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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
eastegg · 04/11/2022 21:48

FictionalCharacter · 03/11/2022 12:21

Surely if there was a spot check, it would be revealed that the discrepancy was due to a passenger who had a valid pass that couldn’t be counted? The company didn’t lose money from this journey- it’s not like someone being on the bus who didn’t have a pass and didn’t pay a fare.
The welfare of elderly and vulnerable passengers should trump protocol, and drivers and inspectors should be given discretion.

Agree completely. This ‘the numbers won’t add up’ defence is the very definition of jobsworthiness, which is what OP is accusing the driver of.

Yanbu OP. Glad your dad was ok, but I don’t think that should stop you from making a complaint.

eastegg · 04/11/2022 21:58

Just to add, I complained about a bus driver recently, first time I’d ever done it. They went through a red light at a pedestrian crossing just as my son was about to step into the road. No harm done, by a split second, but I thought it shouldn’t go unmarked. TfL (I’m in London) gave me a prompt reply and seem to be taking it seriously.

BustyLaRoux · 04/11/2022 22:59

Yep. Shitty and unnecessary. No two ways about it.

Toomuchtrouble4me · 04/11/2022 23:45

PuttingDownRoots · 03/11/2022 12:05

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.

What numbers? The amount of people getting off and on are only registered by the payment method. Unless an inspector got on nobody would ever know. If an inspector got on he could see the pass was valid.,

AutumnLea · 05/11/2022 06:59

What numbers? The amount of people getting off and on are only registered by the payment method

Not true. Every passenger is logged under the correct category ie. Day ticket, app ticket, concession, student, nhs etc. That data is used by commercial for several reasons, by the inspector if one boards, and by the driver so that they know whether they are at legal capacity.

Again, the card should have been logged manually if it hadn't scanned as it was clearly valid.

Pointynoseowner · 05/11/2022 10:28

What an absolute fucker . Sometimes you read something and cant quite believe how low some people sink. Yes op complain long and loud, I hope the shit loses his job .

Username123abc · 05/11/2022 11:38

Pointynoseowner · 05/11/2022 10:28

What an absolute fucker . Sometimes you read something and cant quite believe how low some people sink. Yes op complain long and loud, I hope the shit loses his job .

I think the OP should complain, what happened to her dad was terrible.

The bus company might roll on the floor laughing at you, that you think they should care about someone who doesn’t pay for a ticket didn’t get on their bus.

Or they might humour you, the bus company might sack the driver, humans are an expendable commodity in the pursuit of profit.

In fact I think all 200+ people frothing at the mouth about the bus driver should make a formal complaint. They can only sack him
once right.

The bus company want to make it as difficult as possible to use the pass, they don’t want to offer them, they have to. If it’s difficult, either like your dad the person pays again, so they get more money, more profit, or they don’t use the pass. Win-Win for the bus company. They don’t care if he’s vulnerable and left behind.

I paid my dad’s mortgage when he was suspended without pay for letting someone on the bus without a valid ticket. So I have skin in the game. What about you?

We get the society we deserve, if we choose to support governments and companies that put profit above people it is the poor and vulnerable that get left behind.

The whole world is laughing at us right now because we as a country don’t know basic maths. We think we can have Scandinavian levels of welfare and living standards and with American levels of tax. We think we can have growth out of nowhere, no one pays more tax and the vulnerable will still be ok. Well Jack has some magic beans to sell you.

if you don’t want 80 year old pensioners stranded on the street, look in the mirror and make better choices about who you vote for and the companies you choose to spend money with.

AutumnLea · 05/11/2022 12:45

@Username123abc sorry to hear what happened to your dad. It sounds like it was some time ago and things have perhaps moved on since then?

At the company I work for your dad would have been regarded as having done the right thing. He may have been spoken to had refused to take that passenger at 9.28.

They would want to know about an incident such as the one OP describes and would explain proper procedure to the driver informally so it didn't happen again, which is the result we all want right?

Username123abc · 05/11/2022 12:58

@AutumnLea

It depends on the bus company I think, when he worked for TFL my dad got a customer service award and they treated him very well, he enjoyed his job and had a good work life balance, when he worked for a private bus company they treated them all appallingly.

Like I said previously, they were quite prepared to suspend several bus drivers without pay to force through changes to working conditions. Longer shifts, unpaid breaks in the middle of nowhere, right on the edges of what is safe and legal.

I hope your company is different and that we get more of them.

NailTapBucket · 05/11/2022 13:09

nothingevergoesright · 03/11/2022 12:32

Thing is, without the card registering by tapping, there is no way the company get paid (the council reimburse the bus companies an absolute pittance for OAP and disabled cards). The company would get nothing for letting your father on without the card being tapped (there is no over-ride available, if there was it would be open to fraud).

It also has the knock on effect on reducing bus services if they let people on without their cards working.

That said, my husband would have let your father on, he does with children and elderly. Drivers have some discretion, but it does lose the company money as they cannot recoup their costs for just 'looking at a card'.

Utter tosh. What's it costing the company for one person to travel on a bus that's on a set route? Pennies in fuel probably.

Username123abc · 05/11/2022 13:40

AutumnLea · 05/11/2022 12:45

@Username123abc sorry to hear what happened to your dad. It sounds like it was some time ago and things have perhaps moved on since then?

At the company I work for your dad would have been regarded as having done the right thing. He may have been spoken to had refused to take that passenger at 9.28.

