Police called to number 7 bus in Dun Laoghaire

sixfingered

In the last 30 mins or so I was traveling through Dun Laoghaire on a 7 bus after getting on at Nassau Street.

As the bus was at Alex's Newsagent just before turning on to the Glenegary Road, a young woman and a small boy flagged it. They both got on and asked the driver to wait for another person who was in the shop. This woman took approximately a minute or so and the driver then asked the other woman and child to leave, as this happened the older woman came running out of the shop and flagged the bus down. Once she got on she was immediately hostile with the driver and very loud and belligerent. The driver (who was of African descent) asked her to hurry up with the change and she turned aggressive, at once point saying "He's come all the way from Trinidad and he's telling me to hurry up on an Irish bus?".

After about 5 minutes had passed with the bus stationary at the stop, the woman said she was going to Sallynoggin and the driver said it would be 1.90. The woman insisted it was 1.40 as it was just three stops up the Glenegary Road and how she made that journey regularly and it was always 1.40. This seemed to make sense to me as it's just a short drive up the hill. The driver insisted though and the woman carried on with her aggressive attitude, with it progressively getting worse (she was shouting down the bus asking who else was going to Sallynoggin, then shouted up the stairs to the other woman and the child to ask the passengers upstairs). The driver then turned the engine off and contacted the base who got the Gardai on the case. The woman then said she'd pay the 1.90 and was just about to when another unrelated passenger stood up and agreed with her. To be honest, i would've preferred if he had stayed out of it so the bus could take off finally!

Shortly afterwards, a 45A came from behind. The woman then shouted at the driver to wait and ran off the bus to flag down the 45A. She got on and presumably asked the driver of that bus how much it cost to Sallynoggin, he said 1.40 and then pulled his bus up alongside the 7 and called out to the driver to say it costs 1.40.

At this point, myself and most of the other passengers exited the 7 and got on the 45A. As the 45A was driving up the hill then, it passed the Garda van passed on its way to the first bus. The driver of the 45A got their attention and they pulled up alongside. He then told the Gardai how the driver was in the wrong because he was charging too much.

I thought this was extremely irresponsible of the driver to get involved while not knowing the full facts (the woman's hostility, racially motivated comments etc.) but maybe i'm wrong? I'm considering contacting Dublin Bus to give them extra information (as I fear the Gardai's minds were probably made up by after speaking with the other bus driver) but i'm not sure if it would be worthwhile, especially as the driver was wrong with the fare charge?

devnull

Apologies - ignore my post, misread the thread, thought it said the bus was three stops not three stops up the road rather than actually three stops.

KD345

sixfingered wrote: »

In the last 30 mins or so I was traveling through Dun Laoghaire on a 7 bus after getting on at Nassau Street.

As the bus was at Alex's Newsagent just before turning on to the Glenegary Road, a young woman and a small boy flagged it. They both got on and asked the driver to wait for another person who was in the shop. This woman took approximately a minute or so and the driver then asked the other woman and child to leave, as this happened the older woman came running out of the shop and flagged the bus down. Once she got on she was immediately hostile with the driver and very loud and belligerent. The driver (who was of African descent) asked her to hurry up with the change and she turned aggressive, at once point saying "He's come all the way from Trinidad and he's telling me to hurry up on an Irish bus?".

After about 5 minutes had passed with the bus stationary at the stop, the woman said she was going to Sallynoggin and the driver said it would be 1.90. The woman insisted it was 1.40 as it was just three stops up the Glenegary Road and how she made that journey regularly and it was always 1.40. This seemed to make sense to me as it's just a short drive up the hill. The driver insisted though and the woman carried on with her aggressive attitude, with it progressively getting worse (she was shouting down the bus asking who else was going to Sallynoggin, then shouted up the stairs to the other woman and the child to ask the passengers upstairs). The driver then turned the engine off and contacted the base who got the Gardai on the case. The woman then said she'd pay the 1.90 and was just about to when another unrelated passenger stood up and agreed with her. To be honest, i would've preferred if he had stayed out of it so the bus could take off finally!

