Bus Éireann: not the exact change? Tough!

DaCorkGeezer

Hi

I live in Cork City and I took the No.8 from Patrick's Street to Curraheen Rd this morning. I gave the bus driver a €2 coin who gives me c50 back. I pointed out that he should give me c55 back, he grumbled back that he did not have any 5c

I bide my time and I saw some passengers giving him the exact change so Itell myself that I'll ask for the 5c at the last stop, so that's what I did and he keeps on telling me that he has no 5c, I tell him he could at least apologise and he starts yelling at me that he doesn't have to give me the exact change!!

I mean it's not like I paid with a €50 banknote!! 5c is nothing, but it's the behaviour. If I was 5c short I doubt he'd let me in I suppose there's no point in sending an email to complain about this? I kept the ticket anyway. Now I'd like to see some official documentation on bus drivers not obliged to give you the change

Thanks

E92

Good to see our quality monopoly public transport provider with absolutely no incentive to do better looking after it's customers again(then again I suppose you should be grateful the bus actually turned up):rolleyes:.

(in fairness it's only 5 cent, but it's the principle behind it)

Trojan911

E92 wrote: »

(in fairness it's only 5 cent, but it's the principle behind it)

Agreed, 5c is not the end of the world, but would the OP be refused to board the bus if he was 5c short?

At 8am I would expect the driver to have the exact change. Think of all the 5c's he could accumulate throughout his shift everyday... It might pay for his smokes or weekend beers....

DaCorkGeezer

Trojan911 wrote: »

It might pay for his smokes or weekend beers....

That's exactly what I was thinking

It's also the fact that, to me, January's 10c hike is completely unjustified, so the least they could do is give you the change...Ah well :rolleyes:

I'll give €1.40 tomorrow morning to make up fir it

Victor

There is no obligation on anyone to give change - they merely have to accept euros (subject to their usual conditions).

That said, neither you, nor the driver presented yourselves ina good light arguing over 5c.

I had my money ready whent he bus pulled up last week, but forgot about the 5c increase and the driver let me off. I dropped the 5c in 30 seconds later.

AlekSmart

As Vic sez I understand that there is NO obligation on a provider of goods or services to offer or provide change.
AFAIR once a price list is provided or the price of the goods is agreed in advance then the purchaser is responsible for stumping up the agreed amount.
A flat fare of €2 vaild for 90 mins would sort all that oul nonsense out,and speed things up for those who were waiting for the street theatre to finish...

Stark

The OP had already handed over his money at the agreed price of €1.45 when the bus driver refused to give him change. If the driver had said he didn't have change before taking the money, then it would be a different story. BE isn't like Dublin Bus where you know up front that you're not going to get change. To me the OP's story is the equivalent of going into a shop, buying something worth x amount of money, handing over a note and then having the shop assistant telling you to **** off out of it when you ask for your change.

Given also that unlike on Dublin Bus, the driver has access to the money, I would go along with Trojan911's theory that the driver is pocketing the change.

RubyXI

Ya that has happened to me a few times. It only seems to happen if i give them a €2. If i give them €1.50 they always have the 5c.

John_C

Stark wrote: »

To me the OP's story is the equivalent of going into a shop, buying something worth x amount of money, handing over a note and then having the shop assistant telling you to **** off out of it when you ask for your change.

When I worked in Tesco's it would happen every now and then that I'd run out of pennies and I'd have to leave someone a penny short or extra. The odd time someone complained I'd give them my next biggest coin.

Life is full of minor inconveniences but most of them are easily handled.

Stark

I'm used to "sorry, I'll have to owe you blah", I'm okay with it if the person behind the till is polite. In places I go to regularly, it's usually a case of I'll be 5c short one day, they'll be short 5c the next day and it all balances out. That's not what the OP is describing by the sounds of it though. There was no polite "sorry, no change", just the common rude response that some people believe CIE customers deserve. And I am fairly sure that if the OP was the one short, then it wouldn't be "only 5c".

