Unbelievably Rude Bus Driver

[wnr1990]

Was taking the bus today in London and had a really unpleasant experience with a driver.

Little girl in front of me, must've been about 8 or 9 and was coming home from school, gets on the bus and doesn't tap in. She then gets called back and is given a really patronizing and nasty talking to by the driver, and at this point is clearly upset. I tell driver to go easy as she's only young and I'm sure just didn't realize she had to tap in. Then this driver gives ME a tirade, telling me to "shut my mouth" and mind my own business. I didn't even know what to say at this point because I was totally taken aback by the man's attitude.

Look, I know they've got to deal with their fair share of drunk idiots and belligerent passengers. But I have never experienced such rudeness, this goes well beyond grumpiness, it was a frankly disgusting way to treat passengers especially a child.

Should I report this?

 

[Mike99]

Do under 11's still travel for free on TfL buses? With what did the driver want her to use to tap in?

 

[MasterSpenny]

Was taking the bus today in London and had a really unpleasant experience with a driver.

Little girl in front of me, must've been about 8 or 9 and was coming home from school, gets on the bus and doesn't tap in. She then gets called back and is given a really patronizing and nasty talking to by the driver, and at this point is clearly upset. I tell driver to go easy as she's only young and I'm sure just didn't realize she had to tap in. Then this driver gives ME a tirade, telling me to "shut my mouth" and mind my own business. I didn't even know what to say at this point because I was totally taken aback by the man's attitude.

Look, I know they've got to deal with their fair share of drunk idiots and belligerent passengers. But I have never experienced such rudeness, this goes well beyond grumpiness, it was a frankly disgusting way to treat passengers especially a child.

Should I report this?

Absolutely, it could be that he has been really mad about something and had forgotten about the rule

 

[yorkie]

Was taking the bus today in London and had a really unpleasant experience with a driver.

Little girl in front of me, must've been about 8 or 9 and was coming home from school, gets on the bus and doesn't tap in. She then gets called back and is given a really patronizing and nasty talking to by the driver, and at this point is clearly upset. I tell driver to go easy as she's only young and I'm sure just didn't realize she had to tap in. Then this driver gives ME a tirade, telling me to "shut my mouth" and mind my own business. I didn't even know what to say at this point because I was totally taken aback by the man's attitude.

Look, I know they've got to deal with their fair share of drunk idiots and belligerent passengers. But I have never experienced such rudeness, this goes well beyond grumpiness, it was a frankly disgusting way to treat passengers especially a child.

Should I report this?

Definitely. The driver was very lucky if you didn't say anything back; I'd have certainly argued back and pointed out his behaviour was inappropriate, but some people would have got very angry.

Clearly this individual is not fit for the job, as behaving like that is totally unacceptable. An investigation needs to be conducted urgently.

 

[pm2304877]

Was taking the bus today in London and had a really unpleasant experience with a driver.

Little girl in front of me, must've been about 8 or 9 and was coming home from school, gets on the bus and doesn't tap in. She then gets called back and is given a really patronizing and nasty talking to by the driver, and at this point is clearly upset. I tell driver to go easy as she's only young and I'm sure just didn't realize she had to tap in. Then this driver gives ME a tirade, telling me to "shut my mouth" and mind my own business. I didn't even know what to say at this point because I was totally taken aback by the man's attitude.

Look, I know they've got to deal with their fair share of drunk idiots and belligerent passengers. But I have never experienced such rudeness, this goes well beyond grumpiness, it was a frankly disgusting way to treat passengers especially a child.

Should I report this?

No excuse at all but sometimes I think that driver only buses are not a good idea due to road rage and such like. The genie can't be returned to the bottle but when the driver had his own cab he/she could concentrate on the traffic and the conductor dealt with the passengers.

Driver only buses work best with flat fares and cashless transactions which but for the 1985 Transport Act would be history now.

