Bus eireann bus drivers.......

DouglasWinthrow

Xiney wrote: »

Actually, they are supposed to provide friendly customer service.

Yea , next time a bus driver doesnt give you a smile and a hug show him that charter.

Im sure it'll change his mind about how to treat you.

Or send bus eireann a letter , im sure that driver will be fired/ possibly sentenced to some lengthy prison time for not going exactly by their PR blurb

Xiney

Just saying, is all :P

DouglasWinthrow

im such an angry bollox:(

lavaghball

I was getting the bus home to Sligo a few years back - Bus Eireann for some crazy reason - and it stopped in Charlestown. 2 old women got on. one of them had her bus pass and the other had misplaced it.
it was obvious they were both over 80, not to mind 66, but the bollix of a driver wouldnt let the woman on without her pass. she started to plead with him and he started lecturing her. The poor woman started crying and was told to get off the bus, leaving her freind on the bus.
What a tool. I was sitting 2 rows back and started onto the driver. he was an awful bollix and gave me some speel about "Rules being rules", but i couldnt believe it.
I rang Bus Eireann and complained about the wanker but i never heard anything back. I suppose he is still at the same ****e.
Customer service my arse

suppafly

I was in dublin last friday and had to get the bus to a friends house, and the drive was mental. he was beeping everyone. like if they didn't move the instant the light changed to green he'd blow them out of it. I suppose it was the last bus, but still like. That was bad.

Gaillimh1990

yes, I agree that we cannot judge all of the bus eireann drivers... some of them are very nice and friendly! Thanks for posting a reply to my thread!

donmeister

To be honest,I'd much prefer a absolute bollix of a bus driver thats always on time,rather than the otherway round'! (The way it is at the moment imo)

TerrorFirmer

moonflower wrote: »

It happened to me twice with the same driver that he wouldn't stop there and wouldn't let me out until outside the pres primary school. It was lashing rain both times as well. Apparently it's not a 'designated stop' but I had never had a problem with that before. I have a lot of bad stories to tell about those buses though.

That's actually pretty understandable. Most of them would stop alright, but whilst I don't know the ins and outs of their insurance, I'd imagine if they were stopped somewhere they weren't supposed to officially be and caused an accident, however unlikely as it is, they could possibly be in a world of trouble.

The only buses I get regularly are the Oranmore Shuttle and the Athenry bus back to Oranmore in the evenings, the regular drivers are nice guys and very friendly - and those particular buses are always fairly punctual. Everyone encounters the odd dick but you'll get that in any shop or service you use in the world. Can't say I would have any major problems with bus eireann in general.

Well. Apart from their ****ing ridiculous prices.

CaptSolo

this Monday the driver of the 5E bus (departing at 22:35 from Ballybane) took the loop to Ballybane in the wrong direction by mistake.

the bus was supposed to go to Ballybane via Tuam road and return via Dublin road but he did the opposide. no different for people at Ballybane stop but imagine people in other stops. not sure they 'd guess that the bus going the other direction is the one they should take. and even if they did, too late to cross the road and get to the bus stop in time.

luckily the person telling this had gone one stop towards center and got on the bus where both ends of that loop meet.

do you know what was the the driver answered when asked if the route has changed? he smiled (ok, that's nice) and said "ops, my mistake". no idea if people were still waiting at those stops, but he did not go back the correct way to collect them.

moonflower

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

That's actually pretty understandable. Most of them would stop alright, but whilst I don't know the ins and outs of their insurance, I'd imagine if they were stopped somewhere they weren't supposed to officially be and caused an accident, however unlikely as it is, they could possibly be in a world of trouble.

But there are no bus stops for the red bus anywhere around there, in fact the only places I've seen them are knocknacara and town. Where he stopped wasn't a bus stop, and it was somewhere I've never seen that bus stop before.

Kenno90

My next door neighbour works for them , and he's one og the nicest people you'll ever meet (always gets me a free ticket lol):D

bigeasyeah

Xiney wrote: »

Just saying, is all :P

you re so cool

bigeasyeah

sorry that was mistake typed in the wrong box

luckat

lavaghball wrote: »

I was getting the bus home to Sligo a few years back - Bus Eireann for some crazy reason - and it stopped in Charlestown. 2 old women got on. one of them had her bus pass and the other had misplaced it.
it was obvious they were both over 80, not to mind 66, but the bollix of a driver wouldnt let the woman on without her pass. she started to plead with him and he started lecturing her. The poor woman started crying and was told to get off the bus, leaving her freind on the bus.
What a tool. I was sitting 2 rows back and started onto the driver. he was an awful bollix and gave me some speel about "Rules being rules", but i couldnt believe it.
I rang Bus Eireann and complained about the wanker but i never heard anything back. I suppose he is still at the same ****e.
Customer service my arse

And no one got up and paid her fare for her?