Shortly afterwards, a 45A came from behind. The woman then shouted at the driver to wait and ran off the bus to flag down the 45A. She got on and presumably asked the driver of that bus how much it cost to Sallynoggin, he said 1.40 and then pulled his bus up alongside the 7 and called out to the driver to say it costs 1.40.

At this point, myself and most of the other passengers exited the 7 and got on the 45A. As the 45A was driving up the hill then, it passed the Garda van passed on its way to the first bus. The driver of the 45A got their attention and they pulled up alongside. He then told the Gardai how the driver was in the wrong because he was charging too much.

I thought this was extremely irresponsible of the driver to get involved while not knowing the full facts (the woman's hostility, racially motivated comments etc.) but maybe i'm wrong? I'm considering contacting Dublin Bus to give them extra information (as I fear the Gardai's minds were probably made up by after speaking with the other bus driver) but i'm not sure if it would be worthwhile, especially as the driver was wrong with the fare charge?

Sounds like an awful situation for all concerned.

Just to point out the stop in question (3047) is actually on Georges Street, within stage 42. I'm not sure exactly where this lady was going, but to travel to some parts of Sallynoggin Road is stage 46 which is 4 stages and €1.90.

There is no excuse for racist abuse in any situation, and no worker should have to face abuse in their workday. Hopefully your witness account, along with CCTV will support the driver.

paddyland

The fare stage system is an anachronism, and an ass. It is wide open to this kind of dispute and unpleasantness. It grossly delays buses, frustrates people, causes overcharging and I'm sure, undercharging, and makes an already difficult job many times harder. It must have cost Dublin Bus millions over the years in lost time, extra buses and drivers, and more unnecessary congestion for everyone.

What is so backwards about Dublin Bus that they either can't change it, or demand change from whoever else it is that foists this nonsense upon them?

It's a joke.

the groutch

technically the driver was correct with the fare.

here's the info on the route

http://dublinbus.ie/en/Your-Journey1/Timetables/All-Timetables/7/

parts of stages are counted at both ends, so she was travelling 4 stages (42 to 46).
most drivers probably just charge the €1.40 for Dun Laoghaire to Sallynoggin to avoid risking confrontations like this.

he may also have had a personal beef with them for holding up a bus full of passengers, and for making racist comments at him.

Victor

Thread tidied up

dirtynosebeps

sixfingered wrote: »

a young woman and a small boy flagged it. They both got on and asked the driver to wait for another person who was in the shop.

here in itself lies the problem. the passenger asked the driver to wait while the woman is in the shop :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:. an everyday occurrence for bus drivers. wait for what i ask, while the woman does her shopping?. jasus christ lord almighty it's a bus service not a fecking taxi service.ohhh it's also one of the most frequent bus services out there. i'm stuck for words here. not having a go at the o.p. for one sec by the way. . i've often seen bus drivers being asked to wait for someone. some wait but thank god alot dont. she hadn't got the decency to wait for a few mins till the next bus arrives but instead decides to hold up a bus for her own selfish needs. isn't it any wonder why buses dont run on time and or dont show up. things like this never cease to amaze me. i'm not going into the fares/stages thing because we all know what a shambles that is and is one of most widely discussed issues here.

AlekSmart

the groutch wrote: »

technically the driver was correct with the fare.

here's the info on the route

http://dublinbus.ie/en/Your-Journey1/Timetables/All-Timetables/7/

parts of stages are counted at both ends, so she was travelling 4 stages (42 to 46).
most drivers probably just charge the €1.40 for Dun Laoghaire to Sallynoggin to avoid risking confrontations like this.

he may also have had a personal beef with them for holding up a bus full of passengers, and for making racist comments at him.

Yet another case which could have been avoided by the rather simple expedient of having the damn Stages marked ON THE BUS-STOP.

What can so terrifying about informing one's customers as to the exact locations of their fare paying decisions ?

I sincerely hope the OP does communicate their view of the incident as,from the sounds of it,the other (45A) driver was either unaware of the Stages OR simply belonged to the Quiet Life brigade....

This should NOT be happening this far into century 21...:mad:

antoinolachtnai

The driver is always correct in relation to the fare, even if he is wrong.

If a passenger has a problem with the fare charged, they need to take it up with DB. If they don't want to pay the fare the passenger should leave the bus.