John_C

Stark wrote: »

I'm used to "sorry, I'll have to owe you blah", I'm okay with it if the person behind the till is polite. In places I go to regularly, it's usually a case of I'll be 5c short one day, they'll be short 5c the next day and it all balances out. That's not what the OP is describing by the sounds of it though. There was no polite "sorry, no change", just the common rude response that some people believe CIE customers deserve. And I am fairly sure that if the OP was the one short, then it wouldn't be "only 5c".

I see your point but the way I look at this, the complaint isn't really that the passenger was left 5c short, rather that the driver was rude. Generally I've found that if you act cheeky with rude people, they get ruder. That seems to be what happened here.

blorg

Just shows you what a disgrace Dublin Bus is if Corkonians are complaining about getting shorted 5c on their change ;-)

DaCorkGeezer

Victor wrote: »

That said, neither you, nor the driver presented yourselves ina good light arguing over 5c.

As mentioned above, it's not so much about the 5c, it's the way it was dealt with.

I saw many times passengers handing over €10 or even €20 with no second thought and it would take ages for the driver to find the right change. I always try to give the exact change whenever possible not to hold up the queue.

I think I'm in my right to -politely- point out to the driver he *might have forgotten* to give me 5c I did not present myself in a bad light.

First time I heard that giving change or not was up to the vendor actually That sounds like borderline anti-consumer to me...

Wishbone Ash

DaCorkGeezer wrote: »

First time I heard that giving change or not was up to the vendor actually That sounds like bordlerine anti-consumer to me...

As has been said, no provider of goods or service is obliged to give change. Most do as they want your return business but, at the end of the day, it is up to the buyer to tender the correct amount.

DaCorkGeezer

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

As has been said, no provider of goods or service is obliged to give change. Most do as they want your return business but, at the end of the day, it is up to the buyer to tender the correct amount.

Point taken. However some sort of disclaimer quoting the law should be displayed in a clear and visible way in every premises that sell goods or services in the Republic then.

Which I have never seen or heard of That's all. Thanks for the info anyway, I'll be more careful in the future.

Wishbone Ash

The provincial Bus Eireann buses used to have a little sign at the front saying "Please tender exact fare" but I'm not sure if they still do. It's been years since I travelled in one.

RadioCity

Bus Eireann puts a little sign up saying "Please Tender Correct Fare".

Big deal.

If you're not a frequent traveller and are going pay a large fare, most people just reach for a €50 note. Very very few BE passengers I have dealt with at all ever tender anything remotely resembling the correct fare.
Although they might have the change in useful €2 and €1 coins, they don't want to hold up the queue.

Operators should have fares displayed at main bus stops. This clearly helpful suggestion (which will assist drivers and passengers) hits the buffers when they don't remember to change the information when the fares go up. Still, out of date timetables at bus stops are acceptable.

Regarding the original post, fares ending in 5c should be avoided by operators, simply given their awkwardness. These simple things would make life so much more convenient.

Stark

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

As has been said, no provider of goods or service is obliged to give change. Most do as they want your return business but, at the end of the day, it is up to the buyer to tender the correct amount.

Surely they should say it upfront though that they don't give change and refuse to take the larger amount if the person isn't happy, rather than taking the greater amount and then telling the person to go stuff themselves?

I haven't seen a "please tender correct fare" on any of the city bus services btw.

KC61

blorg wrote: »

Just shows you what a disgrace Dublin Bus is if Corkonians are complaining about getting shorted 5c on their change ;-)

Dublin Bus do offer a "change" facility, albeit that you have to go to head office.

They are now one of the few major urban operators to do so, as the generally accepted industry practice is (in similar exact fare operations) that no change ticket is issued and it is tough luck if you pay more than the fare.

Fares are clearly displayed at all bus shelters now in Dublin, and on the new timetable information panels being developed.

Having a system whereby the driver handles cash and gives change leads to excessive delays in the bus service, with far longer dwell times at stops than necessary.

Calina

Most other cities in other countries strongly encourage you to have bought your ticket before you get on the bus either via seriously discounted multi-journey passes or disproportionately high costs for single journeys. In Rome you cannot buy tickets on the buses.

KC61

Calina wrote: »

Most other cities in other countries strongly encourage you to have bought your ticket before you get on the bus either via seriously discounted multi-journey passes or disproportionately high costs for single journeys. In Rome you cannot buy tickets on the buses.

