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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

310 replies

oohopo · 03/11/2022 12:01

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.

OP posts:
CaronPoivre · 04/11/2022 18:46

Appalling. I would email the CEO. What if he wasn’t coming to you but was trying to get home and wasn’t carrying money? Mean driver.

CarefreeMe · 04/11/2022 18:48

Whats the point of the bus passes then if someone should get to ride for free just because they look the right age?

His bus pass was valid but just wouldn’t scan.

My cinema tickets wouldn’t scan the other week either.
The staff didn’t tell me to pay for a new ticket as they could see that I had a ticket on my phone already.

This is no different to the bud driver who saw there was a valid bus pass but it just wouldn’t scan.

Wishiwasinmalta · 04/11/2022 19:03

It’s awful OP. As a society we should be supporting vulnerable people. Where’s the compassion, common sense and respect?

THEDEACON · 04/11/2022 19:07

Total jobsworth Complain

Burgess67A · 04/11/2022 19:10

That’s disgusting. Definitely complain!

Yourcatisnotsorry · 04/11/2022 19:22

Disgusting behaviour by the jobsworth bus driver. I would send a letter of complaint.

tillytown · 04/11/2022 19:31

Bus drivers get a warning and/or fined if they are carrying people who haven't paid, it doesn't matter if they have a valid pass or not, they need to have tapped in. Why should the driver be blamed for something that isn't her/his fault?
Email the bus company all you want, but until drivers stop being penalised for it, nothing will change.

Dinoboymama · 04/11/2022 19:31

In my area drivers don't leave vulnerable people they'd have let him and put a code in the machine that he was on the bus so the company can still claim for it.

In Scotland every under 22, disabled or elderly get free bus travel here.

Lovely13 · 04/11/2022 19:38

Your poor dad. I would contact bus company. Maybe driver thought he just doing his job. But hopefully they will explain compassion and common sense are needed at times like this.

Dibbydoos · 04/11/2022 19:40

Completely shitty.

Poor dad.

Bugbabe1970 · 04/11/2022 19:53

What a shitty thing to do
I'd complain!

wentworthinmate · 04/11/2022 20:07

I’m not into complaining just to get someone into trouble needlessly but this is just not on. It would not have mattered a jot to the driver to let your dad on. Write to the MD of the bus company just to say how disappointed you are.

Babysitter12 · 04/11/2022 20:15

What a bas*d, report him to prevent him doing the same to other people in unfortunate situations, bet you he would not argue with a couple of teenagers !

Username123abc · 04/11/2022 20:32

My dad was a bus driver, he was friendly and helpful and known in the community as going out of his way to help anyone.

The bus pass for a passenger was valid from 9.30 and the bus got to the stop at 9.28 and the buses were hourly. It was cold and so he let her on the bus instead of making her wait for the next one.

The inspector got on the bus at the next stop and he was suspended without pay for two weeks for it!

The union weren’t interested in supporting his case because ‘the pass wasn’t valid for that journey’

It’s unfortunate but sometime they have no choice but to be jobsworths. That’s the rubbish capitalist society people voted for.

The bus company did it with loads of drivers because they wanted them suspended so they couldn’t vote in a ballot on changes to working conditions.

Prettydress · 04/11/2022 20:37

FFS of course he was unreasonable.

I would definitely write to the bus company.

BCBird · 04/11/2022 20:41

I would definitely complain. Surely there must be a way this coukd be manually imputed? What about if the machine was on the blink?

StrikeItMucky · 04/11/2022 20:51

I use buses every week and buy a Dayrider ticket, which enables me to use the buses as many times as I like, within a certain area, on the day of purchase. Once I've bought the ticket, I just show it to the driver for any other journeys I make. The driver doesn't "log" me as being on the bus on any device, they just nod to acknowledge that my ticket is valid. The same is true for those passengers who have their ticket or pass on their phones. So all this talk of "numbers needing to tally" blah, blah, blah, is balderdash!

Maverickess · 04/11/2022 21:04

StrikeItMucky · 04/11/2022 20:51

I use buses every week and buy a Dayrider ticket, which enables me to use the buses as many times as I like, within a certain area, on the day of purchase. Once I've bought the ticket, I just show it to the driver for any other journeys I make. The driver doesn't "log" me as being on the bus on any device, they just nod to acknowledge that my ticket is valid. The same is true for those passengers who have their ticket or pass on their phones. So all this talk of "numbers needing to tally" blah, blah, blah, is balderdash!

Me too, we used to have paper tickets to show the driver, you can still get them but they now have a QR code that you scan, I have a smart card that I top up weekly which you scan as you get on, all the other types of passes were replaced by ones with a QR code or that scan, return tickets are scanned with the QR code....... it logs each pass/ticket on and the driver logs each person off - they often stop and count the passengers left when a load get off so they know how many have got off and can update it, the screen says 'number on board'.
It's almost like there's different ways of doing things by different companies or even areas and not one rule changes covers every single bus company or area.
🤷🏼‍♀️

4kids2cats · 04/11/2022 21:04

Absolutely shitty. In my experience bus drivers fall firmly into two camps - totally lovely salt of the earth would do anything for you and on the other hand the absolutely cntiest cnts you could ever hope to encounter. Sorry your poor dad encountered the first sort xx

Justbefair · 04/11/2022 21:22

Complete shitty! They could see he was elderly, the pass was valid for 2 years. Absolutely no excuse to not let your Dad on FFS! I would so angry at this.

cherish123 · 04/11/2022 21:38

How horrible.
He should have let him on.

marktayloruk · 04/11/2022 21:39

Reply to username- the Inspector was a jobsworth and the union as bad!

Username123abc · 04/11/2022 21:42

marktayloruk · 04/11/2022 21:39

Reply to username- the Inspector was a jobsworth and the union as bad!

I agree but when he isn’t getting paid it doesn’t pay his bills.

hotdiggetydog · 04/11/2022 21:44

Your dad didn't have a valid or working bus pass. The driver could lose his job for giving away freebies. Irrespective of his age your dad should respect the rules. YABVU

Username123abc · 04/11/2022 21:47

marktayloruk · 04/11/2022 21:39

Reply to username- the Inspector was a jobsworth and the union as bad!

It was done so that they could suspend them during the ballot and bring in more difficult working conditions.