bad bus drivers.
By TheCatLady
@TheCatLady (4691)
Israel
July 23, 2009 7:09am CST
We only have 2 bus lines in my town. Each round is 35 minutes, so missing a bus means a long wait.
One of the bus drivers has been taking shortcuts, skipping neighborhoods, or skipping streets.
Last week he skipped my neighborhood on one round, so I was late to an appointment. I placed a complaint by phone.
Yesterday, he made 2 shortcuts while I was on the bus. After one, shortcut, he turned around and went into the neighborhood only after someone called out the name of the neighborhood. He's not a new driver on the route, so it's not just a "mistake". He's done this route thousands of times.
This time, I placed a complaint on the Internet web site because it's not ok that he bypass streets were someone may want to take a bus.
Well the company called me today to say the problem is being dealt with at the central office. It's not the first time this guy has done this. They even admitted they were aware of past problems with him making shortcuts.
I think he was fired. I'll know if I don't see him driving again.
What do you all think? Loosing a good job sucks, but he wasn't doing his job. We the public were suffering because of it. Was I wrong to turn him in? They don't just take my word for it. They have a computer on board that shows everywhere the bus has been. They checked it after complaints so see if there is truth to the allegation.
9 people like this
21 responses
@ElicBxn (63643)
• United States
23 Jul 09
its a shame that a bus driver feels he can take short cuts and leave people that might need a ride out - and no, you did exactly the right thing - if he's not doing his job properly, he NEEDS to be fired. Now, he might just get a reprimand, but that would be the step before firing.
3 people like this
@ElicBxn (63643)
• United States
23 Jul 09
I'm glad to hear that - dirt bags like that shouldn't keep jobs...
Now, my former roommate had an uncle who was a bus driver, and one rainy night she was on his bus and he detoured off the route to drop her off at her door, but it wasn't a busy night and she wasn't far off the route.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
23 Jul 09
I was talking to someone I know on the bus today. She told me she was waiting for the bus a few weeks ago and saw him go one way. He should have been at her stop in a few minutes after making the rounds. Nope she saw him go out the wrong way bypassing her. She just walked and didn't file a complaint. The problematic driver is no more. We had a new guy today.
1 person likes this
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
24 Jul 09
A detour to help someone is fine as long as he still passes all the stops he is supposed to. My bus driver is history.
1 person likes this
@gamerwestside (761)
• Mexico
23 Jul 09
I will say that you are lucky that in your country,that bus company has solved the problem and they aware of it and willing fix it.But in my country its not happens.In india specially in my state.There is no law.We suffer many problems daily.There are frequent bus accident due to bus racing,reckless driving.Bus drivers do as they want.No one can stop them.Not even government.
3 people like this
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
23 Jul 09
It's a shame that they can't fix the problems and corruption in India. But it's still a new country as mine is. Things will change as India goes more and more into the high tech world. Things are changing here as we move from a poor third world country into a modern one. Our big company bus drivers must behave or else, but our shuttle bus drivers are dangerous.
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
24 Jul 09
Lorden hope I got that right.
WE also have training for truck drivers and they do have to go to scholl for it to get CDL licence.
adn they shouldnt make snide remarks about women drivers i have a neice who drives the big rigs and she is always on time with her load and can back into the bays where the men cant.
The company she worked for loved her and kept her on the road all the time. Now she is taking care of her mom so she dont drive any more which is sad for she loved it.
and I agree if ya see a public driver doing wrong turn them in!
1 person likes this
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
23 Jul 09
Waiting in the heat here really can be dangerous. It's summer and really hot out. This is the desert. Thankfully the bus company has been putting in nice new bus shelters at most of the stops. The old company that serviced our town only had a few stops with shelters, some with wooden benches at many of the stops didn't even have that. This company is responsive. They investigate all complaints. They told me it wasn't the first complaint against this driver and they will deal with it harshly. The guy that was slacking is no longer driving in my town.
