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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:
Booie09 · 09/05/2018 11:03

Is this where life as taken us? Compensation for a wrong accidental turn? If I had a pound for every human error I would be 10 grand the richer!! Please move on ffs.

IronMansIronButt · 09/05/2018 11:09

If he doesn't know his route. He needs further training

It's probably not his route. Likely he's a spare driver, they have to drive different routes every day to cover others, and its hard to remember every single one you may be asked to do.

He won't get into trouble, if that is your intent. And you won't get the cost of your lesson back either!

HoppingPavlova · 09/05/2018 11:13

Given you have had such excellent advice and have established a course of action moving forward that you are happy with I’m stumped as to why you would be interested in opinions here?

DianaPrincessOfThemyscira · 09/05/2018 11:16

I would do literally nothing.

ChardonnaysPrettySister · 09/05/2018 11:31

I would be very unhappy about it, esp. if it makes me late for work. It would mean me being in trouble because of someone else's mistake.Causing a 40 min delay is not nothing. It can lead to missed appointments, people being late to pick up children and all sort of unpleasantness.

I would be seething and planning emails to TFL but at the end I would probably do nothing, I'd hate to see a poor sod get fired or something.

PatisserieDeBayeux · 09/05/2018 11:32

How ridiculous. Of course the bus company won't compensate for a missed music lesson. The world doesn't run by clockwork. They might refund the fare but no more. Where would it all end? Compensation for a failed exam? I'm so happy to be a reasonable person. It must be wearing to constantly feel cheated out of everything.

Mookatron · 09/05/2018 11:37

The amount of shit a London bus driver must have to deal with on any given day makes me say just leave it.

You probably could claim a refund from TfL but I'm just not sure the amount would be worth your time/hassle.

As a kid travelling on public transport you have to get used to frustration really. It wasn't her fault of course but things happen.

millymae · 09/05/2018 11:43

Diana - isn't your approach the reason why things like this happen though. If nobody complains about anything then things will never get better. If a bus service is being provided with a timetable, then customers are entitled to receive what they are paying for, and arrive at their destination when they should.
I agree absolutely that things like traffic jams are not the fault of the bus company but mistakes (and we all make them - even me) by people they employ are.

Perhaps if someone bothered to point out to the bus company what happened it may cause them to look at the training they give their drivers about routes and provide them with a better guide.
I use the bus a lot to travel into a city by me, and the route it takes is pretty complicated. There is often a trainer on the bus, advising presumably new drivers about which turns to take, but if they don't know the area then it certainly isn't a straightforward drive, and not one I'd like to do myself if I didn't really know where I was going.

IronMansIronButt · 09/05/2018 11:45

If nobody complains about anything then things will never get better

People will always make mistakes, complaining doesn't stop that.

Perhaps if someone bothered to point out to the bus company what happened it may cause them to look at the training they give their drivers about routes and provide them with a better guide

The bus company know precisely where all buses are at all times. They knew before OP did that the driver made a mistake. You don't need to tell them!

angryburd · 09/05/2018 11:46

"DD got the reg number when she got off."

Why? Was she in danger? Was the bus about to go off of a cliff? Was she about to be sold into slavery?

Yes, it's a pain in the arse that the bus went the wrong way and she was late for her lesson, but ffs get over it.

ChardonnaysPrettySister · 09/05/2018 11:48

Pretty much everybody deals with a lot of shit in their work, Mookatron, lots of us for not a lot of money.
Doesn't mean the public should not complain when someone doesn't do their job properly.

As I said, I wouldn't complain in this case, probably, but not because I think a bus driver's job is particularly shitty. I would feel uncomfortable to get a person in trouble, not a bus driver in particular.

RainbowFairiesHaveNoPlot · 09/05/2018 11:51

When I was a kid the local bus route used to regularly feature an un-timetabled stop at a corner shop so the driver could hop out, leaving the engine running, and pop in to buy a new packet of cigarettes to continue chain smoking his way around the route.

