FAO: Bus passengers

Dabbles said:
How long do you think the no-touch system takes to take a payment?
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I had forgotten about the Oyster system thing as we just don't have them up here and I don't believe I've ever used them. I was thinking that he meant a chip and pin machine. I did edit my post afterwards to include a bit about Osyter type of systems though.

Though, as for the OP I generally agree. Buses are pretty miserable places to be. I take the train most places now as it is faster, actually sticks to a proper timetable and is a nicer place to be. It is slightly more expensive, but I suppose that is offset by the amount of times that I've had free journeys because of a lack of conductors on board. Oh, and you can drink on trains.
 
dekez said:
Ah the joy of buses, you think there is nothing worse, then you go on a night bus...
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you definitely need to be drunk to get a night bus!

the last night bus i went on was the funniest bus ride of my life , it was so packed that people where stepping onto the tiny bit of space where the doors had once been and then where falling back off the bus when the doors shut. this happened at every single stop.

only god knows how the people upstairs got off
 
Greenlizard0 said:
Anybody got that gif of the fat man's stomach twapping against a girl's face?
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Castiel said:
To implement mobile connection card readers to our entire fleet would require significant investment and a subsequent rise in fares, we are currently implementing card readers similar to the Oyster system (at a significant cost) which can be used and charged at pay-points, pay-points can also be used to buy season and weekly tickets currently.
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Great, shame many operators do not do that.

While it may not be an issue giving change to a person with a £10 note and issuing £8.50 in change, it becomes an issue when 50 people do the same thing on a single journey as happens on occasion. Driver do not simply do a single route, have a break then do another, they drive several in succession carrying in access of 200 passengers on short local routes, if half these people want significant amounts of change I am sure you can see the problem. It simply is not practical for a driver to carry several hundred pounds in change in addition to his takings.
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That is not the case on many services I use, they go straight from the bus station to the university and then back again, each round trip taking 40 mins, no excuses for not having change in those circumstances.

As I have said, the occasions where a passenger is refused travel for not having change are rare.
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Irrelevant, transport is an inelastic service, thus this does not indicate customer satisfaction.

As for pricing, many routes are non viable and as such are heavily subsidised by both the operators and local councils.

You should be taking up costs with your MP and local councillors as they set the concessionary tariffs and cuts to this and the fuel subsidies mean that fare paying passengers are effectively subsidising the national concessionary scheme which accounts for more than 70% of passenger numbers. Where the fare is £1.50 to you, the operators receive only a fraction of that for the concessionary traveller.
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Again not the case on uni and school services, full to brim, couldn't any more viable a route, yet still way overpriced.

Bus companies are not charities, they are entitled to make a profit like any other private company.
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They aren't like any other private company, they provide a public service subsidised by taxes and thus the fares should reflect that. Funnily enough numerous private companies are actually non profit.
 
Ahleckz said:
It's not asking a lot for you to carry around a few quid so you can be assured that you can get the bus. It's not a big ask for you to keep a few pound coins in your pocket especially when you know you need to take a bus journey.
As for a card reader, don't be absurd. It would take forever to process all the payments when picking people up. You'd probably be on here tomorrow moaning how the bus takes forever because of the card reader!
If you mean an Oyster card reader type of thing, then they will be very expensive to implement and guess who would be paying? Yes, you and me. The company needs to make a profit - they aren't going to spend thousands of pounds implementing another form of payment because a few people are too foolish and stubbon to carry around a few quid of change with them.
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+1

Eventually swipe-card readers like the Oyster will be standard, we are already moving toward that, but it does cost a lot of money to implement.

Most companies have procedures regarding a Driver not having enough change anyway, so people are just being obtuse.

Like some other professions, Bus Drivers are an easy target for people who are having a bad day or simply want to vent at someone they know cannot retaliate. It amounts to a form of bullying sometimes.

As you say, carrying a little change when you know you are going to catch a bus would mean that when you don't or can't get any the driver is more likely to be able to accommodate you.
 
Energize said:
Great, shame many operators do not do that.



That is not the case on many services I use, they go straight from the bus station to the university and then back again, each round trip taking 40 mins, no excuses for not having change in those circumstances.



Irrelevant, transport is an inelastic service, thus this does not indicate customer satisfaction.



