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Although parking can be a problem for many drivers in town and cities, there are many Park and Ride facilities around the country. They are very useful except for one thing from my experience, Park and Ride bus drivers are the most spiteful in the country compared with other bus drivers.
On one occasion whilst doing the Christmas shopping in Preston I was with my wife and I had both our tickets. We were getting slightly overloaded and so I thought I would nip to the car with it and come back empty handed to do some more shopping.
I got on the bus and tore off one ticket to which the driver asks me for the other ticket. Thinking he was curious of something I did but he wouldnt return the ticket to me. I asked for it back but he argued that if I was going back to the car and the other person wasnt with me the other person wouldnt need it and so he was confiscating it.
When I pointed out that I was going back to the car with the shopping, and then back into town to meet my wife and that we would be travelling together back later on, he still refused to return the unused ticket!
I put the shopping in the boot and went back to town and explained to my wife what had happened. On the return journey I didnt have a ticket for my wife and so I told the driver of that bus what had happened the first time. He was reluctant to accept the story and let her travel so we didnt bother travelling back to the car in their stinking buses and I have never used Prestons buses since! I park down the side streets which I am entitled to do and wont park in the car parks.
On another occasion when I was in Oxford, I was walking towards a bus stop where an Oxford Bus for Water Eaton Park and Ride was letting passengers on.
As I got to the bus the driver closed the doors and whilst I was waiting for the door to be opened the driver read his newspaper and after about five minutes he put his paper down and started up.
There were about another five passengers waiting behind me but he drove off without letting any of us waiting at the bus stop get on and he saw me as I made eye-to-eye contact before he drove off so it wasnt that he didnt see me. If he didnt observe me he shouldnt be driving a public service vehicle.
By: Mousey
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Regarding the other "story", you should have bought an individual return ticket for your return to the car, and kept the original joint ticket for when you were returning with your wife.
Apologies for any confusion I may have caused
Doing split shifts
Working late nights till 11.30pm, or later
Working at weekends
Putting up with Joe public
I think anyone would be grumpy
I expect the stock reply “if they don’t like it they should get another job”
Easier said than done
The maths is tricky when calculating the MPG for a stationary bus and who would the police prosecute for the illegal fog lights when the bus is empty?
As for the original poster... Preston Bus offer great park and ride services. I have found most of their drivers most polite, friendly and helpful. Which I'll go into below. As for the Preston Bus P&R service, I believe you pay for the service into Preston and back. The return fare is £1.20 per person. This covers you for the outward journey into Preston and the return journey back. If you need to use it again, pay another £1.20. Hardly extortionate rates in my eyes.
I had gone to Preston to ride on their buses. I had asked for a day rider type ticket but only had a £20 note with me. The driver issued my ticket but said he had no change. I did worry at this point but he then told me he can issue me with another ticket so that I could go to the information booth and they'd give me my change. Not all drivers, anyway, would have gone to this length to ensure my satisfaction. I think for some, it would've been too much hassle.
Another driver, this time female, really did drive fantastically. Gave the bus engine a good thrash but I felt safe throughout the journey and upon my return to Preston, I told her she'd handled the bus well and that I really liked her driving. She was a bit bemused that a passenger would say such a comment.
Most customers who I see like to think they are in charge and inevitably like to dish out sarcasm and other forms of objectionable behaviour at shop or office staff. I think it's fantastic that when you people get to the bus you have to drop the drama queen act and get back to the real world. Because if you don't the driver can refuse to let you board or throw you off anyway!
I love nothing more than to see bus drivers puncturing the bubble of self-importance that most of you stupid passengers display! It's not the drivers who are spiteful it's you the passenger talking down to people again - you dick!
Mousey
Park and ride tickets are returns from the park and ride into town so I couldn't get a return from the town to the park and ride as that is not what park and ride tickets at for.
Regarding what was said about Oxford park and ride being tosh just because you haven't experienced any problems shows you don't accept what goes on around what you don't know about. That is what idiots do to brighter people they don't understand - treat them as wrong because it is beyond their intelligence. That is the mentality you are demonstrating.