They would want to know about an incident such as the one OP describes and would explain proper procedure to the driver informally so it didn't happen again, which is the result we all want right?

This is sort of my point. There are better and more ethical companies and we need to make the choice to support them.

For example, away from buses which gets into politics and privatisation, something more every day if you choose to use Amazon with its questionable employee welfare record and support a company that chooses not to contribute to the tax system. Then that is your choice in a democracy and a free market economy.

But then you have to accept the effect of your choice on the weak and the vulnerable.

you can’t make self indulgent choices and then complain about the consequences.

ScrollingLeaves · 05/11/2022 13:43

Dreadful, mean, stupid, behaviour unworthy of the bus company if I were in charge.

Mlb123 · 05/11/2022 13:58

Bus drivers do have discretion and this man did have a valid pass so if an inspector had got on the bus he would have been able to see that the man had a valid pass and it was absolutely jobworth behaviour xx

JOFFCV · 05/11/2022 14:57

I can't believe the people defending the bus driver.

Everyflippingusernameistaken · 05/11/2022 17:20

Absolutely disgusting. He should have let him on. Report the bastard. How would he like it if it happened to a relative of his?!

Thesearmsofmine · 05/11/2022 17:25

The bus driver was unreasonable. The drivers round here are usually pretty good with stuff like this, they are able to use their discretion.

withaspongeandarustyspanner · 06/11/2022 06:20

I would complain. The pass was valid.

Allthenamesaretaken0 · 06/11/2022 07:51

Brefugee · 03/11/2022 12:12

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?

Actually sensible for an elderly man to go out without one if there's zero need for it. Why add value and risk to yourself unnecessarily?

Brefugee · 06/11/2022 08:39

If the UK is that dangerous that her dad can't go out with a wallet, then OP shouldn't be leaving him to travel by buy?
That's bonkers.

But if it really is some kind of Clockwork Orange society, he should probably take enough for busfare? or maybe a taxi? It isn't sensible to go out with nothing.

(but i also agree that he had a valid travel pass and should have been let on with the warning to get it replaced asap)

withaspongeandarustyspanner · 06/11/2022 09:34

Username123abc · 05/11/2022 11:38

I think the OP should complain, what happened to her dad was terrible.

The bus company might roll on the floor laughing at you, that you think they should care about someone who doesn’t pay for a ticket didn’t get on their bus.

Or they might humour you, the bus company might sack the driver, humans are an expendable commodity in the pursuit of profit.

In fact I think all 200+ people frothing at the mouth about the bus driver should make a formal complaint. They can only sack him
once right.

The bus company want to make it as difficult as possible to use the pass, they don’t want to offer them, they have to. If it’s difficult, either like your dad the person pays again, so they get more money, more profit, or they don’t use the pass. Win-Win for the bus company. They don’t care if he’s vulnerable and left behind.

I paid my dad’s mortgage when he was suspended without pay for letting someone on the bus without a valid ticket. So I have skin in the game. What about you?

We get the society we deserve, if we choose to support governments and companies that put profit above people it is the poor and vulnerable that get left behind.

The whole world is laughing at us right now because we as a country don’t know basic maths. We think we can have Scandinavian levels of welfare and living standards and with American levels of tax. We think we can have growth out of nowhere, no one pays more tax and the vulnerable will still be ok. Well Jack has some magic beans to sell you.

if you don’t want 80 year old pensioners stranded on the street, look in the mirror and make better choices about who you vote for and the companies you choose to spend money with.

Totally agree that we need to consider carefully who we vote for. Agree too, that we get the society we deserve.

A complaint won't always end in a sacking - but maybe it will result in retraining or making sure that the driver, and all other drivers, knows how to handle similar situations in the future.

icelolly99 · 06/11/2022 11:04

Driver should have let him on.

What are the bus passes made of that they can tear? Ours are plastic like a debit card.

I was on a bus recently at one stop the driver wouldn't let a pensioner bus pass user on as it was 9.29am (it's free after 9.30) so the person was left at the bus stop in the rain (no shelter)!

withaspongeandarustyspanner · 06/11/2022 11:55

icelolly99 · 06/11/2022 11:04

Driver should have let him on.

What are the bus passes made of that they can tear? Ours are plastic like a debit card.

I was on a bus recently at one stop the driver wouldn't let a pensioner bus pass user on as it was 9.29am (it's free after 9.30) so the person was left at the bus stop in the rain (no shelter)!

That's really petty. Leaving them at the bus stop in the rain! I get it if it was 5 or 10 minutes, I suppose, but that is terrible.

IndysMamaRex · 06/11/2022 19:28

That’s really bad. At 85 years old he could be classed as vulnerable & the bud driver has a duty of care. I’d make a complaint. Imagine if he’d tried to walk & slipped & injured himself

Catzby · 06/11/2022 19:29

What disgusting behaviour! I would complain and try to identify the driver and route as much as possible - if jobsworth has done it once, he'll do it again.

Sorry this happened to your father.

suzanneinfo · 06/11/2022 19:42

Some companies have a written duty to care within their passengers charter, particularly towards those who fall into 'vulnerable' groups. Regardless, if they claim to provide a public service they should have done better than this. Totally alert the company to this event and if you don't get a satisfactory resolution involve local councillors. Depending on the area most, even if a deregulated provider, are providing the service on behalf of public service.