First's new money making scheme - bus drivers don't carry a change float

[peak4 260]

First's policy on these matters is explained on their web site thus;

 

Why didn't your driver have any change?

 

Our drivers have a limited float with which to give change - unfortunately this can be easily exhausted if one or two passengers pay for low value fares with a note, especially at the start of a driver's shift. We are wary of providing our drivers with higher floats for security reasons. It always helps if you can provide the correct payment for your journey - contact us for the fare if you are unsure.

 

You may like to try purchasing your First ticket off the bus to avoid this problem, such as picking up a FirstWeek or FirstMonth ticket on-line or from local SYPTE Travel Information Centres. Not only that, the more passengers that purchase their tickets off the bus the quicker your bus journey!

 

If we are unable to provide change your driver will retain your payment, issue a ticket as normal and will request that you seek the change before alighting the bus. If this is still not possible, change can be collected from an agreed location by contacting our Customer Services team on 01709 566000.

 

and can be seen HERE

 

I guess he could have been more personable in the way he dealt with the situation though.

[jbauto 10]

Why don't the public realise that the main reason for buses being late is not enough drivers and why is that you may ask. It's because loads of em quit when they realise how much abuse they are expected to take from the people/ no animals that get on the buses

What other jobs does anyone know where you get swore at on a daily basis and spat at on average about 3 times per week

 

And yes I'm a bus driver and we are not allowed to say or do anything

And I find it hard to believe that someone has to take the time to put on here that one of our drivers could not give him 50p change

Well done to the guy who said they are buses not banks

Imagine th town centre at rush hour if you get even5 or six people getting on with notes

Deal with it and get a life son nd if you are not happy you have plenty of options taxi push bike drive or walk no one bends your arm up yer back and makes you catch our buses do they now

Just to finish a few months ago I had to see our staff mgr re a complaint

The guy said I had argued re his fare then refused entry to a lady in a wheel chair then refused to pull over twice to an. Ambulance

The truth was that as we can't ring an actual amount into the ticket machine I asked him where his destination was. There was no wheelchair and no ambulance yet this complaint was addressed n wasted a number of man hours

 

Oh an incidentally at the moment I am thinking of another job cos of the above

[Super Hans 10]

Bus companies should utilitise their NFC to make availble contactless payment thus the whole change scenario could be avoided.

[jbauto 10]

Yep ill ask the bosses for a couple of hundred quid float / not

If you were making a call in a phone box I bet you lot bar none will make sure you have right money. For gods sake can't you lot find anything better to do than slag bus drivers I worked for a full year on 7.86 an hour nd that includes working ome nights till after midnight and some mornings on the first bus out of depot at 4am

What time do you think we have to get up hen buses leave t that time if you do not like the system use not her

A. Driver I try my best to be nice but ome times I think why do I bother

[SUPERDREAM 10]

Yep ill ask the bosses for a couple of hundred quid float / not

If you were making a call in a phone box I bet you lot bar none will make sure you have right money. For gods sake can't you lot find anything better to do than slag bus drivers I worked for a full year on 7.86 an hour nd that includes working ome nights till after midnight and some mornings on the first bus out of depot at 4am

What time do you think we have to get up hen buses leave t that time if you do not like the system use not her

A. Driver I try my best to be nice but ome times I think why do I bother

 

I was a bus driver too, for the old sypte, and back in the day it was a great job. But then people got nasty, singled out the driver to be an ogre, then bombarded him with threats and knives and verbal abuse. Not a great job, and would never do it again. Trucker now, and you dont get NO hassle from 26 tonnes of baked beans. Some folk just really make a fuss, when they should take responsibility for themselves, plan their journey and above all HAVE THE RIGHT FARE. Trouble is, in this crazy world, its always somebody elses fault.

