No change on the bus??

jaysusake

I get the bus most days...more often than not I dont have the exact change, say my fare is 1.60 I stick in 2.00. Id say 8 times out of 10 ive to ask for the 40 cent refund ticket... I must admit ive never refunded any of them but thats not the point.

Does this happen to anyone else or are the drivers just taking the piss out of me!!!:)

Pookah

I used to give the receipts to homeless people. Make them work for their money, I say.

Catari Jaguar

Buy a rambler ticket.

Dublin bus has somethinbg like €5 million in unclaimed bus ticket change that they can't touch in case someone wants their change.

Pyridine

Depends on how much the change is. If I put in a €2 for a €1.60 or €1.80 fare then they always give the change ticket (on Dublin Bus by the by!), but if I put in €1.70 for a €1.60 fare then sometimes I have to scowl at them for a minute before they realise.

Cookie_Monster

cherub rock wrote: »

Dublin bus has somethinbg like €5 million in unclaimed bus ticket change that they can't touch in case someone wants their change.

they keep it for a year or two then hand it over to charity iirc

mikemac

No issues like that in Galway

Move over to us OP

Catari Jaguar

Make up for it by short changing them. Put in a fistful of small change and say your fare and driver will just press the button without adding all those coins. They have millions in profit so it's not ripping them off.

Catari Jaguar

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

they keep it for a year or two then hand it over to charity iirc

About €100,000 out of €1 million

article here

Nijmegen

Of all the f'ing issues with Dublin bus, this is merely one I notice.

The fact that they don't bother to run their routes to schedule, or certain routes drive different ways depending on the driver, or the fact that there's no control over the antisocial elements that frequent many routes...

Ohh I could go on.

syklops

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

they keep it for a year or two then hand it over to charity iirc

No their not allowed do that.

There was a campaign by some charity asking for people to donate their bus change receipts, and if I remember correctly they made a good bit of money out of it.

alwaysadub

If you get the bus most days would you not be better off getting a travel card thing?

drdeadlift

cherub rock wrote: »

Make up for it by short changing them. Put in a fistful of small change and say your fare and driver will just press the button without adding all those coins. They have millions in profit so it's not ripping them off.

i didn't think Dublin bus made any profit at all,in years actually.

bonerjams03

cherub rock wrote: »

Make up for it by short changing them. Put in a fistful of small change and say your fare and driver will just press the button without adding all those coins. They have millions in profit so it's not ripping them off.

No. Don't do that, pay for the service they provide. They are run at a loss as it is.

prinz

jaysusake wrote: »

Does this happen to anyone else or are the drivers just taking the piss out of me!!!:)

Depends, do you tell the driver the value of the ticket you want and how much you are putting in the slot rather than say €1.60 and chuck in €2? On busy routes the drivers aren't actually staring at the box to count what you have put in so it's no wonder they wouldn't realise you were due a refund slip unless you actually point it out to them.

dvpower

prinz wrote: »

On busy routes the drivers aren't actually staring at the box to count what you have put in so it's no wonder they wouldn't realise you were due a refund slip unless you actually point it out to them.

Does the machine not count the money for them?

syklops

drdeadlift wrote: »

i didn't think Dublin bus made any profit at all,in years actually.

The main reason for this though is the wasteful spending.

What eats diesel and changes colour every few years? The Dublin Bus fleet.

Timeline of the colors used by Dublin Bus:

Early to mid 1980's = Yellow Buses
1987 = Fleet upgraaded, changed to Green
1993 = Fleet changed and repainted White or Yellow and Red for 'Imp' buses.
1998 = Fleet color changed to Blue and Cream
2003 = Changed to Blue and Yellow

It costs money to change the colour of over 1000 buses. Not to mention the cost of redesigning logos, replacing every bus stop in the city with the new colours etc.

legallyblonde86

I kept all my receipts for years in handbags and pockets etc. Did a massive clean out and claimed back €22.... happy days

The_Minister

cherub rock wrote: »

Make up for it by short changing them. Put in a fistful of small change and say your fare and driver will just press the button without adding all those coins. They have millions in profit so it's not ripping them off.

What?

Leaving aside the fact that Dublin Bus functions thanks to a whopping taxpayer subsidy, it's still 'ripping off' a company, even if they make millions.

What kind of perverse logic makes it not stealing?

spoonface

jaysusake wrote: »

I get the bus most days...more often than not I dont have the exact change, say my fare is 1.60 I stick in 2.00. Id say 8 times out of 10 ive to ask for the 40 cent refund ticket... I must admit ive never refunded any of them but thats not the point.

Does this happen to anyone else or are the drivers just taking the piss out of me!!!:)

Just get a smart card for the bus and you won't get ripped off any more!
It might even save you money, I know it does for me on the DART.

jaysusake

prinz wrote: »

Depends, do you tell the driver the value of the ticket you want and how much you are putting in the slot rather than say €1.60 and chuck in €2? On busy routes the drivers aren't actually staring at the box to count what you have put in so it's no wonder they wouldn't realise you were due a refund slip unless you actually point it out to them.

