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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

WWYD Bus took a detour

163 replies

SandyY2K · 09/05/2018 00:42

I was just wondering WWYD in this situation. Just seeing if it's the same as my thought process.

DD was coming home on the bus, when the driver took a wrong turn. There was no diversion of any sort. He said absolutely nothing to the passengers by way of an explanation or apology and got himself back on route by turning round. DD got the reg number when she got off.

Unfortunately this caused a massive delay as the bus then got stuck in traffic...resulting in DD being late /missing a private lesson, which the tutor (not unreasonably) wanted payment for.

For clarity, I have no issue with the tutor and she's been paid.

WWYD in relation to the bus detour?

OP posts:
Loonoon · 09/05/2018 08:53

Let it go. Traffic delays are an inescapable part of London/city life whether it's the bus, tube, car, tram, train, even on foot. I recently missed a theatre performance that I had planned on walking to because some of our local roads were closed for a parade. These things happen. Roll with it.

WorraLiberty · 09/05/2018 08:54

I'm not sure if it's a cultural thing, but it seems at times the British don't tend to complain in justified circumstances.

I think it's the total opposite now we have the internet/texting and people don't have to face each other.

If MN is anything to go by, people are whining and complaining to customer services around the globe, with very little justification for it.

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 09/05/2018 08:55

Everyone saying "poor driver poor driver".
What about the poor soul who was possibly possibly late for work and is now facing a disceplenary. Any pity for them.
If he doesn't know his route.
He needs further training.

WorraLiberty · 09/05/2018 08:58

No-one's going to face a disciplinary because they were late for work, due to a one-off incident that they can prove wasn't their fault.

londonrach · 09/05/2018 09:00

Poor driver. Sounds like he was having a bad day. Honestly why ask on her op if you asked someone who works for tfl. Personally id leave it. Bus travelling takes longer than you think.

fleshmarketclose · 09/05/2018 09:02

Mistakes happen,it's unfortunate but that is how it is. I'd be glad that I had the time to spend creating a strongly worded letter tbh and nothing more important to occupy my time and mind. If only everybody was so fortunate.

FASH84 · 09/05/2018 09:04

It was an honest mistake. You sound grabby.

Toddlerteaplease · 09/05/2018 09:09

It was a mistake. Get a grip.

PretABoire · 09/05/2018 09:13

I am shocked and appalled that a transport company would hire staff as fallible as a mere mortal human

Seriously though, shit happens. No one got hurt. The bus could have broken down or got stuck in traffic near an accident and the outcome would have been the same. In fact I am late for work right now because of traffic - 70 mins instead of the usual 40. Could be a good lesson for your DD that not everything can be controlled. I would be incredibly surprised if you are reimbursed more than the bus fare.

NameChangeCuzImAHorriblePerson · 09/05/2018 09:15

No, no, no traffic on that route, no, not ever, nope, a tree couldn't fall down and block the path, the bus couldn't get a flat tyre or break down, an elderly man couldn't have a heart attack on the bus causing a delay, this bus will NEVER crash, nothing at all will ever happen to this bus.

Public transport is unreliable and there are often delays. Get over it.

Mulberry72 · 09/05/2018 09:19

This hasn’t really gone as you’d hoped, has it OP?

Hoppinggreen · 09/05/2018 09:20

I’m British and I can be a right stroppy cow when necessary
However, I’m sure the driver didn’t want to get lost and complaining about it and asking for the cost of the lessons back is completely U
What if a friend had been giving her a lift and the same thing had happened?
Stuff happens on public transport, get over it

The80sweregreat · 09/05/2018 09:21

He was probably on a different route from the one last week or something and just lost track for a minute ,its been hot and he may have had a bad day. I dont know if buses have sat navs these days, but they also can go wrong at times or not be working, could have been any number of reasons.
I can see why your upset about the lost money and everything , but shit happens in life , it doesnt always go to plan. i bet someone has already reported him anyway.

lottiegarbanzo · 09/05/2018 09:29

First I'll give you my straightforward answer, then read the thread.

If it was a significant, unexpected delay, so more than about ten minutes, I would email the company, explain what happened and ask for compensation, attaching the tutor's invoice and any correspondence confirming you'd missed this lesson. You would need to be able to say that you usually use this route, find it reliable and that it normally allows you plenty of time - you're not 'just in time' and inviting disaster every week.