I am surprised that another driver would decide to establish what could only be called a highly informal fares tribunal at the side of the road. If this is the state of worker solidarity at DB, it is a sad look out.

It will be impossible to operate any sort of fare system if this kind of carry-on (by which I mean the behavior of the second driver) becomes commonplace.

BrianD

Surely the machine would tell you how far 1.40 or 1.90 will get you?

Was in London last weekend and on a few buses. Almost everybody was on the Oyster card. Tag on and straight to your seat. DB need to radically overhaul their system - eliminate the stage system and make cash fares the exception.

sixfingered

Victor wrote: »

Thread tidied up

Thanks. My connection was all over while trying to post this the other night.

sixfingered

AlekSmart wrote: »

Yet another case which could have been avoided by the rather simple expedient of having the damn Stages marked ON THE BUS-STOP.

What can so terrifying about informing one's customers as to the exact locations of their fare paying decisions ?

I sincerely hope the OP does communicate their view of the incident as,from the sounds of it,the other (45A) driver was either unaware of the Stages OR simply belonged to the Quiet Life brigade....

This should NOT be happening this far into century 21...:mad:

I called Dublin Bus on Tuesday afternoon, around 2pm, and the person on the line had no record of what I was talking about. I left my name and number in case there's any developments but I'm not expecting a call to be honest. Hopefully it was calmed down and there wasn't any extra trouble at the scene or beyond.

end of the road

the bus driver should have driven off and left them, the only way to describe people like that yoke who abused the bus driver is filthy uncivilised trash who think because their (irish) its okay to behave in an uncivilised manner because the bus driver happens to be a foreign national. its about time dublin bus and other transport operators clamped down on these filth and bann them from the transport system indefinitely. being irish doesn't give you the right to behave in such a manner twoards people doing their job. rant over.

EricPraline

dirtynosebeps wrote: »

here in itself lies the problem. the passenger asked the driver to wait while the woman is in the shop :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:. an everyday occurrence for bus drivers. wait for what i ask, while the woman does her shopping?. jasus christ lord almighty it's a bus service not a fecking taxi service.

Indeed, it seems that being overly patient with them was probably the driver's first mistake. It's amazing that people like this have no problem in blatantly delaying other commuters. There seems to be a certain cohort of infrequent public transport users in Dublin who expect buses to operate as their personal taxi service.

On the more general points made above, completely agree on the archaic Dublin bus stage system. It's pretty opaque for people living here, let alone for visitors to the city. It says a lot if many drivers themselves are unable to estimate fares/stages.

BrianD

What you need is that "Big Man" from Scotland on every bus! Oh hang on, another foreigner!

The_Wrecker

sixfingered wrote: »

I called Dublin Bus on Tuesday afternoon, around 2pm, and the person on the line had no record of what I was talking about. I left my name and number in case there's any developments but I'm not expecting a call to be honest. Hopefully it was calmed down and there wasn't any extra trouble at the scene or beyond.

You wont unless central asked for an incident form to be handed in from the driver. After 1900 central is a one man operation and at breaking point.

The_Wrecker

BrianD wrote: »

Surely the machine would tell you how far 1.40 or 1.90 will get you?

Was in London last weekend and on a few buses. Almost everybody was on the Oyster card. Tag on and straight to your seat. DB need to radically overhaul their system - eliminate the stage system and make cash fares the exception.

Once you leave Dun laoghaire the machine states Glenageary rd to the Noggin inn.

man.about.town

i was on the 130 bus at the first stop on abbey street, the bus was going to clontarf and it must be about 8 years ago now, but i remember some lad got on and started making racist remarks to the driver over the his ticket not being accepted or whatever his problem was. it was really awkward but some man got up and said to everyone that he wasnt going to sit on a bus with such a racist bigot etc.. i was so impressed with him, there was only about 10-12 people on the bus, but we all got up and got off. the driver then got off aswell, your man then walked off and everyone clapped

monument

Another good reason for cashless buses.

Or two or three very expensive cash fares -- three zones within the canals, the rest of the area inside the M50 and everywhere outside it. Leap and other tickets should at least a 60% discount of the cash fare.