.

We have Arriva buses around here and they're supposed to give change vouchers to be used for future journeys if they don't have change. I caught a local bus a while ago, only went about five stops but it was hammering down with rain, and paid the £2.10 fare with £2.50. The driver said he had no 40p vouchers so I believed him. Chatting to someone a few weeks later about bus fares I mentioned this and they said that it's just a print out from the ticket machine that they give you, stating however much change you require, so there was no reason why he'd run out. The depot confirmed this but without a ticket, which I'd thrown away in the meantime, to confirm which bus I'd used there was no way of identifying the driver.

Madreputa you do realise there is a vast world outside London, right?

Are you also going to pull up all the people who categorically stated stuff like buses only accepting exact change as being universally true? Or all the others who gave information specific to their stated location like Madreouta did?

Do you realise a bus driver has to provide their own float? You were irresponsible to not make sure he had change for the bus. Learning experience, and you'll have to chalk it up.

Here they will take anything but will print a ticket stating what's owed. You can take that to the depot or another bus and swap it for the money.

But that's assuming 30 people get on the bus first all with £20 notes, which is not likely. What's much more likely is that between those 30 people others have paid with £10, £5 and coins, all of which can be used to give change to people who pay with £20s

I don't think you can use logic with foaming mouth type people always looking for some unrealistic situation to support their pov.

It's almost like buses around the country are all run by different operators who have their own different systems and rules.

Do you realise a bus driver has to provide their own float?

They certainly don't have to everywhere.

In fact around here you have to have exact fare and change isn't given.

Bus drivers here get a £20 float. Given when they start the job. After that its up tp them to ensure they have enough change.. which often means queing unpaid during their breaks to change up notes at the bank.

So basicaly 2 or 3 people trying to pay with notes can wipe all the change in 1 trip.

I'm glad your son got his change but in Ireland you can't even pay for a 3.65 fare with a five euro note. NO NOTES
Leap cards and exact coins or you forfeit your change! NO change. Even if paying a child's 90 cent fare with a 2 euro coin. Good bye 1.10
It hasn't happened to me often!

This makes no sense. As you yourself acknowledged, apart from a pretty small amount at the beginning the driver will be giving change from fares taken. They don't need any more float than if they only took £10 notes

Driver has £30 in a float. £10 x 2 plus £10 in pounds and £2

Passenger 1 comes on. £2 fare. Has £52 - but has given away £10 note plus £8 in coins.

Passenger 2 comes on. £2 fare. Pays with a £5 note. Driver has no coins left to give change.

Giving LARGE amounts of change can take up notes and coins, making it harder to break notes later.

There must be only a maximum amount of large notes a driver can break, even if the driver is being given coins by the driver.

Edit

passenger 1 pays with a £20 note

You're absolutely right that you power through the £1 coins - which is exactly what I said - but that's a product of giving change at all, not of taking £20 notes.

They normally give you a voucher thing which looks like a ticket. You can use it on the bus or get it refunded.

Your hypothetical driver would have had the same problem if both passengers had paid with £5 notes. Because a £30 float is hopelessly inadequate.

What's much more likely is that between those 30 people others have paid with £10, £5 and coins, all of which can be used to give change to people who pay with £20s

The coins aren't available for the drivers here. They're put directly into a safe deposit box which the driver can't access, therefore someone paying £10 in 10 £1 coins would have no effect on the float

The coins aren't available for the drivers here. They're put directly into a safe deposit box which the driver can't access, therefore someone paying £10 in 10 £1 coins would have no effect on the float

Well obviously in that case buses can give no change at all. Which I think is a shit system, but is one that they use in some places (eg. Birmingham, if I remember correctly). What I was talking about is what buses do where I live, and it seems for OP too - they give change, but only up to an arbitrary limit. Where I live £5 is fine, £10 gets a sigh and £20 is not allowed. Which makes no sense.

margaret

It was an example. How much of a float should they carry?

If people have done car boot sales,you can see how quickly your coins can go and it can become much harder to give change if people pay with large notes.

Not everywhere they don't Jam as has been pointed out several times on heredifferent companies and different parts of the country have different systems where I am drivers have a bag of change and give change as long as it's reasonable elsewhere it's correct change only and in some places you can only pay by cars.

Card even.

Where I live £5 is fine, £10 gets a sigh and £20 is not allowed. Which makes no sense

So you'd be ok with giving a driver a £50 note then (assuming they knew it was genuine)

I don't know where you are OP, but no change at all is the rule around the West Midlands.

How future generations will look back on this thread and laugh as they climb aboard their driverless, windowless chambers, have their microchips scanned by their ARRIVA overlords, and speed off to their high flying job harvesting organs. Or something.

This thread says so much about Mumsnet. A microcosm of attitudes and experiences

So much this. The unrelenting refusal by some posters to understand that the UK is not homogeneous and that it's perfectly reasonable and ok for local authorities to have different policies from one another. Not to mention the belief that the only people who post on here live in the UK. The failure of imagination is tiresome.