problem with a bus

twentypenceoff

yesterday i got a bus to and from my boyfriends place of work to the city and wanted a return ticket.

usually i take the bus form home which is about an hour further away and costs £5.60

the bus driver siad his ticket machine could only give singles and was broken, he tried for ages, first he said it would be £5 without looking at the machine i said this was impossible given how much it ios from home.

then he printed a single ticket cost £2.70 and siad i should tell the bus company when i got the bus station.

in all this took ten minutes and the other customers were muttering about the time i took when i sat down

immediately i got the bus station i told the company while the bus was still in the station so they could check but they said all i could do was tell the bus driver on the bus i took back

so on the bus back i said that i had wanted a return ticket and only got a single ticket as the machine was broken and as areturn is the same cost as asingle i did not want to pay agin

the bus driver first siad it was impossible
then that she would be in trouble as well as me if an inspector got on the bus

i was annoyed and said why would any of us be in trouble?i know which bus it was at which time and if an inspector wanted to ask the other bus driver he was welcome

so she let me on the bus without paying again but wasnt happy about it

i felt like i was being called a liar.

:mad:

Bowling_4_Gold

You have got to appreciate things go wrong sometimes. I remeber once when I went on the bus the ticket machine was 'freezing up' and the driver suggested he writes the ticket I wanted on a blank bit of ticket 'roll' but in the end we came to an agreement that when it starts working, I will then pay for the ticket. This worked fine and we all went on our merry way. You should really have thought about it and think what will the driver say on the way back? Is it really worth the confusion?

I don't know about your local Buses, but ours are so frequent that if something like that happens again, it won't impact my journey time greatly if I wait for the next Bus.

You could consider writing a note to the concerned Bus company, but I am sure you will get the bog-standard 'Sorry, but our drivers have a very challenging and difficult job and occasionally they make wrong judgements' reply. Anyway, you got the benefit of the doubt, didn't you?

twentypenceoff

waited half an hour for that bus, don't see why i should wait another forty minutes for the next bus.

Esqui

Happened to me once. The driver had never heard of an 'off-peak day ticket', and didn't know how to issue a full day ticket. I wrote to the company and they gave me £10 worth of bus travel.

Of course, they got privatised soon after, and compensation is now a £3.70 day ticket. But still better than a kick in the teeth!

Dr.Rock

twentypenceoff wrote: »

the bus driver siad his ticket machine could only give singles and was broken,

Was on holiday in Seattle last year and had to get a bus from the city centre to the airport. When I got on I saw the fare machine was covered over. I asked the driver how I could pay and he said 'cos the machine was broken all trips would be free. That would never happen in this country.

lizziem_2

Dr.Rock wrote: »

Was on holiday in Seattle last year and had to get a bus from the city centre to the airport. When I got on I saw the fare machine was covered over. I asked the driver how I could pay and he said 'cos the machine was broken all trips would be free. That would never happen in this country.

It has happened to me several times actually, in London. The driver just waved people through the bus since the Oyster machine had broken. Didn't matter to me as I have a bus pass so pay £53 per month however many journeys I make, but some on PAYG got a free journey.

Dr.Rock

I must admit since moving to London I've found the bus drivers much more professional than the previous capital city I lived in (about 500 miles further North). Not once have I seen one wait until the person running for the bus got within 10m before closing the doors and driving off.

Claire_Bear

If there's one thing that can make my blood boil it's this! I'd put it down to them not seeing you but they always give you a smug grin in the mirror as they pull away :mad: