No change on the bus??

jaysusake · 11-11-2010 12:41PM #1

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 · 11-11-2010 12:42PM

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

Catari Jaguar · 11-11-2010 12:45PM

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 · 11-11-2010 12:45PM

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 · 11-11-2010 12:47PM

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 · 11-11-2010 12:48PM

No issues like that in Galway

Move over to us OP

Catari Jaguar · 11-11-2010 12:51PM

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 · 11-11-2010 12:53PM

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 · 11-11-2010 12:53PM

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 · 11-11-2010 12:55PM

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 · 11-11-2010 01:07PM

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

drdeadlift · 11-11-2010 01:27PM

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 · 11-11-2010 01:32PM

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 · 11-11-2010 01:35PM

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 · 11-11-2010 01:41PM

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 · 11-11-2010 01:42PM

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 · 11-11-2010 01:45PM

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 · 11-11-2010 01:50PM

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 · 11-11-2010 01:55PM

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 · 11-11-2010 01:57PM

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 · 11-11-2010 01:59PM

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 · 11-11-2010 02:00PM

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 · 11-11-2010 02:02PM

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 · 11-11-2010 02:03PM

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 · 11-11-2010 02:08PM

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 · 11-11-2010 02:13PM

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 · 11-11-2010 02:13PM

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 · 11-11-2010 02:14PM

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 · 11-11-2010 02:17PM

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 · 11-11-2010 02:19PM

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 · 11-11-2010 02:42PM

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

No change on the bus??

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