I do tell the driver '1.60 please' I shouldnt have to say im putting in 2.00, thats their job, and so what if their on busy routes it makes no difference to the speed the people get on the bus. It would take longer if everyone was to explain what they were putting in and what refund they were due, its part of their job to calculate the refund, if it was down to the customer they could make up whatever refund they wanted....

bonerm

The only place you can collect refunds is on O'Connell St and the place closes at 5.30 on the dot (this is the only time you'll ever see Dublin Bus being punctual about anything).

It's almost as they tho they don't want you to seek your refund......

prinz

dvpower wrote: »

Does the machine not count the money for them?

Could well do, but again, vast majority of the time drivers are looking at you/next person getting on and just pressing the button to print a ticket.

prinz

jaysusake wrote: »

I do tell the driver '1.60 please' I shouldnt have to say im putting in 2.00, thats their job, and so what if their on busy routes it makes no difference to the speed the people get on the bus. It would take longer if everyone was to explain what they were putting in and what refund they were due, its part of their job to calculate the refund, if it was down to the customer they could make up whatever refund they wanted....

No it wouldn't. Driver would just have to look down and check. Dublin Bus advises people to have exact fare, it's not that big a job to comply with this.

Africa

The amount of receipts I have in my wallet is ridiculous. Biggest problem is the ink runs thin on them very quickly, making them unusable.

I would have thought that this 'paper' change was illegal... or at least monstrously immoral.

No, those boxes do not count the change...

bonerm

Africa wrote: »

The amount of receipts I have in my wallet is ridiculous. Biggest problem is the ink runs thin on them very quickly, making them unusable.

I would have thought that this 'paper' change was illegal... or at least monstrously immoral.

No, those boxes do not count the change...

Put them in one of those small sealable plastic bags. I've a bag full of them going back about 3 years now, all perfectly preserved and ready for the day when I've nothing better to do and hankering for some 'free' pints on OCS.

http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/equipment_bags.jpg

smokedeels

jaysusake wrote: »

I do tell the driver '1.60 please' I shouldnt have to say im putting in 2.00, thats their job

mind reading?

Strange skill-set for a bus driver to have.

RayM

syklops wrote: »

It costs money to change the colour of over 1000 buses. Not to mention the cost of redesigning logos, replacing every bus stop in the city with the new colours etc.

As far as I know, the buses are resprayed every couple of years, regardless of logo changes. Which seems quite wasteful. Although at least the current livery can't have been too expensive to design.

The 'exact fare' rule has been around for at least ten years now, so there really isn't any excuse for not having the right change. Anyway, I don't understand why so many idiots still insist on paying the driver, when the Travel 90 ticket (also not a recent development) would save them money.

Hannibal Smith

I think it's a sly thing by the drivers. Fair enough if you put in shrapnel of 2 cent coins they're not gonna sit there and count it, but if you put in a 2 euro coin, they know full well you're due change back.

I had a fight with a driver once who gave me a ticket for 90cent when I had paid for 1.90. He argued the toss with me said he wouldn't give me the correct ticket. So I rang head office who said he'd be called in for disciplining and got a load of prepaid tickets sent out to me.:)

Hannibal Smith

smokedeels wrote: »

mind reading?

Strange skill-set for a bus driver to have.

Mind reading? No. It's simple maths...some one says they want a ticket for 1.60 and puts in 2.00, they're due 40 cent change/receipt for change.

bonerm

RayM wrote: »

I don't understand why so many idiots still insist on paying the driver, when the Travel 90 ticket (also not a recent development) would save them money.

My fare is €1.80 per trip. The Travel 90 ticket was €18 so it also worked out at €1.80 per trip. As a result I would buy the ticket just to avoid fiddling around with change every day .... and especially so I wouldn't have to talk to the drivers.

The ticket has recently gone up to €18.50 whereas fares are still €1.80 meaning the tickets are actually bad value even for a medium journey like mine. Doesn't really make any sense? But then it appears everything about this company is just needlessly screwed up. It's clear none of them care about the service they supply or whether it's profitable or not (and yes I know it's not).

Peadar_85

Yea I don't know why various posters are advising to buy a ticket when this person is only spending 1.60 per journey. There's no value in buying tickets when you're only paying this amount per trip.

Another point regards Dublin Bus is the state of some of their buses particularly the 1999 buses still on the road. The vast majority of these seem incapable of keeping rain water out thus leading to nasty 'rivers' flowing on the floor on the top of the bus. Not a nice experience when you've to go up and down hills! Needless to say complaints have been answered with airy fairy stuff like our fleet are routinely tested blah blah blah

Dravokivich

Nijmegen wrote: »

Of all the f'ing issues with Dublin bus, this is merely one I notice.

The fact that they don't bother to run their routes to schedule, or certain routes drive different ways depending on the driver, or the fact that there's no control over the antisocial elements that frequent many routes...

Ohh I could go on.