CaptSolo

Bus service is not good enough, chief!

Reader's letter to Galway Advertiser on same topics as discussed here.

Kenno90 wrote: »

My next door neighbour works for them , and he's one og the nicest people you'll ever meet (always gets me a free ticket lol):D

In my experience most bus driver's are very nice and friendly people. However, that does not help much if busses are late or do not came at all.

If a bus is late it would be good to at least know if and when to expect it.

biko

What I'd like to see but that means giving the buses GPS and a central system for calculating times/congestion/etc

CaptSolo

biko wrote: »

What I'd like to see but that means giving the buses GPS and a central system for calculating times/congestion/etc

That'd be great!
Would also help 'em to optimise bus services.

An added extra would be realtime online status display in their website. Something similar to this: http://fops-cf.stanford.edu/stanford_ivl/

They did not have problems adding 2-3 additional CCTV cameras per bus to see if youth are not writing on bus seats. Maybe they can also introduce GPSs?

ethernet

CaptSolo wrote: »

That'd be great!
Would also help 'em to optimise bus services.

An added extra would be realtime online status display in their website. Something similar to this: http://fops-cf.stanford.edu/stanford_ivl/

They did not have problems adding 2-3 additional CCTV cameras per bus to see if youth are not writing on bus seats. Maybe they can also introduce GPSs?

The CCTV is already on the newer fleet: camera at top and one mid way. Got to see the driver eating the head off some young one for "trying to break the seat" one morning as he saw his attempts in the monitor.

iseethelight

sgthighway wrote: »

I don't get the bus much and never had any problems. If I experienced issues like the above on a regular basis I would write a letter of complaint to the Manager in Galway. It is a crap job driving around Galway but the money is very good. Good perks out of it too.

yeah-great perks like being made redundant-just what i'd want from a job

no i don't work for them

mikemac

Used to get Bus Eireann from Galway to Limerick every Friday.
So there's be an express bus to Ennis and Limerick and another bus to serve everywhere like Gort.
Both buses would continue onto Cork, the 51 service I believe.

Of course all the tourists and foreigners would get confused by Cork and Gort and get roared at for getting on the wrong bus.
All the sly people would buy a ticket for Gort and try to stay on for Cork. Only they weren't so sly and the driver would remember them and not leave Gort unless they paid or got kicked off.

Oh I'm not saying the driver was right or wrong but every Friday evening there would be shouting on the bus! Sometimes entertaining, sometimes a pain

Mr Cork Man

Speaking of buses remember the old bus eireann city buses.

http://www.freewebs.com/corkbus/witycork1.htm

July

lavaghball wrote: »

I was getting the bus home to Sligo a few years back - Bus Eireann for some crazy reason - and it stopped in Charlestown. 2 old women got on. one of them had her bus pass and the other had misplaced it.
it was obvious they were both over 80, not to mind 66, but the bollix of a driver wouldnt let the woman on without her pass. she started to plead with him and he started lecturing her. The poor woman started crying and was told to get off the bus, leaving her freind on the bus.
What a tool. I was sitting 2 rows back and started onto the driver. he was an awful bollix and gave me some speel about "Rules being rules", but i couldnt believe it.
I rang Bus Eireann and complained about the wanker but i never heard anything back. I suppose he is still at the same ****e.
Customer service my arse

I thought that bus pass users could bring a travel companion. If so, one pass should have sufficed for both women?

Mrs OBumble

luckat wrote: »

And no one got up and paid her fare for her?

Why should they? She's an adult, capable of managing her own life and affairs (I assume, since she's travelling around without a minder taking care of her), so therefore responsible for managing to have the correct "whatever" for accessing the services she needs.

Good on the bus driver for insisting on seeing the pass: not every old person who is in Ireland is entitled to a free-travel pass (eg elderly tourists). Black marks to him for yelling at her: he should have been firm, but polite.

luckat

JustMary, sometimes people do kind things.

Mrs OBumble

luckat wrote: »

JustMary, sometimes people do kind things.

