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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be completely shocked by bus drivers behaviour

61 replies

Lucy10 · 16/01/2008 17:13

Was on the bus coming home with DD. Not many people on it and there was one other mum with her son who couldn't be more than 2 at the most. He was crying a lot and she was calmly trying to calm him down. Not bothering anyone at all. The bus driver then told her to get off the bus as her child was being too noisy.

Cue very shocked passangers sticking up for her telling him he couldn't do this. The mother then went up to him while he was driving to speak to him. He then opened the door to his cab, looked like he was going to hit her, and started shouting at her.

She called to make a complaint about him while we were still on the bus with other passengers saying they would be her witness. The driver actually asked if anyone would be his witness.

Can't quite believe he acted in this way....anyone know if bus drivers are allowed to tell the mother of a crying baby to get off the bus?

OP posts:

Viggoswife · 16/01/2008 20:41

What a wanker.

Bus Conducter on the old Routemaster Buses refused to stop the bus for me at the stop I needed because he said I should have pressed the button. I was 8 months pregnant, the floor was wet and I had shopping, I wanted to stay sitting down until the bus stopped. When I asked him why he hadnt stopped the bus when he could see I wanted to get off - he replied "Why couldnt you press the buzzer yourself you lazy bitch?". I sat at the bus stop and just cried for about twenty minutes until DH came to get me. This was W. London.

tinx · 16/01/2008 20:57

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Why do people think that, people with small children/pregnant are not worthy of being on a London bus taking up precious space. As if the only valid travelers are the people going to and from work FFS
it makes me Sick

handlemecarefully · 16/01/2008 21:01

I hope the complaint leads to his suspension pending disciplinary action. Bastard.

EffiePerine · 17/01/2008 08:59

As I suspected - I live in that area and the bus drivers are mostly appalling. Gits. I hope your complaint gets somewhere.

mistlethrush · 17/01/2008 09:13

I was taking ds to nursery on the bus a little while ago - so I had him (then 2.5), his nursery bag, my work bag and my handbag.

We pressed the button to get off - the bus stopped, someone else got off first. I was trying to help ds down the steps to the door (this was a bus with the exit door in the middle of the side) and the driver shut the doors (although people were still getting on at the front) and the doors hit ds's head. Luckily he wasn't any further forward as they would have totally squashed him. Needless to say, when the doors started closing I shouted. Luckily ds wasn't hurt too much - more shocked than anything. But it just shows you that bus drivers don't care and don't think where ever they are based (not London btw)

krang · 17/01/2008 09:23

I had a bus driver close the doors on me while I was getting off with DS in his pushchair. Cue horrified yells from the other passengers as I struggled to free us before he moved off...I gave him the most incredible earful. That was in North London too - Willesden Green. Report the twat, there is no excuse whatsoever for this kind of behaviour.

GoodGollyMissMolly · 17/01/2008 10:19

Nothing shocks me with bus drivers anymore, I would rather walk the 11 mile round trip to my mums than get on a bus here!!!!

lucyellensmum · 17/01/2008 10:22

apologies to any decent bus drivers out there BUT None of these stories surprise me.

It seems to me that generally, around here at least, to qualify as a bus driver, you have to have a generally offensive demeanour, you have to be rude and as obstructive as possible. The uniform tends to be fat slob (preferred) with un ironed uniform and unshaven. A general whiff of BO and apathetic attitude is a bonus.

My list of experiences are (not all personal)

Bus driver abruptly applying breaks as small child (about 3) was pressing the bell. Said child was thrown to the ground, from mothers lap, and broke her nose!! I think the mother sued!

Bus drivers regularly putting school children off the bus out of town etc after speeding past their stops (many reports in local paper, this is semi rural area). One child was even put out on dual carraigeway.

I was 36 weeks pregnant and had to get to uni one day. I asked for a return to university - so this generally means i want to go to the university. Not all the buses go to the universtity and the nearest stop if it doesnt is just under a mile away, up a very steep hill. Bus just sailed past, When i asked the driver why he didnt go to the university he said he wasnt scheduled to stop there. I asked why he didnt tell me when i got on (they usually do!) - he siad i didnt ask - um, about to have a baby, asking for a ticket to the university - how obvious does it have to be????? Then he called me stupid woman!!!! I complained. No result.

Bus driver spoke to an obviously confused old gentleman and his wife in a dispicable manner.as he had misplaced his return ticket and was trying to use an old one. The wife had a return ticket, why would he not have had one too? He refused the man to get on the bus and it was pissing down. Another customer had to pay for him - 45p!!!!

lucyellensmum · 17/01/2008 10:28

The ONLY thing i have to say in defense of our local bus drivers is that the school run is HELL!!! they have to transport loads of teenagers. I was one, DD was one - so they must have some patience somewhere.

I have travelled on a bus at school run time - OMG the noise!!! It has to be over the legal limit for health and safety.

MightySquonk · 17/01/2008 10:30

just read this, and I want to say that I am mightily impressed with the passengers on the bus. It's not often that people will actually stand up and be counted when they see something unfair happening.

