To not pay my bus fare (London bus)

[KatRee]

Got on the bus today with my 1-year-old in the pushchair and my 3-year-old, who was walking. We went through the doors at the back to get directly into the wheelchair/pushchair space.
As soon as we got on, the announcement was played: “For your child’s safety, please stay with your buggy.” There were no seats, so my eldest also had to stand with us and hold on tight to keep his balance. I needed to supervise him to make sure he was doing that.
There were people standing in the aisle, so I couldn’t easily get to the front to tap my card to pay. So I ended up not paying.
This has happened maybe 2 or 3 times before since I’ve had kids and I always feel like I’ve done something wrong! But I’m not really sure what’s expected.
Usually we either get on at the front if the aisle is clear, as I have a little pushchair that fits down it, or we get on at the back, I quickly put the brake on, my eldest sits down and I run to the front and back to tap before the bus sets off.

Was I unreasonable not to pay today?
YABU – It’s basically stealing – pay your fare!
YANBU – For the love of God woman, supervise your small children and don’t worry about depriving TfL of £1.75!

OK, they might not go flying, but they can and do tip up, and my 3 year old has gone flying before on the bus and whacked his head on a screen. I really would like to pay the fare, but they don’t make it easy.

I've already suggested you contact TfL to find out their policy/stance on this. If the driver doesn't stick to it you can gently remind them. All drivers near me would ask people to move down the aisle if there is room. Problem solved.

Yabvu I have a 1 yo 2 yo and 5 yo and get on London buses maybe once a week. I always pay; you leave the buggy for 10 seconds and squeeze to pay machine and tap in. You are stealing otherwise

I don’t think I’m brave enough to try that to be honest. A lot of my anxiety is also around not causing any inconvenience. I think delaying the bus is the biggest sin there is, which is also why the drivers don’t wait to give you chance to pay before setting off. Also, I don’t think people moving back would allow me to reach the buggy space most of te time as there wouldn’t be enough free space for them to move into at the back, beyond the space.
Thanks for the advice to contact tfl- I think I will actually. I have had a look at their guidance on the website - they have a ‘getting around with your buggy guide’, and it sounds well-meaning, but doesn’t reflect reality. It seems they expect everyone to get on at the front, including buggies, unless it’s a double buggy, in which case ‘feel free to get on a the back’. It reality, unless the aisle is completely clear, most people get on with them at the back and I’ve been told to get on at the back lots of times. Even with a small buggy it’s difficult to get in a the front because even when no one is standing in the aisles, people and their belongings who are sitting down tend to spill out and you have to get them to move stuff so you can squeeze through.
The guidance also says that you must ‘never leave your buggy unattended’ and that the driver must wait until you’ve sat down or are holding onto something to move, but doesn’t mention giving you time to get to the front to pay, so I guess it’s all based on the assumption you’re getting on at the front to pay.

YABVU

Why cant you pay at the front and if needs be dismount and go to the back to get on? Or pay as you dismount? Or get a weekly ticket?

🤞 youre caught

Well done you. A call could be the right answer. BTW it's not you causing the delay - it's the other passengers if they don't move. Trust me they will when they realise the bus is going nowhere until they do. Driver can easily inform them of this. Good luck with the call.

You dont want to cause inconvenience but people not paying their share while travelling is part of the reason fares go up.

Youre stealing and making excuses

Other people seem to manage to pay their fares. They walk down and do it or send a kid with their card. If an inspector gets on the fine would be a lot more than £1.75, and why should other people fund your travel costs?

See previous posts regarding paying at the front when I get on and please let me know what you think. Buses drive off the second you get off, so there’s often no time to pay at the front when you get off, unless other people are getting on then. I only very sporadically use the bus. I’ve thought about getting an Oyster card, but I don’t use the tube that regularly either as I work from home most days, so don’t think it would add up

OP - this is one reason why I have an old fashioned Oyster card. You can pass it down the bus to pay, and if it ever doesn’t come back it’s not a big problem like losing a bank card. You’ll lose whatever you had on there (say £20 if you’ve just topped up) but nothing more, your bank details etc are all safe.

