The wheels on the bus go round and round and keep going round and round.

[Mr Hero]

Still a bit peeved about this and I wrote a strongly worded letter about it.

Last night I was waiting for a bus. When I travel at night, I wear reflective clothing so I can be seen by drivers. All drivers but one. The bus driver didn't even slow down at my stop, let alone stop. I then ran after the bus in a futile attempt to get it to stop. I was late for work.

[strawbabies]

I'd call the bus company and report that. The driver needs to get in trouble.

[Jarlaxle]

That!^^^^^

[Argabarga]

My Grandma once had the TRAIN do that to her, while standing on the station platform, ticket in hand, it just blew right though town, the conductor apparently believing that since nobody was getting off, they didn't have to stop....

The folks at Amtrak got an earful over the phone and bought her a bus ticket.

And they wonder why they had to discontinue service on that line.....

[Monterey Jack]

If I were waiting for a bus or train that didn't stop at my station (providing I was clearly visible to the driver), I would be INFURIATED. It doesn't matter if you're the only one at the station waiting to get on, you HAVE to stop.

[Golden Phoenix]

That happened to me and a bunch of other kids once.

We were waiting for the college bus which was specially chartered just for students and had a set route, we were the very last stop.

There's probably about fifteen to twenty of us waiting, plainly visible, and the bus just blew on by. Cue a frantic round of phonecalls to the college to inform our tutors, our parents to tell them and the bus company to complain.

We were all two hours late and missed at least a full class.

[MoonCat]

Yep, had that happen. I've waved at drivers, had them look right at me, and drive past anyway. Makes me want to scream a lot of foul words.

Recently I was waiting at a stop, the bus was about 50 ft away, and I glanced down as I reached into my purse for my bus pass. The bus kept on rolling by! He must have heard me yell "HEY!!!" because he slowed down and stopped. I got on and it was all I could do to keep my mouth shut. I just gave him a look.

[Kagato]

The bus companies here in NZ have started modifying their signs so that if they have a "full standing load" (the maximum amount of passengers they are allowed to carry by law) the driver can punch in a code that will make the sign say "FULL BUS" - in this situation the waiting people will sadly have no choice but to wait for the next bus, the company can be fined up to $100,000 for carrying above the maximum allowed amount of passengers, with the driver themself also being fined $10,000.

The reason for this is if the driver had to slam their brakes on in an emergency, chances are the people standing at the front of the aisle (through no choice of their own) would go flying straight through the front windshield due to inertia.

That being said, if a driver simply goes past without stopping, it is always worth phoning through to the bus depot to find out exactly what the situation is, whether it was due to driver error or whether the bus had reported earlier to the depot that they were full

(side note: Depending on the depot and how busy that particular run is, they may choose to run an extra bus on the same route to pick up any missed passengers, particularly if there is a large number of them)

[KellyHabersham]

The bus companies here in NZ have started modifying their signs so that if they have a "full standing load" (the maximum amount of passengers they are allowed to carry by law) the driver can punch in a code that will make the sign say "FULL BUS" - in this situation the waiting people will sadly have no choice but to wait for the next bus, the company can be fined up to $100,000 for carrying above the maximum allowed amount of passengers, with the driver themself also being fined $10,000.

I think our bus system here had something like that a few years back, but I'm not sure if they still do.....seems like they go more with having more frequent trips and using "double buses" (as I refer to them, anyhow......can't recall what the right word is)

[retro]

I had the opposite happen to me once. I was on a bus home. Now this service I've caught on and off recently but I used to catch it pretty much every day.

The bus was coming up to my regular stop so I stood up and walked far enough forward so the driver would see me standing next to him. He steamed straight past the stop and said, "You didn't press the bell". Yes, that's right. He decided to invoke a feature of the bus that nobody uses to avoid stopping at my regular stop.

I was confused but I pressed the button for the bell and he pulled up at the next stop (about a hundred yards further on).

I did once report a driver though. I used to go from work and if I walked quickly enough, I could get to my bus stop at 9.08pm. As the bus didn't even leave the first stop until 9.10pm and would take about 3 minutes to get to me, I usually had about 4-5 minutes to spare. Yes I know that's cutting it fine but early's still early. One day I got there at 9.09pm to find nobody at the bus stop. As time drew on, it became apparent to me that the driver had gone already. My next bus was two hours later meaning I got home after midnight. I complained the following morning about this.

A couple of weeks later, I was on the bus (at the normal time) and I was the only person on the bus left. The driver turned to me and asked, "Did you complain about a driver a couple of weeks ago?"

I must have looked worried but the driver then said, "Oh no. Don't worry. I just wanted to tell you that I'm glad someone reported him because he's been doing it for years but no-one complained until you."

He wouldn't tell me what happened to the other driver but interestingly I only ever missed a bus after that when it was my fault.

[greek_jester]

I think our bus system here had something like that a few years back, but I'm not sure if they still do.....seems like they go more with having more frequent trips and using "double buses" (as I refer to them, anyhow......can't recall what the right word is)

If it's a bus with 2 storeys it could be a double decker.


If it's one large bus with another large bus attached to the rear with a flexible rubber concertina then they're commonly known (in the UK) as bendy busses (or bloody hindering awkward).


If it's one individual bus following another individual bus it's "the first one's late again..."

[Jarlaxle]

The second one you described are usually called "articulated" or "artics" here.

[Jetfire]

Freddy Transit just reorganized their routes a bit. My normal work route used to go down one street next to work; but now it goes down the other street at work (Work is on a corner lot). No big deal.... Except when they added the new bus stops, they didn't put one right at the corner, so there is a rather large gap between the stops that my work falls into.

I emailed them about that gap as soon as I noticed it, and some drivers are nice enoguh to remember me (and my coworkers) and let us off at the corner. Today, the driver I had mentioned she is on the route executive and has noted the gap, so hopefully someone will be out to put up signs soonish. (It's not like I want them to reroute or anything, just add an extra stopping spot basically halfway between the two existing ones).

Otherwise, the drivers I have around here are pretty good. Our system isn't used enough to be packed full most of the time, and the drivers tend to recognize the regulars and know where they go. They're also pretty good at stopping if you flag them down as long as you notice them. And in the winter when stops can often get snowed in, they're good for stopping at the next closest driveway/road to let people on/off.

[Evannah]

I might take this thread more seriously if I can stop laughing at the title. I don't know why it's so funny, but it is.

On a serious note, that's shit. A few drivers are like that round here too. Most stop. Others just drive on by. It always worries me when I'm waiting to go home after work, because the bus stop is right on a main road and also on a bend and a lot of cars just whiz right round the bend super fast, and the thought of a bus going past and leaving me stranded there for another half an hour is quite scary. That was a long sentence. Whew. Anyway, luckily they've stopped. I've probably jinxed it now...

[Eireann]

I remember a bus driver in my hometown who racked up complaints so often, I couldn't understand why he was still there. He would arrive at my stop on schedule. Everything would go smoothly. But then, when he reached a certain street, he would go so slowly, I felt that I could get off the bus and run faster than it was going.

If I remember correctly, it was only that one street. Did he live on it? Want to live on it? Was he looking for signs in front of the houses reading "For Sale"? Did he live on it as a child, and miss it? Was he having an affair with someone who lived on that street?

I do not know. But often, when we reached the transit station, I had missed my connecting bus, as had nearly everyone else on the bus. The guy was a legend in bad service.