[uhuru666 10]

In Birmingham the second largest city you are not given ny change

In response to the person who said he paid for a trip on first and it cost him 2.50 when on stagecoach it was 1.40

I suggest you provide poof cos at first we are very competitive with other companies

We have recently reduced some fares inflation is inflation

I do a lot of routes and on all these routes the MAXIMUM FARE IS TWO POUNDS

SO I SUGGEST AS USUAL IT IS SLAG THE COMPANY ND THE DRIVERS

JUST REMEMBER WITHOUT US DRIVERS YOU WILL HAVE NO BUSES

OH AND IT'S DEAD EASY TO DRIVE A VEHICLE FOURTY FOOT LONG SOMETIMES WEIGHING NER 20 tons and 8 ft wide almost 15 ft high

Need I go on about how you harp on bout how bus drivers are

I see the standard of driving is sinking fast in Sheffield and its not just in areas like pital st fir lee firth park. It just as bad in totley and dore and no repeat no respect is given to us drivers who are trying to provide a service

 

TO FINISH THE PBLIC HAS FREEDOM OF CHOICE

IF YOU THINK TOO EXPENIVE TOO RUDE TO UNRELIABLE ETC ETC

USE ANOTHER OPTION

Edited May 7, 2013 by uhuru666
Spelling

[ormester101 10]

Why don't the public realise that the main reason for buses being late is not enough drivers and why is that you may ask. It's because loads of em quit when they realise how much abuse they are expected to take from the people/ no animals that get on the buses

What other jobs does anyone know where you get swore at on a daily basis and spat at on average about 3 times per week

 

And yes I'm a bus driver and we are not allowed to say or do anything

And I find it hard to believe that someone has to take the time to put on here that one of our drivers could not give him 50p change

Well done to the guy who said they are buses not banks

Imagine th town centre at rush hour if you get even5 or six people getting on with notes

Deal with it and get a life son nd if you are not happy you have plenty of options taxi push bike drive or walk no one bends your arm up yer back and makes you catch our buses do they now

Just to finish a few months ago I had to see our staff mgr re a complaint

The guy said I had argued re his fare then refused entry to a lady in a wheel chair then refused to pull over twice to an. Ambulance

The truth was that as we can't ring an actual amount into the ticket machine I asked him where his destination was. There was no wheelchair and no ambulance yet this complaint was addressed n wasted a number of man hours

 

Oh an incidentally at the moment I am thinking of another job cos of the above

 

hold on aminuite the drivers get a bad rep especialy on first because of there attitude if i did that in my job id be reprimanded you lot think it is ok to speak to the public like crap you give respect and people give it back stagecoach drivers are far more friendly

[yorkiepudd 10]

Whilst I agree with most of the above, my issue is not really that change wasn't available (although that was the root of the problem), more that the driver did nothing to try and remedy the situation.

 

I could understand if he had been given a £10 note or something, but he was given £2 for tickets totaling £1.40 - not a mind blowing amount of change.

 

My daughter (and her friend) offered to get off the bus and wait for the next one with change.

 

She offered to underpay (but still pay something) when he refused to entertain this solution.

 

She explained she needed the money for her return fare - he was dismissive about her situation.

 

He left 2 girls (with child passes so obviously knew they were not adults!) without the means for one of them to get home.

[adamf 10]

you dont get NO hassle from 26 tonnes of baked beans.

 

I think you passed an opportunity for a joke there.

[SUPERDREAM 10]

I think you passed an opportunity for a joke there.

 

Yep, missed that one Adam. Maybe a quote about leaving the window open or having an air freshener handy:hihi:

[OnThe52 10]

I can see this problem getting worse as drivers have to deal with more payments using notes rather than coins.

 

Sheffield bus drivers have to sell a much wider variety of tickets on board than most other cities - there are several types of day and week tickets (citywide, bus, bus and tram, travelmaster, day tripper, megarider+, optio ...) as well as the standard fares.

 

The sooner Sheffield gets a smart-card system which can be topped up at corner shops and online the better.

[nightrider 13]

Theft definition in English law:

 

"Dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it"

 

Now the driver has not dishonestly done anything because it's company policiy that if he doesn't have change the customer needs to claim it back, so that's theft out of the window already, and he doesn't intend to perminently deprive them of their money because they can claim it back, so that's another defence to boot.

 

So call the police, at best they'll laugh at you, at worst they'll arrest you for wasting police time.

 

the police will probably also laugh at the driver if he calls the police - so next time the driver tries to pull this stunt, just state you will pay him when he does have change and go and sit down. If he still does not have change when you get off, state the company is welcome to send you a bill in the post if they do not have appropriate facilities to process payments on the bus. The bus companies will soon learn that maybe if they have the ability to give change more people will pay up.