Bus driver refused to give my teen DD ID back

[Mumforadecade1]

Posting from Scotland - we are very lucky that children get free bus travel , this comes in card form with photo and D.o.B . This card can be used as library card , ID , Free transport and shopping discounts etc . My DD Age 12 was coming home from school today when the bus driver said her card was damaged (slight bend in one corner ) however she had already been on two buses that day and it was still working on the machine . Bus driver snatched it off my DD and told her to order a replacement . At this point DD got on the bus with her friend and called me upset , I told her to ask the driver when she was getting off the bus to give her the card back and I will arrange a replacement. When asking the Driver refused to give her back the card and told her to get off the bus . I was furious and called the bus company who told me it is policy to remove damaged cards . I disagree with this and feel that uneasy that a bus driver would have possession of a card with DD photo and D.o.B - and I’m miffed I will now need to pay for travel and DD cannot access library etc until the replacement comes . AIBU ??

I'd be Really pissed off if a bus driver took ds young scot card off him.
Firstly I don't see how the bus driver would be allowed the cards come from the council not the bus company. Secondly his is as you say his library card school and public libraries and his card for the council pools and gyms so he wouldn't be able to access his sports clubs or swimming.

I have an over-60s Saltire card. When I damaged it (tripped getting onto a bus) the driver kept the broken card but gave me a 5-day travel pass until I could get a new card. There was no charge to get a replacement card. I think your DD should have been given an alternative ticket.

(I had a slight problem with the 5-day ticket because two bus companies operate in my area and the ticket was only valid for the one that issued it. However, at my age, I had the confidence to insist that drivers accepted it as a replacement card and nobody cared enough to argue and drag me off a bus!)

Oh it was a different part funded bus pass in Engald. Entitled me to journeys to/from school. I had it on a key ring and it was a bit bashed and the driver confiscated it.

The Scottish ones are definitely more than bus passes.

@Mumforadecade1 - agree that it is totally inappropriate for anyone to confiscate the card. It’s a safeguarding issue. What kind of fuckwit leaves a child without the means of travelling? It’s really bad.

It’s bloody ridiculous for him to keep it. Not his bloody job no matter what he seems to think!

I applied for my DS's new one just yesterday as the hologram is damaged and the online form wanted a photo of the card and then the number written on it. Gonna magic that out your arse are you? Idiot man.

Im sure you can get a new one with no card obviously but having that info makes applying a lot easier/faster I bet.

My DS has had to show it at the pictures to prove he can get into a 15 rated and stuff like that so it’s handy to have still when waiting on a new one.

Eto. It was a bus driver that noticed the damage and said he’d need to order a new one. He didn’t confiscate it!

I used to show my valid, in-date passport on London buses to pay child rate, and a bus driver once rejected it as proof of ID.

"It's good enough ID for the government and international travel, but not for London buses?" I snapped.

"Yes" he replied and charged me adult fair.

Some people are wankers

The Scottish disabled adult scheme uses the same cards (though no DoB once you’re over 25). The policy for a broken card is that the driver takes it and issues a temporary travel pass. I think this is because when you lose a card the scheme disables it, and the drivers presumably can’t tell between a cancelled and a broken card.

Worth getting in touch with the bus company and council (who look after issuing the cards), but suspect the response might be that this is standard for a broken card.

The thing is the terms will say it's the parent/guardians responsibility to make sure the child has a valid pass with them when travelling. If it's damaged it is up to the parent to get a new one. Here in England there's a thing with s hool kids scratching the photo off their pass because they don't like the pictures. The pass is then invalid but it doesn't stop them complaining when it is confiscated. The other one is kids demanding travel without a pass saying they left it at home. Again, that's the parents problem as it's their responsibility to make sure the child has their pass to go to school.

While I have every sympathy for DD and agree that, under the circumstances, the driver's behaviour was unnecessary and upsetting, I can't help being envious of the free child's bus pass. I shell out tons of my hard earned in fares for my three. It is only the mouldy oldies who get free bus travel in England.