Dublin Bus Driver Insults Disabled Student

moneymad

Joeytheparrot wrote: »

I dont know if it happened that way or not but if it did, are you seriously excusing chasing and threatening the passenger?

Lets wait for the facts.

Arbiter of Good Taste

The passenger was being a pr1ck. The bus driver wasn't reading it fast enough for him so he made a smart ar$e comment.

And I seriously doubt the claim that the bus driver left his post and "chased" the passenger away. Sounds like serious embellishment to me.

Clampdown

moneymad wrote: »

waaaaaaaaaa


Stand up for yourself and stop looking to get offended at every turn. He was obviously having a bad day, get over it.

I know, right? So what if you have a disease which causes your skeletal muscles to waste away! You should still be well fit for fighting with any hateful knuckledragging plonkers who want to have a go at you for politely confirming you have permission to enter their bus. What a wuss.

suicide_circus

Clampdown wrote: »

I know, right? So what if you have a disease which causes your skeletal muscles to waste away! You should still be well fit for fighting with any hateful knuckledragging plonkers who want to have a go at you for politely confirming you have permission to enter their bus. What a wuss.

You mean doing his job?

Walter Bishop

dd972 wrote: »

Was told to 'f**k off' by one driver and called a 'prick' by another as I got off the bus, was just minding my own business on both occasions and had no prior exchange with them, they sum up everything about that miserable chip-on-it's-shoulder city.

Yeah this didn't happen.

Subcomandante Marcos

I have a friend with MS, she was diagnosed when she was in her early twenties and by the time she was thirty she had to leave her job because she was no longer fit to work.
She has good days and bad days. On a good day she's able to get about and full of energy, on a bad day she might not be able to walk twenty meters without a crutch.
She has s travel pass, we got the bus together one time from Blackrock into Dublin city centre and the driver was a total ****, started saying stuff like "you don't look disabled to me, do you have photo ID?" and really upset her. I had to take her off the bus and wait for the next one because she was about to burst into tears because of how he was treating her. When I told him he was put of line he started getting mouthy with me until I asked him to come off the bus with me for a chat, that shut him up.

Badly Drunk Boy

Menas wrote: »

I agree. The time to go to the press is after the outcome of due process, if at all.

The bus driver could be innocent here but in the mean time this heaps undue pressure on him.

Exactly! If I did, something out of line at work, I'd expect it to be dealt with by my employer, unless it was something criminal. The thing of bringing it to the public for 'trial by internet' isn't on.

It still doesn't mean that the driver can abuse people just because he's having a bad day.

Clampdown

suicide_circus wrote: »

You mean doing his job?

There's a job that consists of swearing at people and calling them a C--NT? Dang it, I knew I was wasting my time in med school!

suicide_circus

Clampdown wrote: »

There's a job that consists of swearing at people and calling them a C--NT? Dang it, I knew I was wasting my time in med school!

There is absolutely no supporting evidence that any of this happened, hence me slagging the Indo for even publishing it earlier in the thread. The driver is perfectly entitled to satisfy himself that the bearer of a FTP is legit.

Annasopra

moneymad wrote: »

Lets wait for the facts.

No. I'm asking if it is true, Are you excusing it?

colm_mcm

"I was feeling very tired and I asked him if he could see the pass

I wonder what he actually said..

Mesrine65

My disabled son had his Free Travel Pass confiscated by a Bus Eireann bus driver during the school holidays, despite him explaining that he had applied for & was waiting for the new Public Services Card.

He effectively left my son stranded, without a way of getting home, as he had no money with him.

Complained to Bus Eireann via e-mail & have yet to receive an reply/explanation/apology.

dublinstevie

What is this topic all about?slate the driver forum?sure there may be grumpy drivers but the vast majority are fine and do their job to a high standard.The situation with the passenger with disabled pass,nobody knows the full story,so until you know the facts why dont you keep your comments to yourself and refrain from slagging bus drivers who have a very tough job at times in my opinion.

Tasden

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Dublin Bus never take complaints seriously, so I applaud this customer for going to the press first, if it forces DB to do something about his complaint.

I made a complaint recently about a bus driver being incredibly racist towards a passenger (not myself, I just witnessed it), and the complaint was acknowledged and they requested more info. Now i don't know what the outcome was or if they were just fobbing me off but it seemed to be at least looked at. And they were very polite to me too.

The Masculinist

I've been working as a bus driver with DB for the last two years now. I won't comment on this case as its under investegation but all I would say is theres two sides to every story.