Again not the case on uni and school services, full to brim, couldn't any more viable a route, yet still way overpriced.



They aren't like any other private company, they provide a public service subsidised by taxes and thus the fares should reflect that. Funnily enough numerous private companies are actually non profit.
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Frankly you don't know enough about the tendering or subsidy system to make that kind of judgement.

The vast majority of School and University contracts are priced by the contract issuer and the monies taken belong to the issuing authority, not the bus company, who simply tender for the service at a fixed contractual term.

Also the fares on susidised routes do reflect the subsidy, again you don't understand the system or how it works.

For example we have one route that is subsidised and the single fare is £1.80, we have another of similar distance and capacity that we operate at a loss, the fare is £3.30.

We have others that are commercial routes, rather than contracted which for similar journey distance cost £1.50, this is because they are commercially viable without subsidy and we are not beholden to the local authority contract stipulations on fare charges.
 
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Castiel said:
Frankly you don't know enough about the tendering or subsidy system to make that kind of judgement.
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One needs no understanding to make the assertion that it is overpriced, if a car is cheaper then it is clearly overpriced, especially given that a bus provides a less personalised service.
 
I hate getting the bus...especially when I can drive and prefer to cycle to work. It's not so much smelly mongos that annoy me it's the people that get the same bus at the same time each ******* day and still don't know to have the exact change and to have it ready. Smackheads get free travel aswell, that's a kick in the teeth.

OH I'VE STOOD HERE FOR TEN MINUTES AW NAW THERES THE BUS LETS TRY TO FIND MY PURSE :@@@@
 
Umm i use public transport everyday and i must say that I rarely encounter any problem people other than the odd rowdy hoodlum child.

I suspect the buses contents are a representation of the ghetto that you call home.

good day to you
 
Seriously Castiel, whether you work for a bus company or not, considering the shielding a bus driver is given now with the tiny hole, it should warrant the ability to hold hundreds of pounds in change. To rob a bus driver of his money in this day and age would take a miracle, (or a very low self esteem town/city with no care for anyone watching somone rob a bus driver)

It would seem having a £10 note on a bus is a sin (and those miserable ****'s at the wheel make you feel like you are) just because there bosses wont supply enough change.
 
ChroniC said:
Seriously Castiel, whether you work for a bus company or not, considering the shielding a bus driver is given now with the tiny hole, it should warrant the ability to hold hundreds of pounds in change. To rob a bus driver of his money in this day and age would take a miracle, (or a very low self esteem town/city with no care for anyone watching somone rob a bus driver)

It would seem having a £10 note on a bus is a sin (and those miserable ****'s at the wheel make you feel like you are) just because there bosses wont supply enough change.
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Not all companies use fully enclosed cabs, we generally do not. Also the greater incidence of robbery happens during bus changeovers etc, and in areas that the enclosed cab is used Drivers are actually more likely to be assaulted (and robbed), not less.



Just carry a couple of quid, it is not an unreasonable request, and if you do find yourself without change, just remember that when you start having a go at the driver when he asks you if you have anything smaller that you are only one of many others who have also given large bills for small fares and it can be frustrating for the driver especially having to deal with rude and abusive members of the public all day.

As for hundreds of pounds of change, stop being ridiculous, it simply is not practical to carry that amount of change in addition to takings, you got your change did you not?

Frankly it is no wonder that more companies, especially the small municipal operators are moving to Exact Change and the driver not handling cash at all with some of attitudes witnessed here.

All you have to do is be polite, and if the Driver is rude, then there is a complaints procedure you can use.
 
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I can't say I really feel bad about the bus driver occasionally giving me a small amount of change when I typically get weekly/monthly bus tickets anyway.
 
Castiel said:
Not all companies use fully enclosed cabs, we generally do not. Also the greater incidence of robbery happens during bus changeovers etc, and in areas that the enclosed cab is used Drivers are actually more likely to be assaulted (and robbed), not less.
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That doesn't mean anything if enclosures are installed because of the high rates of robbery...
 
Energize said:
That doesn't mean anything if enclosures are installed because of the high rates of robbery...
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They are generally installed to protect staff from physical abuse. Companies have a duty of care.

It is indicative of the amount of abuse staff receive on a regular basis that enclosures are necessary in the first place.
 
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