(09 Feb 2014, 12:26 am)Davey Bowyer wrote I agree with both yours and Malarkey's post. I couldn't do the job the good drivers do after seeing some of the things that go on:
- Woman holding bus up by 5 minutes at Benton House asking the driver 101 questions. Could've planned journey in advance.
- Snooty woman at Northumbria Uni getting on.
- Woman turning upto St Mary's Place at last minute with no change or fare ready. Faffing on in bag to find it thus holding up line.
- People paying fares with 20 quid notes.
- Annoying kids getting on blasting crap music.
- People not giving a clear signal such as sticking hand out for bus to stop.
- People sprinting for bus at last second expecting driver to wait for them then they run late.
- People who make the same regular journeys and are unprepared.
- Lad getting on at St Mary's with no fare ready after sprinting at last second.
- Man getting on wrong bus then expects driver to tell him all the buses that go to Regent Centre. List is up on board at Haymarket. Line hold up and a que of passengers thus delaying the service.
- People being indecisive at last moment.
Having dealt with complaints for GNE and Stagecoach South, as well as in my current job I sympathise completely with bus drivers. In general anyone who makes a complaint isn't going to say the bus driver's are lovely if they drove off. Bus drivers are put in a position where they are given little respect from members of the public especially the CONC freebies who don't deserve to travel for free at all. I've dealt with people trying to complain bus drivers leave early when actually there watches are either wrong or they turn up at the last second. Then passengers standing at bus stops with little notice or no indication at all that they wish to board. And then the change so ignorant to the world around them they simply have the largest change possible although the synical amongst us would say this is a deliberate attempt to avoid payment for their bus fare... So in my view and after dealing with complaints most of the genuine complaints themselves relate to areas that bus drivers have no control over and I feel the public should be more grateful and offer lots more respect to them../