1 person likes this
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
23 Jul 09
You were absolutely correct in reporting him. He should have been fired the first time he deviated from the correct route.
2 people like this
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
23 Jul 09
He should have been, but they gave him a chance. We had a new driver today. This one stuck to the route.
@BarBaraPrz (47670)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
23 Jul 09
No, you weren't wrong to turn him in. I'm sure others had also. As you said, he wasn't doing his job properly. Lost ridership means lost revenue for the company, and if he's not driving the prescribed route where people may be waiting for him, there goes that money. And if people can't rely on the bus service, they'll be less likely to use it. More money lost for the company.
Here's hoping you get reliable bus service from now on.
2 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (47670)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
24 Jul 09
Here in Hamilton it costs $5 just to get in a taxi...
Glad that you got a new driver.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
24 Jul 09
$5 is flat fee for anywhere in town. The cemetery costs a bit more because it's a few miles out of town.
1 person likes this
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
23 Jul 09
We have a new driver. He stuck to the route. The old driver really didn't care if the company made money or people missed their bus and had to spend $5 for a taxi because he took shortcuts.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
23 Jul 09
He deserved to be fired! I was on a bus once where the driver almost hit another vehicle because he swerved into another lane without even looking. I should have turned him in, but I didn't. You did the right thing though by calling him in.
2 people like this
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
23 Jul 09
I would be scared if my driver came close to hitting another vehicle. Now that I think of it, it did happen once, but it wasn't the drivers fault. Some idiot pulled out in front of him.
1 person likes this
@Shawna718 (132)
• United States
24 Jul 09
You did the right thing by turning him in. Too many people today take "short cuts" at their jobs, whether it be driving a bus, selling bad mortgages to get rich, or raising children. These short cuts affect all of us in the long run. People need to start taking responsibility for their actions and do their jobs just as well as they want their surgeon to do on them!
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
25 Jul 09
Yes to many people take short cuts in life and don't give whatever they are doing their all. I'm independently employed as a pet sitter. I give more than I promise and people appreciate it and hire me again.
@sblossom (2168)
•
24 Jul 09
of course you should complain about his behavior. i don't think he's behavour is acceptalbe.
driving bus is his duty, he should fello the route to do the job.
taking shortcut means he will leave some passagers waiting for longer and maybe at last get nothing.
i think i knew it, but he just took chance like a gambling.
if nobody complained it would encourage him to do it again and again.
i had similar experience with a driver, but not bus driver. Before when i worked in a company, i took company's shuttle bus. Because i took business trip a lot, sometimes i didn't take the shuttle bus. so the shuttle bus skipped my destination.
one morning, i was waiting for the bus,but never arrived. I called the driver and he answered he thought i was on business trip.
it's very annoying. but at the time I did not complain to his boss for his sake.
i had to get deal with him that if i didn't notice him, it meant i will take the bus.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
24 Jul 09
Last week I was late for a job because this yahoo skipped my street. It meant I got there after dark making it harder to do my job. My whole neighborhood takes about 2 minutes to drive. It's only 4 blocks. Same with the one he tried to skip. Shame on him.
@choiboii94 (10)
• Australia
24 Jul 09
no, you weren't wrong in turning him in. if you never complained, then more people would have suffered from the same mistakes of this driver. if he wasn't doing his job right, then why should he have this job? and as you said, his company even admits he's not doing it right.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
24 Jul 09
I don't want people to suffer because a driver is lazy. Driving a bus is a good job with a decent salary. He gets more than minimum wage. Driving in my town is easy because it's a small town with very little traffic. Plenty of people want the job.
