(14 Jul 2014, 9:01 am)cbma06 wrote GNE quote "You are responsible for making sure you allow plenty of time to get to your destination or to places where you are picking up connections to continue your journey"

I don't know if its just me but I don't see anything rude about that post. Its up to the passenger to make sure that their get to their destination in plenty of time (work etc...) if their cant get to their destination in time even though the bus service is late (even if its the first bus of the day) then their should make over arrangements.

All bus connections are not guaranteed.

I remember years ago that the first 537 from Sunderland used to always arrive late as the driver did a shuttle between Deptford and interchange and back to Deptford first, as when the driver heads back to Deptford the 537 should of left Sunderland Interchange, the depot used to have the bus up and ready for the driver to go straight out, the 537 used to be 10 minutes late but always made up the time during the journey.

Roll on QCS.

There is an element of truth to the comment posted by the GNE customer services representative. Ideally, people should take more responsibility in ensuring that plenty of time is allowed for travelling to destinations especially where connecting services are used. To me, that's common sense.

The problem with that particular reply, in my view, was that no additional information was ascertained in relation to the problem. From what I can gather, the customer was waiting for the first 56 of the day which arrived 5 minutes late. This subsequently made the customer miss her connection. Because it was the first bus of the day - it's hardly fair to ask the customer to go for an earlier bus. Because no attempt was made to discover where the customer was travelling, no additional advice could be offered on alternative travelling arrangements.

Also, if the first bus of the day is always 5 minutes late - then it's up to the bus operator to sort out the issue. It is not the customer's fault and no driver should be put under pressure to 'make up time' in an attempt to resolve the issue.