I also chose to use a sling with a baby and toddler, as I found it a lot easier for public transport than a buggy, especially as my local stations largely have stairs/escalators and no lifts. Baby on my front (later on my back) and toddler holding my hand. But it doesn’t work for carrying lots of shopping. And I know lots of people don’t get in with slings - I tried a lot before I found the best one for me.

Thank you so much for replying. It’s good to hear from someone who understands. I just genuinely wanted to know what people do in this situation but each of the options presented makes me nervous in a way it clearly doesn’t to most people!

Thank you, I think I will look into the oyster thing. I haven’t had one since pre-Covid and had forgotten about the top-up version. Would also stop me accidentally tapping in and out with different cards and being overcharged, which I’ve done more times than I want to think about!

I did used to take a sling out for these kind of scenarios when the youngest was smaller, but he started trying to escape it a while ago now!

Yes, and that is also playing in my mind, which is why I’m asking what to do! Although, as I said before, the fact I’ve overpaid so much by mistake on many occasions is helping me worry less

You beep at the front and get on at the back!!!

Next time I would tap on at the front then get on at the back if feasible (may not be in a large crowd).

I use London buses all the time, and the usual thing is for the parent to park the buggy, put the brake on, then immediately go and pay. It takes seconds.

I have seen the driver call someone back to pay after she didn’t bother. ‘OI!’

Get on at front, get off from the middle or the back (depending on the design of the bus) but the key thing is that, unlike Lothian buses, if there are several buses arriving at the bus stop in a queue then it is acceptable to walk to and board the bus you require rather than waiting for the other buses to leave before your bus pulls up to the actual bus stop. Otherwise the bus you need will probably go without you.

I hope this makes sense!

I think I should have been clearer in the original post about just how many people were in the aisle. It was packed, mostly teenagers on the way home from school with backpacks, so would have taken a lot longer than a few seconds to get to the front and back. Or at least in my head that’s how it felt, but I feel so anxious stepping away from the kids in that situation that it’s probably the case of seconds stretching out and feeling longer? Still, genuinely feel it would have been well long enough for them to have an accident.

It’s a set fare, op. You don’t get to build up credit from accidental over payments. Try telling that to the inspector and see if it stops you getting chucked off.

A lot of my anxiety is also around not causing any inconvenience. I think delaying the bus is the biggest sin there is
Jesus, I’ve heard it all now…. You’d prefer to skive off your bus fare rather than cause any inconvenience??

Send the three year old to the front to pay? Pass your card down to the front of the bus to get someone else to tap it for you? Get on at the front despite the bus being full?

Has anyone ever caught a busy London bus who would actually do any of those things?

Wow people really love sticking the boot in don't they. A good example of why it can be difficult to draw attention to yourself on public transport tbh - hope I never met any of you on a packed London bus!!

OP just literally forget about it. It's over and really was never a huge deal in the first place.

♥️

I've not been on a London bus, I'm just used to ones here with only the front door - but if there are multiple doors to get on/off, wouldn't it be easier to have contactless sensors at each entrance, so you could just tap wherever you get on?

They tried that but it didn't work because you had people trying to get on and off through the same doors at the same time (bashing into each other) and loads of people didn't beep their cards.
Now the only people who are meant to get on at the middle are wheelchair uses who don't need to pay so no need for a scanner.
Pram/Pushchair users can use the middle door at the drivers discretion but yes they are meant to pay but if like in the OPs situation they literally can't get to the front then generally the driver doesn't care they haven't beeped.
9 times out of 10 pushchair users pay.
The OP didn't.
In the big scheme of people who don't pay ("I forgot my card" "I'm only going one stop") she's way down the list.