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.

They are. Broken passes is a different matter.

No it's not. I'm married to a bus driver. You owe me an apology.

I’d complain to the bus company definitely. Can’t believe no one else on the bus paid his fare for him.

I don’t think it’s a driver issue but company. You can write to bus company… how ever the bus driver has not done anything wrong.

you to need fix his bus pass

I don't think this should be the bus company policy, but it is really quite horrible to call people "jobsworth". It means you are looking down on someone for not having sufficient money to be able to risk losing their job on a whim.

There’s no common sense or decency anymore. I remember a girl being raped as she walked home when I was teenager as she was a penny short for her bus fare and the driver didn’t let her on. Obvs wasn’t his fault it happened but JFC, have a heart! Shame on the bus company!

I hope you stood up for the poor girl being bullied to holier-than-thou rude customers?

It's nice of them to pay for the guys cuppa, but they were totally out of line being abusive to a member of staff who doesn't have the power to give away free drinks or explain to the boss well I decided we should take cash now.

What if he'd had a wife and 3 grandkids with him and ordered cakes but oy had a £20 note? Should she give it away free? Why only old people? What about a young pregnant mom on her own with two kids or a guys who's just worked a 13 hour shift at the local hospital? Why should she only give away free stock if you're over 65?

Well your husband only drives in one area of the country - there is no way that you (or he) can be an expert on every bus company's terms and conditions. And the fact that a pass doesn't scan doesn't mean it's invalid. Given drivers drive, they must have eyes, and they must be able to look at a pass and use their common sense when someone is obviously well within the age group for a seniors pass.

I bet there is no easy way to get a replacement pass either.

Conditions of carriage also have to comply with the Consumer Rights Act and the terms you are claiming apply clearly do not comply with the CRA.

So. no apology forthcoming. You're still wrong.

Being a bus drivers wife does not make you an expert. If thems the rules then they need to be relaxed. A tiny tear in a bus pass of a vulnerable 85 year old should not mean he cannot travel and has to walk home and then all the way back to bus stop it is utterly ridiculous terms or not

If something needed to tally then you would inform whoever was in charge of the tally that it had happened.

Surely nobody is that much of a jobsworth.

What about shame on everyone else on that bus nosey enough to listen in but not to help out cos I bet it wasn't empty and I bet they weren't all oblivious to her getting in and being told to get off again

I used to deal with bus passes for OAP and other reasons

most drivers will be very accomidating of the elderly when their pass doesn't work.

Often men pop their bus pass in their back pocket in a wallet and they get broken - then don't work, its a common error and will cost your dad to get a replacement pass. (as an external company makes the passes and sends them out) Its about £10

the driver was being a jobsworth

Have you taken the bus drivers written test for stagecoach? It has senarios were you have to choose when to use discretion. You fail if you apply the rule of 'no money/pass = no travel'.

That is different though, they don't have their pass.

The OP's dad did have his pass, but it didn't work. Even if you argue the slight tear was down to him, the expiry date was presumably obvious, and his age would also have been obvious. Even a really good looking 85 year old is going to be clearly over 65 or whatever the age is for bus passes.

It is likely company policy there needs to be a valid pass and the driver has little discretion. If you feel like complaining I would ask what their company policy is before complaining about the individual driver.

Bus pass holder/protector with space for an emergency fiver for a Christmas present?

Someone said above about school kids not being allowed access to buses without a pass, I think that is fair, otherwise there would be plenty of kids who haven't got/bought passes trying to get a free lift home. It was happening here and causing capacity problems on the buses for those that did have passes.

I think it was really awful of the bus driver, but what would have happened if this bus driver let your dad do the outward journey and a different driver on the return journey would not allow your dad on the bus. Your dad would be stuck with no money and no way to get home.
I would definitely bring it to the attention of the bus company because this must not happen to anyone again.
Hope your dad gets his new pass asap.

I would complain. It might not be company policy, it might just be the bus driver being an arsehole. Either way the company should know that they are refusing travel to a potentially vulnerable individual.

No it’s not different as the school kid would be in uniform!

Our society treats elderly people really badly. Please complain.

That’s absolutely shit. People have lost their humanity in favour of policy. I hate modern British bureaucracy.

I work for TfL. We have Freedom passes here. It's paid for by London Councils so there are certain restrictions. But: I do let holders use our services if their passes are damaged, I just remind them to get a new one asap.

He had a valid pass, it just wasn't working automatically. Not the same as someone not having their pass.

It is the same if it doesn’t work it’s not valid.

YANBU, Dad is clearly an old man and eligible, just an absolute arse throwing his weight about.

We have some lovely bus drivers on our local route, one day a woman told the driver she had lost her pass, he not only let her on, he phoned the depot, learned that the pass had been handed in, and told her he'd drive her up there to collect it when everyone else had been dropped off! Proper service!

Some bus drivers are such arseholes 🙄 I'd complain, mainly because it would just make me feel better. I don't know if they'd act on it because technically they were following protocol.