Our local bus has to take impromptu detours all the time - route through a housing estate is OK to get one of the minibus size vehicles through but often the car parking on the streets is such that they can't get a standard single decker they sometimes run along the route around some of the tight corners so there's a lot of route-winging-it goes on to try to get around the housing estate maze.

I just factor in extra time for trips by public transport - even our local trams are very prone to reliability issues.

As for the lesson fee... I used to tutor and I was a lot more flexible than many in that I had a "just don't take the mickey" policy regarding cancelled lessons - but when you factor in that that time has been booked, stopping anyone else being slotted in there, I can understand those who were much tighter than me about making sure cancelled lessons were paid for.

angryburd · 09/05/2018 11:52

I'm going to hazard a guess that his employers are already aware anyway, because he'd have then been late for the rest of his route surely?

lhastingsmua · 09/05/2018 11:54

I would be very unhappy about it, esp. if it makes me late for work.

Well obviously anyone would be, but I personally don’t think it warrants compensation unless it leaves you stranded. I don’t think missed appointments/salary/wages or whatever are eligible for financial recompense or else bus operating companies would be paying out practically daily

Dungeondragon15 · 09/05/2018 11:54

The bus company know precisely where all buses are at all times. They knew before OP did that the driver made a mistake. You don't need to tell them!

Yes, but they might not take much notice of the fact that the driver has taken the wrong route. Although it could be an understandable mistake if the driver is not familiar with the route, if they have taken that route many times recently, it could be a sign that they aren't concentrating which should be highlighted. Taking the wrong route in a bus has led to serious accidents if it is due to a driver not concentrating. e.g. may lead to driving under a low bridge in a double decker.

Mookatron · 09/05/2018 11:54

Honestly, round my way, a bus driver would be in fear for their life if they went the wrong way and made everyone late. I don't even think I'm exaggerating. A 45 mind delay where people couldn't get off the bus? The passenger mutiny would make the news, I'm sure of it.

I know many people deal with shit in their jobs but I would not choose to be in charge of getting Londoners to work on time in stressful traffic conditions and with no back up at all. All that adrenaline and no physical release for it either.

ChardonnaysPrettySister · 09/05/2018 11:58

Train companies do give compensation if your journey is delayed by 15 minutes or longer, it's called delay repay.

Busses are obvs subject to traffic conditions, but they can work out something too.

IronMansIronButt · 09/05/2018 12:10

Trains can't take a wrong turning!

IronMansIronButt · 09/05/2018 12:12

Yes, but they might not take much notice of the fact that the driver has taken the wrong route
There are people whose only job is to notice where the drivers are, and when, and why. They will take notice. He will have to had said so anyway, as the delay will have been logged at every point.

Taking the wrong route in a bus has led to serious accidents if it is due to a driver not concentrating. e.g. may lead to driving under a low bridge in a double decker

No, already stated, taking the wrong route does not and has not led to that. If a bus driver tries to take a double decker under a low bridge, it has nothing to do with being on the wrong route.

PickAChew · 09/05/2018 12:13

Nothing. These things happen. Drivers are often assigned to a group of routes and thus one might not have been his usual.

PickAChew · 09/05/2018 12:15

And I do know of an incident where a decker was taken under a low bridge due to driver error but, thankfully, it was on its way back to the depot.

NotCisImaWoman · 09/05/2018 12:20

Am I missing something? If your dd was only 2 stops away why didn't she get off and walk? Confused

Dungeondragon15 · 09/05/2018 12:33

No, already stated, taking the wrong route does not and has not led to that. If a bus driver tries to take a double decker under a low bridge, it has nothing to do with being on the wrong route.

If he is on the wrong route because he is not concentrating he may not realise that he is on the wrong route or notice that he is driving under a low bridge.

Dungeondragon15 · 09/05/2018 12:34

There are people whose only job is to notice where the drivers are, and when, and why. They will take notice. He will have to had said so anyway, as the delay will have been logged at every point.

That is good to know.

IronMansIronButt · 09/05/2018 12:42

If he is on the wrong route because he is not concentrating he may not realise that he is on the wrong route or notice that he is driving under a low bridge

If he goes under a low bridge its because he has forgotten he is in a double decker, not because he is on the wrong route!