Child bus pass photos

[Mickeymousecoat]

My daughter is 13 and we were getting on a bus yesterday. She got on first, and I was faffing. The driver was clearly in a bad mood (perhaps he’s always in a bad mood) but by the time I got on he was threatening to remove my daughters bus pass because he didn’t think she looked like the photo. She doesn’t look much like the photo, but faces do change during pre-teen and teenage years and there is no requirement to update the photo.

She showed him other ID and he gave the pass back but I was just horrified at the way he spoke to my daughter. It was just disgusting. I wrote a complaint to the bud company and hopefully he’ll be dealt with, but in a country where every under 26 can access free bus travel is it really necessary to be so aggressive in checking bus passes. The chances of a child not being entitled to travel for free (ie they are not Scottish) are slim. It very much seemed to me that this driver got a kick out of harassing a child, had been given an opportunity to do so and was making the most of it. Grim.

And yes I am now trying to work out how on earth you get the photo updated.

You are right to find his behaviour unacceptable and I trust your complaint will be resolved quickly. I completely agree that it is not for bus drivers to take on the role of policing bus passes, as you rightly point out, all young people are entitled to free travel anyway. I’m sorry your daughter had this experience, I recently got my “old farts’ bus pass” and have found the drivers here in Fife quite personable.

My daughter's young scot card was taken from her by a bus driver when she was about 4 hours away from home. As a result she could not use the bus booking that she had made to get home because she didnt have the card corresponding to the booking. My daughter was left stranded because the bus was fully booked and she couldn't buy a ticket. At 17 she couldn't check into a hotel alone. She was at a university open day and as she no longer had a card she had to pay the travel for all the other open days she went on.

I thought first bus would post the card back to us but they didn't. I don't think they should just be able to just remove cards from people unless they are forgeries.

Sorry for that rant. I don't know how you change the photos. Mine still have their s1 school photos on theirs.

You see that’s what I find totally unacceptable. All that was required was the driver to say ‘you might want to look into updating this photo’. Removing a childs bus pass and leaving them stranded can make them vulnerable to all sorts of situations.

She wasn't given a reason for the removal of the pass. She was still clearly recognisable from her photo, and the replacement card has the same s1 photo. She has never had any other problems using the card.

My wife and I both have had over 60s bus passes for 17 years.
My wife had chemo and lost all her hair, it has grown a bit but she does not look like the photo on her bus pass. No driver has queried it.

https://young.scot/the-young-scot-card/

You can go through your local council to update the photo.

When you go to this page it wants you to set up a scotgov account (no thanks, I already have the UK version and live in the UK, why can’t I use that?) but it also seems to expect to do an entirely new application. There is no ‘I’d like to update my photo’ option. The only option available is ‘I’d like to apply for a new card’ which I don’t because for various reasons I don’t have all of the required documentation. I have her current bus pass though and an up to date photo. It shouldn’t be such a complex process to update.

What council is it? You might be able to do it directly through them rather than redo the full application

Edinburgh. I think if I can get myself to the central library they might have a physical helpdesk.

Email [email protected] and they can help. It's more likely your local library can update the photo for you.

Free bus travel is a ScotGov initiative. I’d suggest you get over your objection to registering with them if you want to make use of their services.

It's shocking that they can treat kids like this but have you seen the way the drivers (and other passengers) are treated by the kids. Its understandable he was in a bad mood.

You don’t think they’d have more money to spend on this sort of thing if they piggybacked on the uk system rather than set up their own Scottishy system? It’s not as if they don’t use the online account system for the likes of HMRC. It’s just another example of the scottish government wasting money to appear more independent. Drives me mad.

You’re not making yourself sound any better. No, they cannot use the UK gov site because it’s nothing to do with the UK government.

🤣🤣🤣 The words “cutting off your nose to spite your face” occur to me here. I’m not a fan of our current government but maybe if you want to distance yourself from them so much, you should stick to your principles and not use the initiatives they offer to “make them appear more independent”? Pay for your daughter’s bus travel (and your prescriptions, and anything else you deem too “independent”)

I was on a bus fairly recently and two elderly women got on, the driver told one woman she would need to pay her fare as something was wrong with her pass. She was quite obviously over 60 & probably nearer 80 and the way he spoke to her was appalling as if she was a criminal. She apologised profusely and said she was happy to pay for the journey & he refused to give her the card back. She actually ended up in tears as her & her friend were going further afield after this journey and she needed the pass for that part of her journey. He was so vile towards her. An elderly woman who was clearly entitled to free travel & had made some kind of mistake. Several people spoke up on her behalf and he wouldn't budge & give her it back. Luckily at the main bus station in town they were lovely & she got on to her next bus no problem. Some people are just really unpleasant.

This, and PP's example, are absolutely disgusting.

I do think some transport employees get a kick out of power play against kids. I remember it from my own teenage years, so depressing it hasn't changed.

Please, both posters, complain and keep complaining until you are heard. It is absolutely unacceptable to confiscate the means for a child to travel, leaving them potentially stranded.

A horrible abuse of the bus driver's position of authority over teenage girls.

Have you thought of telling your story to your MSP? After all, free bus travel is a Scottish Government issue, so if self appointed drivers are policing their use, the Government needs to know.

Also, if your MSP is on the ball, they would contact the bus company.

That’s the SNP all over. They drive me nuts (actually all politicians drive me nuts).

Did you write and complain?

Move out of scotland then. If you want to use their services you have to follow their rules. You are making yourself look silly and elitest

if you’re not prepared to turn a blind eye to Scotland wasting money, then leave? I have a UK government gateway account. It allows the UK government to know everything about me. The Scottish government has access to it as well as it uses it to oversee the £633 extra in tax I pay a month to live here. All I ask is that the Scottish government doesn’t waste the excessive tax I pay it each money. Believe me, I and my equally high earning husband are just waiting for the kids to finish school before leaving.

and taking a pensioners bus pass off her? That’s disgusting. Unless she was using someone else’s pass she hadn’t done anything wrong. Why should she be punished? I get that some bud drivers have had to put up with appalling abuse from a number of kids. I’m pretty sure they can spot the kids that are going to cause trouble a mile off. It doesn’t give them an excuse to talk to pensioners or law-abiding, polite young people as though they were criminals.