It is a stressful job driving such a big vehicle around narrow streets with so much traffic and cyclists. Last year someone crashed into me and injured themselves. Thankfully the bus was empty at the time-I just got a bit of a shock. Anyway it all had to be investigated and I was really nervous for the whole period, couldn't sleep at night etc. Turns out it was confirmed it was not my fault but I was really nervous. Apart from that I do like my job. I think people here are a lot more polite than say in London. I used to live there and I found equally the commuters and drivers alike were not very polite to eachother. It is definitely better here for the most part from my experience.

As a side note one of my African colleagues has got some dogs abuse on some routes. He just ignores it and stays calm. A lot of it is passive aggression, like people complaining about his driving or that he is waiting too long at stops (for example when you have to wait until 23:30 if yu are the last bus even though you may arrive 10 minutes early). I have witnessed this myself when catching a lift with him, I think some people are definitely more aggressive to him because of his skin colour. His driving is fine and he is doing everything to the book. I have a lot of respect for him, he's just trying to do a job, I think he has to put up with a lot of crap for no reason. So there are two sides to everything, we get abuse too sometimes.

About the bus passes, there are some fake ones floating about. This used to cost the company a lot of money and we were encouraged to be more vigilant. To be honest I think it's unfortunate that people who don't have "visible" disabilities get more scrutiny. I try and be polite about it, I just say "sorry, they've gotten very strict about checking passes, I have to just look at it a bit closer, just a moment". Its basically the truth. I have had a few people get smart at me, one man said "you don't believe me do ya" but he was grand when I gave it back to him. One woman said "are you saying I'm a fraud or something-noone else has ever checked it like this" and made a big scene. She also treathened to report me to my boss. I just told her I had to do this and can't speak for other drivers. I don't think she reported me as never heard anything, but this was extra stress on a busy day for no good reason. I just tried to stay calm but there's no need for these comments.

All of this stress for about €25k per year. I'm not complaining-if I don't like it do something else etc. Fair enough. I'm just explaining why people get stressed and maybe cranky sometimes. I do try and do the best at my job, for example if I am at the last route and someone falls asleep I have dropped them back if their house is an ok distance away etc. You could actually get in trouble for doing that if anything happened. Try getting that service in London.

The Sun King

dublinstevie wrote: »

What is this topic all about?slate the driver forum?sure there may be grumpy drivers but the vast majority are fine and do their job to a high standard.The situation with the passenger with disabled pass,nobody knows the full story,so until you know the facts why dont you keep your comments to yourself and refrain from slagging bus drivers who have a very tough job at times in my opinion.

You been a bus driver for long?

end of the road

VinLieger wrote: »

His union will be all over this like a hot rash

well so they should considering that would be part of their job. to look out for one of their members who has had an allegation made against them.

VinLieger wrote: »

he will probably only get "reprimanded" with a weeks paid leave

wrong, if he is guilty he will get a lot more then that. he may even be out altogether

dd972

Walter Bishop wrote: »

Yeah this didn't happen.

Erm, I was kinda....there... when it happened :rolleyes:

Cienciano

dd972 wrote: »

Erm, I was kinda....there... when it happened :rolleyes:

Lol, you were minding your own business and he shouted "prick"? I really hope that happened, its brilliant!

Annasopra

The Masculinist wrote: »

I've been working as a bus driver with DB for the last two years now. I won't comment on this case as its under investegation but all I would say is theres two sides to every story.

It is a stressful job driving such a big vehicle around narrow streets with so much traffic and cyclists. Last year someone crashed into me and injured themselves. Thankfully the bus was empty at the time-I just got a bit of a shock. Anyway it all had to be investigated and I was really nervous for the whole period, couldn't sleep at night etc. Turns out it was confirmed it was not my fault but I was really nervous. Apart from that I do like my job. I think people here are a lot more polite than say in London. I used to live there and I found equally the commuters and drivers alike were not very polite to eachother. It is definitely better here for the most part from my experience.

As a side note one of my African colleagues has got some dogs abuse on some routes. He just ignores it and stays calm. A lot of it is passive aggression, like people complaining about his driving or that he is waiting too long at stops (for example when you have to wait until 23:30 if yu are the last bus even though you may arrive 10 minutes early). I have witnessed this myself when catching a lift with him, I think some people are definitely more aggressive to him because of his skin colour. His driving is fine and he is doing everything to the book. I have a lot of respect for him, he's just trying to do a job, I think he has to put up with a lot of crap for no reason. So there are two sides to everything, we get abuse too sometimes.