Well done Lucy10 and your fellow passengers

hatwoman · 17/01/2008 10:34

I saw a conductor (on the old route masters) blocking access to a seat. he was standing in the aisle and someone asked - very politley - if they could sit down. (ie could you move very slightly so I could sit in that seat) and he blank refused. the passenger was pretty confused and siad "i'd just like to sit down" and the conductor started ranting about where he was supposed to stand in order to do his job. I was then and remain utterly convinced that it was because the passenger was black.

I have also seen a driver refuse to understand what two Japanese tourists were saying to him. they were saying British Museum in a bit of an accent. it was completely obvious what they were saying; completely obvious they were tourists; completely obvious that the reason they couldn't manage "please kind sir can you tell us if this is the right bus for the British Museum" was not because they were rude but because their English wasn;t great. He was totally rude to them - even if he genuinely couldn;t understand he could have managed "I'm really sorry I don;t understand" but no he was sharp, impatient and down-right rude and told them to get off (even though they were on the right bus). I felt utterly embarrassed to be English. Unfortunately I did not, at that time, know where the Museum was so I couldn't help.

hatwoman · 17/01/2008 10:35

agree with mighty squonk - on the one hand it's a horrible story but it's also reassuring that people are, on the whole, decent to their fellows

TotalChaos · 17/01/2008 10:37

at the stories on here, particularly the London based ones. It's weird - I get buses a lot up in Liverpool, have always got buses with DS in tow, and the drivers are usually absolutely fine, no horror stories to report.

GreenGlassGoblin · 17/01/2008 10:41

Also and at the stories here. Our local bus drivers have been wonderful with transport obsessed ds - letting us explore the buses when parked at the bus stop, printing out blank tickets for him, letting him sit in the drivers seat, even giving us a free ride once (it was only a couple of stops, just so ds could go on the bus, but still, very nice of the driver). Another reason to be very very happy that we don't have to live in London, i think.

hatwoman · 17/01/2008 10:47

in London's defence - and doing a very rough calculation on my various commutes over the years - I have taken something in the region of 5,000 bus journeys in the last 10 years. Of those I can remember 2 or 3 unpleasant experiences. I have had many more pleasant ones - with polite smiley drivers, chatty drivers, and on many an ocassion a rather lovely harmonica-playing conductor. plus countless un-notable journeys. the vast majority of bus drivers are decent, hard-working and pleasant. shame that a few are just arse-holes.

nametaken · 17/01/2008 10:55

I think of lot of these problems started when Ken Livingston, in his infinate wisdom, decided to give all children under 16 free bus transport in London.

helenhismadwife · 17/01/2008 16:42

If you do ring to complain follow it up in writing as well its harder to ignore a letter.

Im really shocked at some of the stories here, I used ot use the bus a lot in Bristol and there was the odd abrupt driver but nothing like this, there is no excuse for any of the behaviour but I have seen drivers take a lot of abuse from passengers and other road users.

MummyPenguin · 18/01/2008 08:59

A very similar incident happened here (Bournemouth area) and it made the local paper and one of the nationals. Not sure what the outcome was. I use buses all the time, and believe me, bus drivers are some of the rudest people I've ever had the misfortune to meet.

Kimi · 18/01/2008 09:16

What Chequers said!!!

LoveAngel · 18/01/2008 09:38

This happened not long ago on the 102 bus in London. A woman was trying to calm down her crying baby - there were literally about 5 passengers on the downstairs of the bus, including me - and the bus driver said if she couldnt calm the baby down she would have to get off. I stood up for the woman and said it was ridiculous - nobody had complained and the baby was a baby - I couldn't see any signs saying 'no crying babies, please' etc. He was really aggressive and rude and caused a huge scene. I felt so sorry for the woman, she didn't know where to look. Unfortunately, in all the kerfuffle, I didn't get his driver no. to complain, but I wish I had. Bastard. Bus drivers in London in general are totally contemptuous and bastardly towards mothers and young children.

LoveAngel · 18/01/2008 09:40

And just to add (sorry hatwoman, have to disagree here) - I have had literally dozens of bad experiences with rude, poorly trained, aggressive bus drivers in London and can probably count on one hand how many of been smiley/chatty etc in my whole 30 years as a Londoner.

Squiffy · 18/01/2008 10:42

Am I the only person to have remembered that there is a battle going on for the mayor of London?

there's a place to post comments here

and here

Time to get it all off your norks, ladies...

LoveAngel · 18/01/2008 10:49

Thing is, you have to be loaded with all the facts - the bus driver's license plate or driver no., the time and place of the incident, witnesses etc. If you aren't, they fob you off with a 'we're terribly sorry, but oh well' type letter.

ninedragons · 18/01/2008 11:33

Definitely worth making a complaint of your own.

I was on a bus once and an elderly woman with a walking frame was struggling to get on - it was one of those buses that kneels but he wouldn't activate it. Instead he said "hurry up, you black bitch". I reported him the second I got to work and the bus company rang back three hours later to say he'd been fired on the spot when he got back to the depot.

ninedragons · 18/01/2008 11:35

Central London, btw. But pre-Ken!

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