Yes.. but clearly there's no point...

the schedule is when the bus is meant to depart from the terminus, there is no set time for when they are going to be at each stop.

The majority of the routes also run "Specials," where the driver is told to do an alternate route.

No control of anti-social elements? you are not seriously putting that forward as a gripe? The driver just goes from A - B. Unless they are getting hassle, it's no concern to'em who's on the bus.

prinz

Peadar_85 wrote: »

Yea I don't know why various posters are advising to buy a ticket when this person is only spending 1.60 per journey. There's no value in buying tickets when you're only paying this amount per trip.

Depends on how many trips they are taking....

flas

i remember one of my lecturers in college saying one day how dublin bus make up to 13.5million in unclaimed tickets a year, dont know if he was right or wrong but thinking about it, they have to make millions!

Firehen

bonerm wrote: »

My fare is €1.80 per trip. The Travel 90 ticket was €18 so it also worked out at €1.80 per trip. As a result I would buy the ticket just to avoid fiddling around with change every day .... and especially so I wouldn't have to talk to the drivers.

The ticket has recently gone up to €18.50 whereas fares are still €1.80 meaning the tickets are actually bad value even for a medium journey like mine. Doesn't really make any sense? But then it appears everything about this company is just needlessly screwed up. It's clear none of them care about the service they supply or whether it's profitable or not (and yes I know it's not).

I forgot about this ticket. I've been spending 21 quid a week on the 5 day ticket, but I only get 10 buses a week. This'll save me a few quid anyway. Nice one!

smk89

The single greatest thing about prepaid tickets is not having to talk to the bus driver.

Rabies

Can the tickets be classed as legal tender?

big_show

smk89 wrote: »

The single greatest thing about prepaid tickets is not having to talk to the bus driver.

Your a nice ray of sunshine alright, I use prepaid tickets and acknowledge the driver with a "howya"

manners cost nothing.

senordingdong

That reminds me, I have about sixty quids worth of these things in a box at home.

Peadar_85

prinz wrote: »

Depends on how many trips they are taking....

Granted. But the average i'm guessing would be 2 trips a day, 5 times a week so €16 a week. Cheapest weekly ticket is the 10 journey now at €18.50

jackiebaron

legallyblonde86 wrote: »

I kept all my receipts for years in handbags and pockets etc. Did a massive clean out and claimed back €22.... happy days

Wow! Almost enough for 3 pints.

dvpower

prinz wrote: »

Could well do, but again, vast majority of the time drivers are looking at you/next person getting on and just pressing the button to print a ticket.

Daft system. Couldn't thry have the machine count the money; the driver presses the appropriate button for the fare; the machine automatically issues a ticket and, if necessary, a refund ticket.

prinz

dvpower wrote: »

Daft system. Couldn't thry have the machine count the money; the driver presses the appropriate button for the fare; the machine automatically issues a ticket and, if necessary, a refund ticket.

You'd think that would be more logical, but then again this is Ireland :pac: There shouldn't be anyone paying cash to the driver whatsoever IMO. Should all be done via smart card/prepaid.

Fighting Irish

cherub rock wrote: »

Make up for it by short changing them. Put in a fistful of small change and say your fare and driver will just press the button without adding all those coins. They have millions in profit so it's not ripping them off.

:rolleyes:

XxMCRxBabyxX

prinz wrote: »

You'd think that would be more logical, but then again this is Ireland :pac: There shouldn't be anyone paying cash to the driver whatsoever IMO. Should all be done via smart card/prepaid.

And what hapens to the people only getting the bus once or twice every few weeks?

dvpower

XxMCRxBabyxX wrote: »

And what hapens to the people only getting the bus once or twice every few weeks?

A prepaid product that you can top up and doesn't expire.

XxMCRxBabyxX

dvpower wrote: »

A prepaid product that you can top up and doesn't expire.

That involves me having to decide that I am going to get the bus and it not being a last minute decision

nlgbbbblth

OP - if you're too disorganised to have the exact fare then that's your lookout. It's not that f*cking difficult.:rolleyes:

**Timbuk2**

nlgbbbblth wrote: »

OP - if you're too disorganised to have the exact fare then that's your lookout. It's not that f*cking difficult.:rolleyes:

I usually have the exact change separated nicely in one of my pockets. Then when I get on the bus, I forget which pocket it is, can't feel it in any of my pockets, end up just throwing a random €2 in, and finding the change in my pocket when I sit down

I've solved the problem by getting a prepaid ticket though.

bullets

Is this just a Dublin thing ??

For the last 2 decades I get on a Bus in Limerick I hand the driver money and he/she gives me back change without
any problems.

~B

nlgbbbblth

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

I usually have the exact change separated nicely in one of my pockets. Then when I get on the bus, I forget which pocket it is, can't feel it in any of my pockets, end up just throwing a random €2 in, and finding the change in my pocket when I sit down

I've solved the problem by getting a prepaid ticket though.

why not have the money in your hand as the bus approaches?