I've paid fares for people like that before, but it's not an act of kindness: I realised that either the whole bus could wait here for 10+ minutes while they have a tantrum, or someone else could step in and get things moving.

What it does though, is teach the person doing the holding up (whether due to drunkness, laziness, silliness, whatever) that they don't have to be responsible for their behaviour, someone else will solve their problems for them. There's nothing kind about this at all.

inisboffin

JustMary wrote: »

I've paid fares for people like that before, but it's not an act of kindness: I realised that either the whole bus could wait here for 10+ minutes while they have a tantrum, or someone else could step in and get things moving.

What it does though, is teach the person doing the holding up (whether due to drunkness, laziness, silliness, whatever) that they don't have to be responsible for their behaviour, someone else will solve their problems for them. There's nothing kind about this at all.

What's "people like that"? I would argue that it is the inconsistency in customer service (as in a lot of drivers waving older people on, not even letting them get a hand in a bag to get a pass out). Older folks often get used to routine. If this woman wasn't used to showing her pass, it makes sense that she might forget it. I am frankly AMAZED that no one paid or at least stood up for her.


On the earlier note of companion with the pass, I am not sure about Bus Eireann, but Iarnrod Eireann have issued a directive not to admit same sex couples with a pass!

" Irish Rail Profiteering From License to Discriminate says the ICCL

Press Release for Immediate Release

Friday, 5 September 2008

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has said that, in denying free travel passes to same sex couples, Irish Rail is “profiteering from a license to discriminate” issued by the Department of Social and Family Affairs.
Reacting to news that the company has cracked down on the use of “companion” passes by same sex couples, ICCL Director Mr. Mark Kelly said that:

“Irish Rail is profiteering from a license to discriminate issued to it by the Department of Social and Family Affairs. Some four years ago the Department responded to a successful challenge to discriminatory definitions of partnership by seeking and obtaining an amendment to the Social Welfare Bill 2004. Rather than ending this form of discriminatory treatment, the Dáil allowed the law to be changed to restore discrimination against same sex couples.”

“This case highlights the urgent need for new legislation on same sex partnerships. It also highlights the folly of tinkering with the mandates of the Equality Authority and Equality Tribunal, which have been stout defenders of the right of same sex couples to be treated equally. This is a time to strengthen the protection of equality in Ireland, not water it down” he concluded."

The knock on from this discrimination is that people of the same gender can't travel on this!

FFS this is so daft!

CaptSolo

ethernet wrote: »

The CCTV is already on the newer fleet: camera at top and one mid way. Got to see the driver eating the head off some young one for "trying to break the seat" one morning as he saw his attempts in the monitor.

What I was saying - if they have got money for covering buses with CCTV, perhaps they also have money for equipping buses with GPSs?

... and getting them to run properly according to schedules. or changing schedules to what they can realistically run to ...

P.S. Just 2 cameras? I counted 7: 4 observing the salon; 2 covering driver's cubicle and 1 outside above the door, looking backwards.

Mrs OBumble

inisboffin wrote: »

What's "people like that"? .... If this woman wasn't used to showing her pass, it makes sense that she might forget it. I am frankly AMAZED that no one paid or at least stood up for her.

"People like that" is individuals who want to get on the bus, but haven't got the fare. Some are drunk and incoherent, some are kids who can't budget (spent their bus fare on popcorn, hoping the driver will take pity on 'em), some are old and confused. Etc.

The more I think about it, the more I doubt the original story. This is a country full of people who give to beggars on the street (I see elderly people doing it every day), and charity collectors who may as well have "bogus" tattooed on their foreheads. So I can't believe that no one (not even er friend!) paid the woman's fare.

inisboffin

Yeah, I found it hard to believe that no one would help her - it is unusual to say the least in this country.

My point was though, that she didn't sound like a 'chancer'. I just think her situation is by no means the same as some drunk or lout who's chancin' their arm on a bus. Almost ALL people (I am trying to think of exceptions..) over a certain age travel free in this country. The pass has almost been the OAP version of an id to get into a night club for younger folks, proving they were old enough.
If, as the OP suggests, the woman was a good 15-20 years older /older looking than the age for a pass, then wouldn't it be like every 40 year old who went for fags without their id being refused? If it passes were consistently checkd, that would be one thing, but they're not.

evercloserunion

The bus driver should be more clear when announcing the current stop. Ballindine is not as close to Ballina as the name might suggest.