Old Dublin bus refund tickets

hi ,
no - there is no time limit on change tickets ,

just a suggestion , i suppose depending on how much your tickets are worth , but a lot of charities welcome these change tickets ,
have a look at charity boxes in your local shops - quite a few of these boxes say " we welcome bus change tickets"

andy . dublin bus driver

andy jackson wrote: »

hi ,
no - there is no time limit on change tickets ,

just a suggestion , i suppose depending on how much your tickets are worth , but a lot of charities welcome these change tickets ,
have a look at charity boxes in your local shops - quite a few of these boxes say " we welcome bus change tickets"

andy . dublin bus driver

well said Andy

If you did not miss the tickets in the first place maybe you can give it to charity

Kevin Dublin Bus Driver

I had just been wondering if there was a limit on claiming refunds since the website didn't indicate (as far as I saw) so thanks for answering. However it does say: "Keep the refund section attached to your original ticket." Is this enforced? I hope not as I always just kept the refund part.

MYOB wrote: »

Never had it enforced. Also, cause some drivers don't issue them unless pushed I've had some that have never *been* attached before.

I think they just want it intact enough to have all the codes on it, which doesn't require the original at all.

The "Change Tickets" are valid in perpetuity which essentially means for ever and ever and ever Amen.

The only qualifier being that the Change Ticket must be accompanied by the commensurate Travel Ticket,although that requirement,I understand is not widely enforced.

However,just to address NYOB`s point about "some" Busdrivers not issuing them.

With the Autofare system the Driver does not handle cash at all,in fact,on Autofare routes,to attempt to handle any cash in a fare transaction is a serious disciplinary matter which could result in suspension/dismissal (Many Drivers are blissfully unaware of this).

The entire area of the Cash Fare transaction has now developed into what is probably the largest single source of delay on the City`s Bus Service.

With 50% of customers still being facilitated to use cash,it would appear that none of the relevant authorities,particularly the Dept of Transport-NTA,have any understanding of what the term "Dwell Time at Stops" actually means.

The last set of figures I saw outlined the following scenario...

Regular Contactless (Smart) Transaction - 3 seconds
Impeded Contactless Transaction (Misread/Represent) - 5 sec
Regular Cash Transaction (No Change) - 7 sec
Regular Cash/Change ticket Issue - 9 sec

If you superimpose these seconds onto a very busy route,for example a 16 or 16A at 5 major City Centre Stops you can begin to see a very undesirable situation developing before your eyes.

The actuality of the Cash Transaction is also worthwhile dissecting as it is nowhere as simple as may be first thought.

Of the 50% cash customers I would suggest 50% of them are long term regular customers who Know,or think they know,their correct fare.

These folks just have the amount already counted and simply drop it in the Vault with a " €1.15-€1.60-€1.80-€2.20 Please",take their ticket and move on....grand...the best possible example of the cash transaction.

The remaining 50% of the 50% ( ) are the ones which require some understanding and attention.

Within this group can lurk several sub-groups which in the context of Bus Route operation can cause it to sink,swim or just STOP.

There is the serial underpayer,who boards at a Stop and asks for a €1.15....Now the Driver knows that this fare expires at a stop/stage rarely used by any body and proceeds to enquire as to the customers destination.....which may be quite difficult to ascertain.

The correct phraseology would be "How far are you travelling" or "What journey are you making" as some people can react negatively to "Where r ya goin,Bud"

"Ah sorry...thats €1.60"...Response ,"But But But..I ALWAYS pay €1.15 etc etc" and thus the DELAY begins....

Next up in the 50% of the 50% comes the change-ticketeer.

My ideal ones,yet again,the Filipinos !

On the rare occasion when they do not have the exact fare or a pre-paid ticket,the Filipino will hold up their €2 coin directly to the Drivers face and ask for their lower fare.

Grand..this enables the driver to pre-enter the amount into the Ticket Machine and Bingo !...the change ticket issues along with the Trave Ticket. RESULT !

Interestingly,it will be seen that we are now getting down to perhaps 25% of 50% of 50% and herein be devils...:eek:

The customer who drops in a group of coins and asks for a specific cash fare..."€1.60 Please" .....then pauses..."Excuse me you never gave me my change ticket"

"How much didja put in"......etc etc....

When a customer drops in an amount of Coin and asks for a cash-fare I will take it on trust that that is the amount he/she has tendered and issue the Travel Ticket instantaneously.

(I would suggest that 90% of my cash customers are scrupulously honest with the remainder dividing between genuine mistakes and chancers)

Now,heres the kick....If customers require the unadvised Change Ticket,I can decide to inspect each cash transaction individually,a process which if performed for one will be performed for all and that WILL result in a gigantic delay to the journey for everybody.

So I take it on trust and nod through the occasional €1.43 and a couple of brass farthings or the odd shirt button,cos it`s in the interest of keeping the journey going for everybody else,50% of whom have utilized a non-cash method.

It should also be noted that a substantial number of my customers drop in a €2 coin for their lesser fare and simply walk on without any comment,pause or other delay...quite obviously seeing €2 as a reasonable amount for their Bus journey.

Please do remember that the Busdriver has no interaction with Cash at any stage in the proceedings,so your change is not going into some Worldwide Confraternity of Busdrivers Tea-Money or similar.

The unclaimed change-ticket money is lodged into a special account (Non-Interest bearing I believe ?) with a mechanism now in place which allows sums to be disbursed back into the Community via the "Community Support Programme" something which has benefitted many voluntary local groups throughout the City.

Apologies for (another !) long post,but I hope it goes some way to offer an alternative view of the current situation on the platform.

The Platform cash-transaction is the Bus version of severe indigestion.

Given the single-door single aisle design of our fleet it is now the greatest source of self-imposed delay on Bus services,a situation which seems set to continue as the Authorities are markedly reluctant to offer real incentives to switch to contactless card use.

Just to end on this issue,take a look at TfL in London and their Oyster Card.

A single Bus journey in London`s central zone will cost a cash-payer £2 stg.....paid off bus at a kerbside machine.
A single Oyster Bus Journey will cost 90p.....Thats how you spell INCENTIVE.

Fast Forward to modern go-ahead Ireland and we see the imminent introduction of our Integrated Ticketing Product....

From what we have been told by The Integrated Ticketing Implimentation Board it is proposed to INCREASE the current cash Busfares by an amount,this process is already underway.

Then,later this year,the NEW! Integrated Ticket "Product" will be introduced with it`s charging scale at the old rate..ie: the present cash scale...."sure`n isn`t that a discount...?"

We badly need a facepalm smiley on this Thread !!! :eek:

Strictly speaking, the driver is right and you are wrong, even though you are right.

The bylaws on Dublin Bus make it clear that determining the correct fare is a matter for the driver, not the passenger. If you have a problem with the fare charged, that is really something you should take up with Dublin Bus.

This will not change with the integrated ticket. You will still need to state your destination to the driver and he will need to determine the correct ticket to issue onto your smartcard.