@trisha27 (3494)
• United States
23 Jul 09
I believe that was right of you to turn him because he has not only done it once or twice but has done it numerous of times and that is unacceptable. And he's not even doing his job. So I do hope that he gets fired or gotten fired. I mean that may sound cruel or whatever, but why have someone work on the buses who can't even just drive down the proper streets and not be skipping over people's stops. Bus drivers have never done that here. But they get into a lot of accidents. In my city a bus driver is not allowed to be on the phone while doing his route and a lot of bus drivers have been driving while speaking on their phone. They showed this once on a news cast were bus drivers could be talking or even texting while doing their route and that was the main reason for their cause of accidents. The city wanted to know why there were so many accidents and that was the reason for it. But I sure do hope that everything was taken care of and that there will be a new bus driver for the route that you take and someone that doesn't skip people's stops.
1 person likes this
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
23 Jul 09
I hate it when drivers talk on their phones. I don't know the bus driver rules regarding cell phones, but all regular drivers must use hands free devices while driving. Texting while driving is a big no no here. Can't text hands free unless you have a super hi-tech phone if they even exist yet.
Our new bus driver did a really good job today. He stayed on the official route and drove safely. He had the wrong electronic sign up for the reverse route, bus 2A instead of bus 2, but changed it when he was informed. That's no big deal. A lot of driver forget to switch it back the few times a day when the bus goes on a backward route. We all knew that it was supposed to be the #2 not the #2A. It was his first day and a lot of driver goof on that.
This is a small town with only 2 bis lines. The #1 goes from downtown through 2 neighborhoods and turns around at the old hotels at the edge of town. It's a 30 minute run each way. My bus does the rest of the town and it takes 35 minutes to do the circle. Yup really small town.
1 person likes this
@tomjoad (551)
• Philippines
24 Jul 09
that's what i call excellent service! the bus company did the right thing! it's always bad for business if the company loses customers because of their employees. since he has been doing it for a number of times he doesn't just deserve a warning. i guess the reason why he keeps doing it is because he hasn't been fired yet. i guess he learned his lesson. although i pity him that he no longer has a job but it was his own doing. i can't say that you did the wrong thing. i think you did the right thing. 
don't feel guilty though i'm sure it wasn't just your complaint that fired him. i think all the complaints added up and the company had to do something. 
don't feel guilty though i'm sure it wasn't just your complaint that fired him. i think all the complaints added up and the company had to do something. 
@grace118224 (1038)
• China
24 Jul 09
it's hard to imgine that only two buses are available for you. In my city there are thousands . As you mentioned we also get some bad bus drivers.But now it's ok for me because i don't take bus very often . i take my motorcycle. i'm glad that your problem was solved in the end.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
24 Jul 09
Because I live in a small town of 20,000. 2 buses covers the whole city every half hour. There's a big city nearby of 250,000. They have tons of buses.
@svk_hereiam (26)
• India
23 Jul 09
Whatever you all say, I don't think there can be more rash bus drivers at any place on this planet than there are in Kolkata. They do every kind of stuff. Last year a driver took a bus full of commuters and drove it straight into a canal. The accident killed 17 people. A week ago a bus trying to overtake another one over a railway bridge hit the railings so hard that the railings broke and the bus fell straight down. More than 20 people were killed in the accident. And if you talk about the so called minor accidents it would perhaps fill the whole page. I am really very angry at these drivers. They deserve to be hanged.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
23 Jul 09
I'm glad I don't live in Calcutta and depend on buses to get around. I have a lot of friends from India and they tell me stories about how it was when they lived there.
@svk_hereiam (26)
• India
24 Jul 09
Living in India is not bad at all. There are problems in this country but I dunno if there is a single country in this world where there ain't any problems...
@cindy27 (130)
• Philippines
24 Jul 09
i think that was just fine, you actually help him to do the right thing about his life. maybe that's not the job for him.. because if he's for driving he supposedly enjoying doing it besides its his chosen career or at least being aware of the first warning and fear of being fired.
Im so sure that he will surely get the right work for him...