 

[mangad]

In situations like this, it's always worth getting the driver and vehicle details and lodging a formal complaint. I have done so in the past and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I once boarded a London bus where it was very busy and the bus wouldn't move until everyone had moved out of way of the front doors. Fine, but why let people on if the bus was too full. But worse was the driver just sat there. Wouldn't say anything. Silence. It took other passengers, with resigned and weary looks on their faces, to let everyone know. And not to raise it because we'd all be delayed even more.

It was only on leaving the bus that I was quite frank with the man and said if he as the driver wanted something doing, he had to tell people. Oh and I want your details because I am making a complaint!

I am sure driving a London bus can be a stressful job at times, but there's never any excuse for downright bad customer service.

 

[RJ]

Was taking the bus today in London and had a really unpleasant experience with a driver.

Little girl in front of me, must've been about 8 or 9 and was coming home from school, gets on the bus and doesn't tap in. She then gets called back and is given a really patronizing and nasty talking to by the driver, and at this point is clearly upset. I tell driver to go easy as she's only young and I'm sure just didn't realize she had to tap in. Then this driver gives ME a tirade, telling me to "shut my mouth" and mind my own business. I didn't even know what to say at this point because I was totally taken aback by the man's attitude.

Look, I know they've got to deal with their fair share of drunk idiots and belligerent passengers. But I have never experienced such rudeness, this goes well beyond grumpiness, it was a frankly disgusting way to treat passengers especially a child.

Should I report this?

I think the likely outcome is the report or complaint will go in the bin to be honest.

The manner in which passengers are spoken to should always be professional and taking this at face value, the driver should be reminded of this. There are ways of communicating with children about Zip cards without it causing distress.

But what might get it binned is if you’ve come across as berating or undermining the driver. It’s not uncommon for people to jump down the driver’s throat no matter how professional they are if they say even a word about needing a Zip card. So if you are going to feed back, I wouldn’t bother including anything beyond the driver’s interaction with the young lady.

If you really want to intervene to defuse the situation without encountering defensiveness, offer to pay the fare without saying anything else about the driver’s attitude then feedback in private through the proper channels.

 

[wnr1990]

I think the likely outcome is the report or complaint will go in the bin to be honest.

The manner in which passengers are spoken to should always be professional and taking this at face value, the driver should be reminded of this. There are ways of communicating with children about Zip cards without it causing distress.

But what might get it binned is if you’ve come across as berating or undermining the driver. It’s not uncommon for people to jump down the driver’s throat no matter how professional they are if they say even a word about needing a Zip card. So if you are going to feed back, I wouldn’t bother including anything beyond the driver’s interaction with the young lady.

If you really want to intervene to defuse the situation without encountering defensiveness, offer to pay the fare without saying anything else about the driver’s attitude then feedback in private through the proper channels.

His first words to the child were exactly "you walk on here like you own the bloody bus" before going on his tirade. If that isn't enough for a proper investigation then I don't know what is, and this should go beyond just a reminder of his behaviour IMO

I've reported it now and to be fair the person I spoke to was very apologetic. But this sort of situation puts me off using the buses entirely, what on earth is wrong with some people.

 

[RJ]

His first words to the child were exactly "you walk on here like you own the bloody bus" before going on his tirade. If that isn't enough for a proper investigation then I don't know what is, and this should go beyond just a reminder of his behaviour IMO

I've reported it now and to be fair the person I spoke to was very apologetic. But this sort of situation puts me off using the buses entirely, what on earth is wrong with some people.

Yes, for sure it’s worth feeding back on his interaction with the young lady but I would not mention the conversation you had with him. It’s purely about making sure it gets taken seriously.

 

[BrianW]

His first words to the child were exactly "you walk on here like you own the bloody bus" before going on his tirade. If that isn't enough for a proper investigation then I don't know what is, and this should go beyond just a reminder of his behaviour IMO

I've reported it now and to be fair the person I spoke to was very apologetic. But this sort of situation puts me off using the buses entirely, what on earth is wrong with some people.

