Bus Eireann

mtjm

I got a bus from Kilkenny to Dublin on Sunday, I sat on the front of the bus, I was listening to my walkman, driver was listening to same station as it was only reception I got, anyway the driver told me to lower my walkman he does't want to here my personnal walkman? I felt like telling him to go and f**k himself but he might thrown me off, anyway did lower it, the fact I was listening to same music as he was and yet he had the cheek to tell me to lower it

Is it worth writing to Bus Eireann?

bk

Even though you were listening to the same station, due to being different devices, the timing of the reception and playback might have been slightly off.

This can create an extremely annoying echo effect, which can make it hard to concentrate. You wouldn't have noticed this as you had head phones on.

The last thing you want is for the driver to be distracted, specially as he may have been driving many hours through a late night shift.

The driver was well within his rights to ask you to turn your headphones off and yes had you refused and certainly had you been abusive, he would have been well within his rights to throw you off the bus.

You can complain if you like, but in this case the driver was well within his rights, he was doing what needed to be done to drive safely, so nothing will come of reporting this.

Might I suggest you be more concerned about your own hearing. If you are playing the walkman so loud that the driver can hear it, then you are probably playing it far too loud and doing your hearing permanent damage.

Also it is considered rude to play music so loud on public transport. The people around you might not want to hear your music, they might be trying to sleep etc.

You might want to look into a good pair of canal earphones. This type of earphones go right into the canal of your ears and create a seal that blocks out all external noise. This allows you to play your music at much lower and safer sound levels, while getting better audio quality then you would at high levels with open headphones.

Also due to their design, they leak almost no sound, so you won't annoy the people around you.

You can get such headphones from just €25, a fantastic and highly recommended purchase for any frequent traveler.

Some info on canalphones:
http://www.head-fi.org/a/basic-guide-to-in-ear-canalphones

Cheap ones here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/279-5293314-9771916?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=soundmagic&x=0&y=0

If you have the money, I'd recommend Shure.

DeadbeatDancer

I've had so, so many bad experiences with Bus Éireann!...the majority of the drivers on the route that I normally take are insufferable a*seh*les!...the grumpiest feckers that I've ever come across!...I usually would have the exact fare for the bus but one day I had to rush straight from work and I had to hand in a €20 note for the €6.70 fare...as I was coming up the steps, the driver started to sigh and said something like; "I suppose you've nothing smaller?" I apologised profusely and he ate the face off me!...he made a big song and dance about it in front of a packed bus and in the end left me a fiver short and told me that "It'll do ya." It was only when I sat down in a seat that I thought of all the things I should've said to him but I was actually in shock!...why would a grown man be so thick and rude to anyone, never mind a young female?!...and then, he drove straight past my stop and had to go walking home in the pouring rain!...I was so angry!...it pains me having to give money to Bus Éireann!!...makes my blood boil thinking about it!! :mad:

dowlingm

DeadbeatDancer wrote: »

I had to hand in a €20 note for the €6.70 fare...as I was coming up the steps, the driver started to sigh and said something like; "I suppose you've nothing smaller?" I apologised profusely and he ate the face off me!...he made a big song and dance about it in front of a packed bus and in the end left me a fiver short and told me that "It'll do ya."

Now THAT is something worth writing to BE about. The bylaws do say that music which disturbs other passengers is easily extended to the driver, but tendering incorrect change without providing any means for that difference to be made up, even DB's ridiculous voucher system, is another thing altogether.

mtjm

I'm slighty deaf anyway so can't wear those ones as I've got 2 digital hearing aids so have to use old once, maybe I should have sat down the back lol

AlekSmart

mtjm wrote: »

I'm slighty deaf anyway so can't wear those ones as I've got 2 digital hearing aids so have to use old once, maybe I should have sat down the back lol

Mtjm,is there the remotest chance here that a combination of your Walkman,your Hearing Aids and the Coach Entertainment/PA system somehow conflicted thereby causing some form of interference which You may have missed ?

Vic_08

mtjm wrote: »

I'm slighty deaf anyway so can't wear those ones as I've got 2 digital hearing aids so have to use old once, maybe I should have sat down the back lol

If it is necessary for you to use leaky headphones and have them at a volume which is clearly audible to others then you should not use them on the bus at all.

http://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=322

The Road Traffic Act, 1961, and Statutory Instruments, made thereunder require, inter alia, that a passenger or intending passenger in a bus:

• Shall comply with any lawful direction given to him by the conductor for the purpose of ensuring the comfort or safety of passengers or with regard to the placing of any article brought by him on the bus.
• Shall not use obscene or offensive language or conduct himself in a riotous or disorderly manner, or smoke in or on any part of a bus operated by Bus Éireann, or spit upon or from the bus, or wilfully damage, soil or defile the bus.
• Shall not, to the annoyance of other passengers, operate any wireless apparatus or other instrument or make any excessive noise by singing, shouting, etc.

I have no desire to engage in arguements with passengers or otherwise ruin people's fun but I am not going to spend several hours driving while listening to the high frequency hiss from leaky headphones. Same goes for incessant loud mobile phone calls and people playing music through their phones or watching films on laptops with the speakers on.

A bus is a very confined public space and I will directly request that people who are not respecting their fellow passengers to stop making unnecessary noise. I would rather people have consideration for others without having to be told but it seems that is too much for some people these days, same as taking their rubbish with them and not leaving the bus a filthy mess for the next person to use the seat.