Bus driver wouldn't let my dad on bus aibu to think he is a jobsworth?

[oohopo]

My dad is 85.
He has a bus pass.
He was coming to my house last night for tea.
He got on bus and his pass wouldn't work (it has a tiny rip in)
It was valid for two years still.
Normally you tap your pass and they let you on.
Obviously when he was tapping it wasn't registering.
So he had to get off and go home to get his wallet.
He was coming to mine so didn't think he needed anything but his pass.

It made zero difference to that bus driver
Aibu to think it's a shitty thing to do to a elderly man.

(He didn't notice rip till the bus driver showed him )

That was a mean thing to do.

Very shitty but there’s nothing you can do now so best to just let it go.

Real shitty behaviour, at 85 I'm sure it's quite clear your dad would have a valid pass

Yes it was horrible.

I would complain.

That's really mean. Surely if it wouldn't tap, the driver could have looked and seen it was valid?

Yes it's a very mean thing to do to a very elderly man. You could write to the bus company to express your disappointment, even if they don't respond or dismiss it.

Yes and No.
Leaving an elderly person behind is mean, especially if he had a pass (can pensioner passes be removed for breaking terms and conditions like youth ones?)
However they can get into trouble if the numbers don't tally.

@PuttingDownRoots which numbers need to tally?

That was needlessly nasty.

it was quite obvious an 80+ year old was entitled to free travel.

id complain. What if he was trying to return home, ie was some distance away from his home?

I don't think it's best to let it go. The company should be made aware of what happened. If the driver was following company procedures, then it might prompt them to reconsider the impact of their procedures. If he wasn't, the company needs to know to ensure he does so in future.

Lets hope that driver's parents are never left in a vulnerable / similar position. Jeez - what is wrong with people.

Put in a complaint, state the time and route. The company will know which driver was responsible.

Please complain. Whilst yes your dad was ok, next time the person refused valid travel or vulnerable (eg child) could have been placed in serious danger. We all have a duty of care for each other.

This is more likely to be a company policy issue than an individual bus driver issue imo. Ours have got really strict around passes, and I know a few drivers who say they get spot checked for the amount of people on the bus Vs what fares they've taken and passes scanned and can get into trouble for it.

This is what you get when employers don't give their employees discretion to use their common sense and punish them for doing so.

On the face of it, YANBU, but the bus driver doesn't necessarily have the power to allow people on without a valid pass or ticket. Bus drivers can get into trouble if they are caught allowing this to happen.

There's also the aspect that elderly passengers tend to be the most difficult because bus drivers regularly have to deal with ones who haven't got their pass or are trying to use it on a service that won't accept them. (What I mean is, not all are difficult, but proportionally they make up a large part of the "troublesome" customers drivers have to deal with each day. I get the bus regularly and I see this at least weekly. The occasions where I've been on a bus and a driver has needed to call the police out to remove a disruptive passenger were all due to elderly passengers refusing to get off, despite not having their pass on them.)

I think it was mean of him but maybe they’ve had random checks or something?

I'd complain because there should be a way around this - if you can visually inspect a pass and see that it's valid, there should be a way for the driver to flag that on the system and let the passenger know there's a problem that needs to be rectified.

But, it's a bit daft to go out without your wallet, isn't it?

There was a case in Nottingham where a young woman was raped at the bus stop after being refused entry on to the bus, and they changed the rules and gave the bus drivers more leeway.

So its worth raising it as an issue with the bus company.

I would complain if this is company policy rather than about the individual driver.

I'd ask the what safety net they've got in place to help elderly or vulnerable passengers due to this happening
I'd word it as a concern rather than a complaint. I think you'll get a more positive reply doing this

What an absolute arse of a bus driver.
A bus that was not in service pulled over for my mother one day as she was walking and offered her a lift as the driver recognised her.

I would do. Bus drivers do have some discretion (in London anyway) and at 85 your dad is potentially vulnerable and the driver should let him travel.

Yes not good to treat an old person this way

I don’t know, I think it should be the same rule for all passengers I often see the bus driver refusing to let school children on as they’ve lost their pass but it’s clear they are children and even dressed in uniform but drivers are happy to tell them they can’t get on.