About the bus passes, there are some fake ones floating about. This used to cost the company a lot of money and we were encouraged to be more vigilant. To be honest I think it's unfortunate that people who don't have "visible" disabilities get more scrutiny. I try and be polite about it, I just say "sorry, they've gotten very strict about checking passes, I have to just look at it a bit closer, just a moment". Its basically the truth. I have had a few people get smart at me, one man said "you don't believe me do ya" but he was grand when I gave it back to him. One woman said "are you saying I'm a fraud or something-noone else has ever checked it like this" and made a big scene. She also treathened to report me to my boss. I just told her I had to do this and can't speak for other drivers. I don't think she reported me as never heard anything, but this was extra stress on a busy day for no good reason. I just tried to stay calm but there's no need for these comments.

All of this stress for about €25k per year. I'm not complaining-if I don't like it do something else etc. Fair enough. I'm just explaining why people get stressed and maybe cranky sometimes. I do try and do the best at my job, for example if I am at the last route and someone falls asleep I have dropped them back if their house is an ok distance away etc. You could actually get in trouble for doing that if anything happened. Try getting that service in London.

Bus drivers only earn 25k a year? seriously?

AlekSmart

Joeytheparrot wrote: »

Bus drivers only earn 25k a year? seriously?

http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Human-Resources/Professional-Bus-Drivers/

You will be employed to operate scheduled services covering late shifts on a 4-day week from Thursday to Monday with the opportunity to progress to a 5-day week with rotating shifts.

Salaries begin at €565.95 per week (4-day week inclusive of shift), increasing to €769.74 (5-day week inclusive of shift).

Or...as an alternative to dealing with the public...one could try a support role...?

Engineering Operative perhaps ?

http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Human-Resources/Meet-and-Greet-Employees1/

Salary: 8 year scale (1st year €448.43 – 8th Year €502.51), 39 hour week

Azrel

AlekSmart wrote: »

Salaries begin at €565.95 per week (4-day week inclusive of shift), increasing to €769.74 (5-day week inclusive of shift).

How many years does it take to reach €769.74 / week? That's a very good salary.

He was able to outrun driver? But too tired to hold ticket?

The Masculinist

Joeytheparrot wrote: »

Bus drivers only earn 25k a year? seriously?

I should have specified. I earn just over €30,000 gross which works out at €25,000 net. From that I pay to rent an apartment in Dublin and have a few mouths to feed. Honestly I don't have much left in my bank account before pay day, but I guess I am not unique in that at all. I'm not complaining about the wages, in general I like me job and I am grateful to have it. I came back from the UK a few years ago and essentially made a career change but I am happy with my lot.

The point of my post was not the salary, if I am not happy I can go do something else, that's fair enough. I just wanted to point out that the job can be stressful.

If the lad in the story is telling the absolute truth then the driver was out of order, but as I say there are two sides to every story and we have only heard one. Wait for the outcome of the investigation before jumping to conclusions and tarring us all with the same brush.

Yakkyda

dd972 wrote: »

Erm, I was kinda....there... when it happened :rolleyes:

Ah, don't just post that and leave us hanging... What's your take on what happened? (or are you by any chance "the victim")

jahalpin

I believe that this is being blown out of all proportion

The passenger was using an old style, non-smartcard, FTP, these passes are subject to verification. Due to the high level of fake passes in circulation, Dublin Bus drivers have started to check these more closely since the introduction of the new smartcard FTPs

It is highly unlikely that the driver was actually loooing at the pass for 30 secs. The passenger was a bit cheeky and the driver reacted accordingly, the language used isn't especially bad

There are serious issues taking pictures of people without their consent, the passenger took a picture without consent and the drver asked him to delete it, when the passenger refused he used more "direct action"

Both sides are guilty here, the driver should perhaps be informally talked to by DB, but the passenger should also be punished for his actions

dd972

dd972 wrote: »

Erm, I was kinda....there... when it happened :rolleyes:

Are you back on your medications?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=97751464&postcount=822

Yakkyda

Yakkyda wrote: »

Ah, don't just post that and leave us hanging... What's your take on what happened? (or are you by any chance "the victim")

If he was there he was driving the bus

Arbiter of Good Taste

The Sun King wrote: »

You been a bus driver for long?

Grow up. The poster just isn't gullible enough to swallow this questionable story hook, line and sinker. Doesn't make him a bus driver. Even if he was, he's entitled to an opinion.

moneyman

Student was probably a bit smart. That doesn't mean the bus driver didn't act completely unprofessionally (if true, to be fair). He's working ffs, you can't say that stuff to a passenger. Show some professionalism.

I get two buses a day. 90% (at least) are very nice and just doing their job. But some of them are complete twat waffles. Literally going out of their way to be dickheads. I have no problem believing the article posted, although the fact that he outran the bus driver with the physical disability stated is suspicious. Still, I doubt the driver was actually trying to catch him.