To think this bus driver was mad?

[Eastie77]

I got on the bus this morning, it was virtually employ with a middle aged couple sitting at the front and a boy of about 16 at the back. After arriving at the next stop the driver announced that the bus would be stopping for a few minutes. I didn't think anything of it as this frequently happens on routes where I live when the bus is running ahead of the timetable.

However the driver then got out of his seat and started walking around the bus saying he had lost his mobile phone. He explained that he had got on the bus several stops before (when it was being driven by another driver) and then got into the drivers seat when his shift started. He said he had 2 mobile phones when he got on the bus but after he started driving he realised he only had 1 so he must have dropped the other phone in the bus somewhere. He then said "no-one has got off this bus since I got on so the phone must be here somewhere". He then told everyone to please help him look for it.

So we (4 passengers) all started looking under the seats etc. The driver pointed to the young boy and said "I sat near you. Are you sure you didn't see it?". The poor boy looked very worried and said he hadn't seen it. I suggested the driver call the lost phone with his other phone and he said lost phone was on silent so that wouldn't help.

After some time the driver said angrily that there is CCTV on the bus and he would be checking it later to "see who on this bus took the phone". He went back to this his drivers seat, slammed the door and shouted that this is why he didn't want to take a job in East London as this area is full of thieves We sat in silence for a few more minutes and one of the Middle Aged couple timidly asked if he was going to continue driving. He shouted that the lost phone had pictures of his baby on it. Everyone was silent again and finally he started up the bus and drove on.

I think this was the most bizarre experience I've had on a bus!!

If report him to the bus company!

Sounds bizzare !

He should have kept his thoughts to himself and remained calm

It’s a weird situation but I can see why he’d be annoyed if technically there’s no way the 2nd phone could have left the bus. From his perspective it’s there somewhere so it’s either very will hidden or someone was concealing it from the driver.

Very bizarre q

Bizarre but ignore comments to report him. No real harm done.

*well hidden

Either completely mad, or completely sane and telling the truth.

Nothing in between.

He should have still rang it for vibrate.

@Hannnnnnnxo this is assuming he did actually get on the bus with two phones! There have been many times when I've thought I'd taken my phone somewhere and then realised I'd left it at home

@gamerchick I keep my phone on completely silent (no vibrate) so perhaps he does too?

He was probably not happy because he knew it had to be on the bus somewhere, it seems.

Very very very unprofessional thou so I would definitely report and ask that the CCTV is watched.

Of course there's an in between SaycyJack, he probably dropped it or it fell out of his pocket on his way to get the bus.

Or the other driver could have taken it...

He said it would probably be on vibrate and I think he did call it at one point. He obviously thought one of us (passengers) took it. The poor boy at the back was on his hands and knees looking for it under the seats.

V unprofessional
He needs to wait till end of shift to look for it
He is responsible for his own phone

Report him. As he said himself, there's CCTV on the bus......

jeez louise. He needs to keep his thoughts to himself. Report him. Bus drivers in east london can be so annoying. There is one stop that I use every day where the drivers don't stay in the bus lane but in the middle lane and only come in the bus lane if there is someone at the stop or wants to get off. Now that is a busy road and it's not always easy to get into the bus lane. One driver had a go at me because he couldn't fully enter the bus lane and then had a go at me that he was stopping all the other traffic. I was with a buggy and he was having a go at me to be quick. I told him that it was his job to stop at the bus stop, not my fault that he doesn't know how to do his job properly and told him to get lost. Luckily the next bus wasn't that long.

I agree with reporting it, most places have emails and if you bought a ticket today rather than used a pass, it should have all the details you can pass on.

While I hope he finds it, there are several other options other than someone stole it. I would have found that quite scary (but I may be a bit of a wimp - I found a bus driver who kept laughing at and mocking people who didn't know about price changes when there was no sign for them a bit intimidating). Even if one person stole it, the other three didn't deserve that treatment.

sorry, just read my post and realised that I used 'go at me' quite a lot. In my defence I am still annoyed at him

I would report him. He essentially accused all of you, particularly the poor boy of stealing it.

Report him. He should have rung it as even on silent it might have made a noise

He sounds like a true lunatic.
although I guess he could be forgiven for being upset

Seems very stressed!

Report him. He needs some help.

I was once on a bus where one of the stop bells was faulty and kept ringing itself - I was sat far enough back that I could probably see all but one of the bell buttons and I was sure no one had touched them. I was on my way to work. It was morning rush hour and the bus was full of school kids. The driver obviously thought it was one of them messing about. After maybe five minutes of the bell ringing and the driver stopping unnecessarily, he stopped at the next stop, came upstairs and started shouting that if it happened again he would stop the bus and refuse to move, and they could explain to the school why they were so late. Off we went again and sure enough the bell started ringing. This time I was keeping an eye on the bells behind me, and no one touched them either. Luckily the driver didn't follow through on his threat. I was all set to go downstairs and point out that the kids might be explaining it to their school, but he'd be explaining it to both his boss and mine! He was very rude, although not sweary at least.