With buses there is always potential for circumstances beyond anyone's control, when a road closes, there's an accident etc. Generally, people will be understanding about this. Whether there's potential for compensation in these circs would depend on the company policy. I doubt there would be.

Driver error is a different thing though. That is the company's responsibility. It's not about blame, or focusing attention on the driver, it's just fact.

Tawdrylocalbrouhaha · 09/05/2018 09:31

I would just file this under "Shit happens".

Nobody was harmed and the driver now knows the correct route.

sonjadog · 09/05/2018 09:35

I would do nothing at all about it. It was a mistake. It happens.

balsamicbarbara · 09/05/2018 09:36

This is exactly why you'd never catch me on a bus dead or alive

AnnieAnoniMouser · 09/05/2018 09:39

Our Music Tutors would just reschedule (we have a good relationship with them and I’m happy to reschedule our lessons if they need us to), but if that wasn’t the case, I’d have been a bit annoyed at the missed lesson & the expense of the missed lesson, but ‘shit happens’ and I’m not about to waste my time, the bus company’s time or get someone into trouble over a small mistake.

It’s not about ‘not complaining’, it’s about a sense of perspective. It’s a missed music lesson, it was a mistake and no one was seriously hurt, no one died... life is too short to spend it writing letters of complaint.

WorraLiberty · 09/05/2018 09:42

This is exactly why you'd never catch me on a bus dead or alive

Just in case the driver takes a wrong turn? Confused

DGRossetti · 09/05/2018 09:44

Buses taking the wrong route can lead to tragedy if a double decker is taken under a low bridge.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/i-could-dead-top-deck-5473736

Three separate incidents suggest that at the very least someone should be notified Hmm.

DontMakeMeShushYou · 09/05/2018 09:45

The bus driver made a mistake.

The tutor wants paying for something which was entirely out of your or your DD's control.

I know which one I think is unreasonable and it isn't the bus driver.

Of course, I am assuming that someone late for a private lesson would have the common sense and manners to call the tutor and explain the circumstances for their delay/non-attendance. If not, then the tutor is also being entirely reasonable.

DontMakeMeShushYou · 09/05/2018 09:47

Buses taking the wrong route can lead to tragedy if a double decker is taken under a low bridge.

That's not caused by buses taking the wrong route. That's caused by drivers not looking where they are going or remembering the size of their vehicles.

fannyfelcher · 09/05/2018 09:49

My ex husband is a bus driver, they earn very little in terms of wages compared to other large vehicle drivers and the working conditions are pretty shit too. They can have their route changed at the drop of ahat and are expected to learn it within a day on their own. Often they have to work split shifts (6am-10. 3pm-8am). They will not investigated and they will not refund your money, they already know it happened as the depot/HQ would have been tracking him on the green road.

Accidents/mistakes happen. Even if the road was an A road/dual carriage way, by your own admission it was not busy so it can only have added on a few minutes to the journey. Your daughter should have left in good time.

lottiegarbanzo · 09/05/2018 09:50

Well, what a strange and interestng thread. I would agree with the pp who said that people are more than happy to air their grievances, irritations (and internal frustrations) semi-anonymously online - as so many posters are doing, towards you, here.

The contrast with the way people view trains is interesting. The slightest delay there has people apoplectic, as well as justifiably filling in the widely available compensation forms. Yet some train delays will be due to driver error and other human error too.

I wonder if it just that we can see the driver in a bus, and interact with them, so feel more of a human connection with them than we do with train staff? None of that makes train staff actually any less human.

On a bus, I'd be the first to interact pleasantly with the driver, as is completely normal where I live. I've had a bus go the wrong way before - the passengers immediately spoke up, the driver said sorry (he was used to driving a different route) found a turning and got back on track.

But, if that had caused a 40 minute delay (rather than 5) I would have emailed the company and sought any relevant compensation. I would view that as an impersonal, business interaction.

The company would already know, they track their buses, so there's no issue of 'dobbing someone in'. Only of cause and effect.

MumofBoysx2 · 09/05/2018 09:51

Ask the bus company for compensation for the lesson - no reason you should have to pay for it.