I would expect that this will be the case with the DB Smartcard.

However, with the Government subvention being the lowest in Europe I would not bet on it.

blorg

Calina wrote: »

Most other cities in other countries strongly encourage you to have bought your ticket before you get on the bus either via seriously discounted multi-journey passes or disproportionately high costs for single journeys. In Rome you cannot buy tickets on the buses.

Exactly. I'm an infrequent bus user (cycle most of the time) but if I could buy a heavily discounted carnet of 10 tickets without expiry that I could use whenever I wanted, I would be happy to do so. As it is I have a bucket of 1 & 2c pieces by the door and just grab a rough handful of them whenever I am going to get the bus.

Thing is, if there were heavily discounted multi-journey passes, everyone would use them voluntarily. I know I do as a tourist in any other city in Europe.

There used to be a 10-journey ticket, but they got rid of it.

Stark

As an infrequent bus user who lives nearish to Dublin city centre, I normally get the 2easy tickets. They're not discounted though unfortunately.

If you live further out, then the Travel 90 tickets are very good value. €17 for a packet of 10 tickets that get you ride as many buses as you like as long as the last journey starts within 90 mins of the first and if you're normally paying €1.70 - €2.00 for a single bus journey, then they're a no brainer.

invincibleirish

DaCorkGeezer wrote: »

Hi

I live in Cork City and I took the No.8 from Patrick's Street to Curraheen Rd this morning. I gave the bus driver a €2 coin who gives me c50 back. I pointed out that he should give me c55 back, he grumbled back that he did not have any 5c

I bide my time and I saw some passengers giving him the exact change so Itell myself that I'll ask for the 5c at the last stop, so that's what I did and he keeps on telling me that he has no 5c, I tell him he could at least apologise and he starts yelling at me that he doesn't have to give me the exact change!!

I mean it's not like I paid with a €50 banknote!! 5c is nothing, but it's the behaviour. If I was 5c short I doubt he'd let me in I suppose there's no point in sending an email to complain about this? I kept the ticket anyway. Now I'd like to see some official documentation on bus drivers not obliged to give you the change

Thanks

to the OP. its only 5 cent FFS!, now BE are a lot of things, but if you are going to complain then do it well:

Hey Bus Eireann a few questions:

1) why are large areas of Corks urban area not served by an efficient city bus service?

2) why are satellite towns and suburbs served by abysmal/non existant commuter services?

3) why is there no city bus service after 11.30pm? does the city shut down at this point?

4) where are the double deckers? apparently they are due and are badly needed but why have there not being any in service for years?

5) why are the paper routes (such as the mythical 4,5A,7A,9,11 & 12) advertised in BE literature?

Of course i already know the answers, but when im in the C&T forum and people complain about Dublin Bus, i smile, most people familiar with Corks buses can only drean for that level of service.

thats why i drive a car.

Victor

invincibleirish wrote: »

5) why are the paper routes (such as the mythical 4,5A,7A,9,11 & 12) advertised in BE literature?

I've seen a number 4 and I've been on a number 9, but that was circa 1977.

DaCorkGeezer

invincibleirish wrote: »

to the OP. its only 5 cent FFS!,

It's not the money "FFS!" it's the attitude.

What we've got here, is failure to communicate. Some men, you can't reach.

Wishbone Ash

DaCorkGeezer - for what it's worth - I was in Wilton this afternoon and a BE single decker pulled up along side me at traffic lights. I'm not familiar with Cork bus services but presumably it was a local city service and it had a notice on the nearside window "Please tender exact fare".

corktina

the Municipal Bus Operater I am familiar with in the UK charge £1.50 STERLING for any journey...exact fare only, no change given...they give b.. good service admittedly but it makes BE look cheap....

DaCorkGeezer

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

DaCorkGeezer - for what it's worth - I was in Wilton this afternoon and a BE single decker pulled up along side me at traffic lights. I'm not familiar with Cork bus services but presumably it was a local city service and it had a notice on the nearside window "Please tender exact fare".

OK, thanks for the info - maybe it was one of the new buses...or an old one