Its so lucky for you to have a quick action there, i remember one experience here in the philippines that it so easy to take on the bus but it would be hard for you to get off because of super speedy bus drivers that dont care about people coming out... but only cares for those people coming up. (lol)
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
24 Jul 09
I'm slow getting off. I don't want to trip. Thankfully most drivers are patent and wait until I'm on the sidewalk. I don't think any job in the community is right for this guy. Maybe a goat herder were he doesn't have to do anything other than hang out with his uncles goats.
@CRSunrise (2981)
• United States
23 Jul 09
As much as I hate to say it, he doesn't deserve to keep his job if he's not going to do it right, even with the way the economy is. If he's not going to do it right, there are plenty of people out there who would do it the right way, and be darn thankful for it. There are way to many people out there for one spoil sport ruining it for everyone else.
I feel like I made no sense there. Did I?
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
24 Jul 09
I agree he shouldn't keep his job. He's causing people inconvenience when he doesn't go down their street. You are right there are many people who would love the job and do it the right way. .
@candy2306 (576)
• India
24 Jul 09
Hi Cat Lady,
You did the right thing! That bus driver is only bothered about finishing his trips
and not the passengers. Like yourself, there must be many passengers waited for him thinking he would come and missed appointments and attend late to places
. He need to be punish, and if that's gonna be termination, he deserves it! 
and not the passengers. Like yourself, there must be many passengers waited for him thinking he would come and missed appointments and attend late to places. He need to be punish, and if that's gonna be termination, he deserves it! @TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
24 Jul 09
He's not working here any more. I assume he was fired. He wasn't a good employee.
@justbeingtiffany (1156)
• United States
23 Jul 09
yes actually i go through the same problem! and the worst time to take a bus is on halloween. trust me people throw eggs at the buses and then not only that the bus came 2 hours late! and here the buses run every 15 minutes down town. but every where else its a 25 minute wait or longer. thats why i try to get a job close to my house because if i don't i could miss a buss and i could be 1 hour late, its happened. and that does sound like a pretty bad bus driver you should talk him. oh no it wasn't wrong that you turned on him. just be more understandable sometimes.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
24 Jul 09
He's done this many time. Talking to him won't do any good. He'll do what he wants when he thinks he can get away with it. He has no respect for the people he services.
I understand when part of the main road is closed during the music festival or if it's closed because a school is having a parade or if there is a bomb scare. It's annoying, but sometimes there is a reason the driver can't go on the correct route. I understand and accept it as a minor annoyance in life. But when a driver just doesn't want to go down a street for no reason other than he chooses not to is unacceptable. People are waiting for the bus and need it to get somewhere.
@checkmail (2039)
• India
24 Jul 09
Hello TheCarLady this is checkmail and am really feel sorry for you about your bus problems.There are several bus driver, in that many are good and few bad in nature, hating their jobs, or wages.Here in my country its mostly good drivers to the public transport buses, but there are some bad drivers who genuinely miss the busstop and go ahead without taking passenger.Most of them say its due to cut in their salary, demand, etc.But it is not the regular problem, it occurs sometimes.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
24 Jul 09
Most of the driver here are good. They are nice and friendly and drive safe. Working a line in my little town is a thousand times easier than working the city line in the next town which is a big bustling city. If they blow by a stop in the next town it's no big deal because it's a city and there are many buses. Another will be by in a few minutes. We only have 2 buses here. One on each line.
@jeweljuicee (41)
• Indonesia
24 Jul 09
driver you want to find a shortcut to speed up the time, even to save fuel.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
24 Jul 09
They don't pay for the fuel. The company does. They need to stay at work for their full 8 hours. So they have no reason to take a shortcut.
@maulik2811 (5)
• Australia
24 Jul 09
I think you did take a judgemental step, everyone has a line if someone crosses it no one can take it for granted. what you did was great if u would not have take that step might be many ppl would have lost their jobs by not reaching on time. good on you.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
24 Jul 09
I doubt people would loose there jobs. This is a tiny town. But still, many people without cars depend on the bus coming on time as expected. I take the bus whenever possible because I don't want to spend the money on a taxi.
