Exaggeration and lies by a minority of bus passengers

[Cardiarms]

Leodian wrote: It's the damp weather that draws them out. It's a pity that hedgehogs are hibernating. ha ha ha :-DI've got an image of a giant bus eating hedghog now, sort of thing The Goodies would have done.

[BLAKEY]

cnosni wrote: Blakey,this isnt restricted to the buses im afraid.The trains experience exactly the same thing.He complained that the doors should have been held for him to get on, and furthermore if the person in the ticket office KNEW it was about to leave then they should not have sold the ticket.I ask you, what happens to peoples common sense? Too true cnosni - and you can bet your bottom dollar that if the same man had been comfortably on the train he would have been writing in to complain that "Why are we waiting - I want to get to London." These unreasonable and self centred people exhibit double standards of the most despicable kind.At least the Railway companies have the guts to look after the vast majority of their passengers who board on time and are entitled to a prompt journey - hence the usually rigid adherence to closing the doors and getting the train away on time - and, in fairness, I find that the vast majority of conductors WILL allow late comers a few seconds (if available) to board at the last open door.Sadly most bus operators tend in a cowardly way to "butter up" all complainants regardless of circumstances on the basis of "the customer is always right." In public transport the bulk of the passengers ARE always right, but if the odd ones are not then the operator should have the courage to plainly and politely explain the error of the ways of those people. After all, buses and trains depend on prompt running, and are not "Grace Brothers" on wheels.    

[jonleeds]

I agree with Blakey's remarks about students on the number 56 route which I use at least once a week. My particular pet hate with students is that when the 56 bus (or "Student Express" as I call it) is enroute to the city centre from the Moorgrange direction, you get dozens of students queueing up outside the university on Woodhouse lane which holds the bus up for an extra 5+ minutes. The laugh of it is that most of them then proceed to disembark at the Merrion Centre!!! So they've got on the bus for a journey of several hundred yards, Lazy buggers..! And yes, many of them (students) dont have the right fare nor any idea of where they are going and they proceed to give the bus driver their life story while everyone onboard the bus ends up being late for work. Grrr... If I can manage it I'll take the number 50 from Horsforth as this avoids Headingley and Hyde Park but it still swings by Burley / Kirkstall where a few of the blighters live.

[BLAKEY]

jonleeds wrote: My particular pet hate with students is that when the 56 bus (or "Student Express" as I call it) is enroute to the city centre from the Moorgrange direction, you get dozens of students queueing up outside the university on Woodhouse lane which holds the bus up for an extra 5+ minutes. Oh John - I take it you mean the top University stop near Notre Dame College - as a passenger I cringe when I see the unruly mob and their shocking behaviour. While the driver is trying to check the tickets etc more and more amble up from the College and then stand on the staircase or adjacent to the buggy area thereby bringing loading and unloading out of the sole front door (don't get me going on that timekeeping wrecking feature of the modern 90 plus capacity giants) to a stop altogether. Anywhere around college time I get the 19 from Queenswood Drive if I can and gladly walk from the Town Hall if I want the Headrow area.

[raveydavey]

My favorite part is the increasingly rare times when the bus driver decides to get his (or her) own back and accelerates away sharply as the recalcitrant passenger sets off down the aisle, sending them trotting to the back of the bus a darn sight quicker than they intended.Its even better when they go for the double and jump on the brakes just as the troublemaker gets things under control and sends them pirouetting back to their front of the bus!

[jonleeds]

BLAKEY wrote: jonleeds wrote: My particular pet hate with students is that when the 56 bus (or "Student Express" as I call it) is enroute to the city centre from the Moorgrange direction, you get dozens of students queueing up outside the university on Woodhouse lane which holds the bus up for an extra 5+ minutes. Oh John - I take it you mean the top University stop near Notre Dame College - as a passenger I cringe when I see the unruly mob and their shocking behaviour. While the driver is trying to check the tickets etc more and more amble up from the College and then stand on the staircase or adjacent to the buggy area thereby bringing loading and unloading out of the sole front door (don't get me going on that timekeeping wrecking feature of the modern 90 plus capacity giants) to a stop altogether. Anywhere around college time I get the 19 from Queenswood Drive if I can and gladly walk from the Town Hall if I want the Headrow area. Yes Blakey that stop near Notre Dame is the main culprit, good grief sometimes it seems like the bus will never leave the bus stop as more and more students come running up to the bus as others are still getting on. Although the whole route from Hyde Park to the University is plagued by students getting on for just 1-2 stops.    

[buffaloskinner]

In my days on the 1, 4 and 96s we called students the MUPPETS, think about it!!

[BLAKEY]

buffaloskinner wrote: In my days on the 1, 4 and 96s we called students the MUPPETS, think about it!! My word buffaloskinner, you former Middleton depot folks are very polite and reserved indeed to use such a mild term !! There were in the good old days two conductresses from Torre Road who were regular on the number 1 Lawnswood - Beeston route and, oh boy, could they sort the doylems out. One was ex Samuel Ledgard, Margaret Rowe, and the other was yet another "genuine" Rose Lee.Margaret's speed and memory rivalled that of today's latest computers and I can safely say that no dodgy passenger ever got away with a ha'penny in her entire long career. Anyone (posh business types OR students) sheltering within a paper and pretending to have paid (at all or enough)would suddenly find a hand thrust under their noses with the brusque "Thank yer Jack" or "How far are you going prattbag" depending on the offence Elderly and dour Rose operated differently, after often being heard to mutter "I hate students", and would hold all her southbound buses at the University while announcing that many of the tickets on board expired there - then, after quoting "Albion Street tuppence, City Square threepence thank YOU" would quickly rake in some more of the Department's (later Metro's) rightful money.What wonderful characters they were, and we older gimmers were so lucky to have known and worked with them     

[Croggy1]

When in the late 70s/early 80s I used to get the bus home from school (St Mary's) the nearest stop to use our passes from should have been York Road, but we usually walked the other way down the hill to town. There was one inspector that used to make everyone pay excess fare for the difference in stops. If a few of us got unpaid fair slips and then had to later go to Swinegate to pay them I'm sure it will have cost more in admin than the pennies we paid.

[zip55]

Cardiarms wrote: Leodian wrote: It's the damp weather that draws them out. It's a pity that hedgehogs are hibernating. ha ha ha :-DI've got an image of a giant bus eating hedghog now, sort of thing The Goodies would have done. Dinsdale !!