I had a poor experience of unhelpful attitude on a London Bus in an unfamiliar part ot town a few months back. The driver declined to accept my 'old gits' bus pass, whose validity I had confirmed before my trip to 'the smoke'. I had no wish to argue, nor to delay passengers; I got off and got the next bus. I was offered no help in terms of a way forward. I made my observations in an online complaint, including my recognition of what drivers have to put up with and the possibility of them having a 'bad day'. I received a suitably emollient email response including confirmation of validity, the unacceptability of such behaviour:
... We expect a high level of customer service from every bus driver within London. It’s always disappointing to hear when drivers are performing below the level that we expect of them. Concessionary passes are eligible on TFL buses and the driver should have allowed on the bus without trouble.
A satisfactory outcome I feel- at least it wasn't raining, and I didn't miss a train I hope the girl in question suffers no long-lasting effects of her trauma, which I do not downplay, and similarly you.

 

[Paul55]

Incidents like this are unsettling when they occur. Fortunately they are extremely rare.
Over the years I've witnessed far more abuse from passengers towards drivers. Most remain calm and professional but there are exceptions.
Prior to boarding the bus we have no idea what may have happened earlier. An awkward interaction with a previous passenger may still be at play.
Personally, I would remove the requirement for ticket checking from London bus drivers.
On board ticket checks can be done by inspectors. It's up to passengers to ensure they have the correct ticket or have tapped on correctly.

 

[wnr1990]

A random question to tack onto the end of this: are busses allowed to leave early?

It happens so often at my local stop. Fortunately it isn't a massive issue because they're so frequent anyway but it's still a bit irritating.

 

[riceuten]

A random question to tack onto the end of this: are busses allowed to leave early?

It happens so often at my local stop. Fortunately it isn't a massive issue because they're so frequent anyway but it's still a bit irritating.

Yes, 5 minutes is the rule, I believe.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Was taking the bus today in London and had a really unpleasant experience with a driver.

Little girl in front of me, must've been about 8 or 9 and was coming home from school, gets on the bus and doesn't tap in. She then gets called back and is given a really patronizing and nasty talking to by the driver, and at this point is clearly upset. I tell driver to go easy as she's only young and I'm sure just didn't realize she had to tap in. Then this driver gives ME a tirade, telling me to "shut my mouth" and mind my own business. I didn't even know what to say at this point because I was totally taken aback by the man's attitude.

Look, I know they've got to deal with their fair share of drunk idiots and belligerent passengers. But I have never experienced such rudeness, this goes well beyond grumpiness, it was a frankly disgusting way to treat passengers especially a child.

Should I report this?

Don't think I've ever met a polite school bus driver to be honest.

 

[duncombec]

Yes, 5 minutes is the rule, I believe.

Assuming the local stop is in Radlett, and thus not TfL territory where different rules apply, the usual rule is 1 minute early or 5 minutes late at a timing point. If the stop isn't a timing point, it can be more flexible, but attention should be paid to avoid passing interim stops too early, then waiting time at the timing point.

 

[Busaholic]

Don't think I've ever met a polite school bus driver to be honest.

Maybe not, but it wasn't a school bus.

 

[Class2ldn]

Yes, 5 minutes is the rule, I believe.

2 minutes in London or it always used to be, no way they'd let you run 5 early with the tight headway, they'd rather everyone was 5 late and maintained a good headway between each other to avoid bunching. Not always possible.

 

[RJ]

A random question to tack onto the end of this: are busses allowed to leave early?

It happens so often at my local stop. Fortunately it isn't a massive issue because they're so frequent anyway but it's still a bit irritating.

Low frequency routes are considered as running on time if up to 2.5 minutes early or 5 minutes late. Drivers will only be spoken to if they trigger a performance failure so a percentage will habitually run 2.5 minutes early. Be at the bus stop 3 minutes before.

For high frequency routes, there is no rule as to how early or late they can run and this is not performance monitored, so you should plan accordingly, especially if using them at times they run at a low frequency.

 

[GusB]

There isn't much more to discuss here and the thread is drifting already. @wnr1990 - once Transport for London get back to you with a response, please let us know by reporting this post and you can provide an update.