blinking mad bus drivers

deutzkiwi

Sorry to hear your story, reminds me of an experience I had a few months ago that I really should have complained about but never got around to.

At the time I was working 10am - 4pm in central Newcastle, and would take the bus from ours to my sister-in-laws to drop my now 17 month old off, then onto work. I'd normally get a bus at around 9am, and it was normally very busy, I'd often have to let some pass as they already had two buggies on, but that was all that was alowed so I was fine with it. Anyway, this day I was the second buggy on, no bothers, but at the next stop he let two more on, plus a ton of other passengers (this is a bus that runs every 10 mins) so we're all packed in. Next stop, a woman with a man in a wheelchair. She complains that shes been waiting 20 mins as all buses have been full, so he lets her on! Only place for them to go is by the driver, blocking the way out, not exactly safe. Anyway, most people get off this bus in Gateshead or Newcastle, but I have to get off earlier. When we reach my stop the wheelchair couple refuse to move and driver says nothing, so I'm forced to yell out to the driver not to drive off, take baby (around 8 months at the time) out of buggy and hand to complete stranger, fold very heavy buggy up, carry it over people and wheelchair, leave it outside, and go back for baby. I was fuming at rudness of wheelchair lady and the complete disregard for saftey.

Sorry for the long story but it really gets me!

CIS

We live in gatehsead and have that sort of trouble quite regularly. The main annoyances I have is the people who's children are way to big for pushcairs but still take up a space with thats needed by people with a young child and those who carry the child and use the pushchair as a shopping trolley.

deutzkiwi:, was it the 58 you where on by any chance ??

I once got on the 183 to the metrocentre, the driver was the most ignorant git imaginable, didn't seem to know how to drive and swore his head off everytime he had tostop to let someone on or off..

On a better note though, we seem to have the happiest bus driver in the country. He's an indian guy who's never seen without a smile, and he's alway's extremely helpful - the exact opposite of the other driver.

IvanOpinion

There is a lesson for everybody here .. the roads are unpredictable, accidents happen, other vehicles can stil pull out in fornt of them and cause them to swerve. If you have anything loose, including prams etc. the onus has to be on the passenger to ensure they are secure .. you never know what might happen (this is not to absolve a bus driver from their repsonsibility of reading the road and road conditions and ensuring the safety of their passengers).

I would also be inclined to check your childs buggy since I don't think that it should have folded up the way you described .. is there a possible design fault or is a bracket broken on it somewhere.

Fortunately there is no real damage done and it is just one of those heart stopping moments.


On a bus tour on our last holiday the bonnet of the car in front of the bus suddenly ripped up across the windscreen .. the driver of the car slammed on the brakes and started swerving violently across the road .. the bus driver had to take similar avoiding action causing the tour guide who had been standing about half way up the bus to come flying backwards and end up in a heap on the floor (fortunately she was not hurt).

Ivan

jayne26

i was driving along and saw an elderly lady running for the bus so i stopped between stops and waited for her ,she got on and started abusing me telling me i was early , never again. well a few months later at night i was leaving a main stop on time and a young lad ran and said could i wait for his granny was running for the bus........ahh so i looked in the mirror and guess whos running for the bus :rotfl: time for a swift exit :rotfl: it would only have been better if it had been on camara .................. :j

sockospice

deutzkiwi wrote:

Sorry to hear your story, reminds me of an experience I had a few months ago that I really should have complained about but never got around to.

At the time I was working 10am - 4pm in central Newcastle, and would take the bus from ours to my sister-in-laws to drop my now 17 month old off, then onto work. I'd normally get a bus at around 9am, and it was normally very busy, I'd often have to let some pass as they already had two buggies on, but that was all that was alowed so I was fine with it. Anyway, this day I was the second buggy on, no bothers, but at the next stop he let two more on, plus a ton of other passengers (this is a bus that runs every 10 mins) so we're all packed in. Next stop, a woman with a man in a wheelchair. She complains that shes been waiting 20 mins as all buses have been full, so he lets her on! Only place for them to go is by the driver, blocking the way out, not exactly safe. Anyway, most people get off this bus in Gateshead or Newcastle, but I have to get off earlier. When we reach my stop the wheelchair couple refuse to move and driver says nothing, so I'm forced to yell out to the driver not to drive off, take baby (around 8 months at the time) out of buggy and hand to complete stranger, fold very heavy buggy up, carry it over people and wheelchair, leave it outside, and go back for baby. I was fuming at rudness of wheelchair lady and the complete disregard for saftey.

Sorry for the long story but it really gets me!

On First buses in Manchester, wheelchairs get priority over buggies. If someone in a wheelchair wants to get on, any people with buggies are asked to fold them up.

Anthillmob

i spoke to the controller of the 157s down at morden this morning. whilst he was apologetic he asked what way i had the buggy. informed him and he said "well you had the buggy facing the wrong way". hmmmmmm no signs on the bus to say what way round to put a buggy is there?

he gave me croydon garages phone number but i dont know whether to complain further or not. the way he was going on was like it was my fault because of the way the buggy was facing and then started going on about how they can check the camera on the bus and their insurance company will pull out all the stops to not pay any compensation.

i said she was fine, i didnt want compensation but would just like someone to have a word with the driver about his erratic driving.

'wellif you had shopping on the buggy that would upset the balance as well'

i explained i didnt have any shopping on the buggy, just her little bag with her nappy and changing mat and two bottles and her cuddly bunny.

so should i bother going any further? i have had an apology but no ones going to have a word with the driver are they?

p.s. down here wheelchairs take priority over buggies and you either fold them or get off and wait for the next bus.

looby75

What bus company is it? If they have a head office it might be worth going over the head of the local garages and making a complaint to the bus co head office.

That's what I did with Arriva when my friend and I had a problem with the rudest, nastiest bus driver we ever had the misfortune to meet. I got no joy with the local arriva office and was fobbed off just as it sounds you were, so I emailed arriva via their website and it all got sorted that way.

fannyadams

Here in the land of the roundabout they spill diesel everywhere and make me and my mates fall off our 'bikes!
No One has ever successfully sued the bus company tho as you have to have the evidence and independant witnesses who saw the bus actuallty spill the diesel on hte orad.
The coppers KNOW it's them but turn a blind eye!

Anthillmob

i think theyre arriva. they come out of croydon and are called 'travel london'. i can always go and look at one tomorrow.

i got a lovely apology from merton bus garage once. i have a freedom pass and it was just when they started allowing them to be used before 9am which saved me a fortune in bus fares to work, i got on and the driver refused my pass so i explained disabled people are allowed to travel before 9am and showed him a cut out from the local news paper that stated this. he said to me 'well you dont look disabled'. i was furious! and fired off a letter of complaint. how dare he assume that to 'look' disabled you must not look like a normal everyday person.

Wig

I don't see what all the fuss is about. The driver stopped the bus, knew he had done wrong & apologised. What more do you want? You want him to get a ticking off from some manager? why?

If I were you I'd take the issue of "having the buggy face in a particular direction" further and write a letter asking why if there is an issue with safety in this regard, why is it not on display on the buses? Sounds like BS to me anyway if you have it facing in any direction there will always be an occasion where the forces acting on it will be magnified.

Btw no insurance company could argue you had your buggy facing the wrong way, for the simple reason that there are no notices saying anything about it.