Disabled traveller v travel pass not working

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/disability-60022278

Women's safety: 'I begged the bus driver to let me travel home safely'

A disabled woman is calling for greater understanding of female safety after she "begged" a bus driver to let her travel home when her pass did not work.

Rachel Davies's pass was declined when she tried to take the first of two buses home, in Northampton. The Stagecoach driver let her travel to her first stop but could not help further.

She said a "transition plan" was needed to ensure journeys were completed.

Stagecoach said the driver had been "following the rules".

[LiskeardRich]

it came up as "hot-listed",

The key line in the article for those of us in the industry. This means the local authorities have withdrawn it for some reason. The bus company won’t get paid for her journey.

Process is the driver retains hot listed passes and allows travel on that journey once explained to the passenger in question that their pass is withdrawn and they’d need to ensure they have resource to cover any further journeys.

The passenger will almost certainly know why she’s been hot listed. Normally it’s passes that are reported stolen or reported lost.

[bobm]

I read in one article that it was hot listed because she had picked up an out of date pass by mistake rather than her current one.

[ChrisB]

Yes, that was the reason.

She’s under 5 foot tall & feels threatened by life. Before it was realised why it had been refused, she wanted the first driver to explain to second bus she needed what her problem was & to authorise travel.

After discovering the causecof the problem she commented that ‘everyone makes that error of picking up an out of date ticket/pass’ & still wanted an exception made. Apparently only travelling with mobile & pass, nothing else (which I find difficult to understand/believe)

Does open a discussion as to how farcallowances should be made, I guess

[PhilWakely]

Begs the question.... 'Why did she keep an out of date pass if she has a current one?'

[GBM]

I knew of a few bus passengers who used out of date concession travel cards.  Always an argument that the driver couldn't take the pass off them as they didn't have enough money for a return trip & it was discrimination (played the I'm disabled card heavily).

Also a disabled mobility scooter user used to frequently travel without having a pass from the bus operating company.  Was refused return travel by the driver.  The scooter user went to the local press who, of course, made much of the incident.

Bus operator has a policy that if you wish to take your mobility scooter on their vehicles, they will bring a bus down to you, and spend a while while the user gets used to the procedure of getting on and off busses; and manoeuvring inside the bus.  Once everyone is happy, a pass will be issued which must be shown each time you board.
Said user had always been advised of the certificate, but declined to do so.
I was threatened if I didn't take them they would go to the press again.  I declined to take them.  Nothing in the press but I suspect the next driver took them.   

[froome]

Begs the question.... 'Why did she keep an out of date pass if she has a current one?'

Whenever I'm sent a new card (for travel, bank or whatever) I always keep the old one on me until I've tried the new one and ensured it is working. I have to be absolutely certain before I cut up and dispose of the old card.

And yes, that has occasionally led to producing the old one mistakenly, though I've always then had the new one to produce instead. But if she is someone who tends to be anxious, as many of us are when travelling, then the mistake is understandable.

[grahame]

The lady who gets on a bus looking to travel without a current pass, looking to travel without any alternative payment.  Challenged on her lack of valid means to 'pay' for her journey, she presses her case to be carried and indeed transferred to another bus.  Perhaps someone else on the bus grumbles that he doesn't see why she should be getting this treatment when she didn't stick with the rule (of having a valid pass) in the first place.

Over the past couple of days, our moderator team has been considering a post that stepped very close, if not over, the line of our forum agreement. Challenged on that by another member, the original post was re-enforced and indeed others have expressed support in both directions.  Please, folks, consider your moderator team and note that we have been put rather between a rock and a hard place on this one.  However, it is our role to moderate ... it's in the name.

"Rules are rules" a member reminds me. Yes, and sometimes people who enforce them without pragmatic consideration are "jobsworths" and I have received comment when I have used that term in the past as being insulting.  So - often styled more as a set of guildlines to be viewed in a full context, and less as hard and fast rules. And when it comes down to "abusive" language, it has to be guidelines because one man's abuse may be another's normal language.  We're moving on - as I posted on the thread in question (which I am not commenting on further to help it drift down the archive). Please watch your language; it does your case no good to go over what others feel is a limit. And please be tolerant where people do - occasionally - step beyond your comfort. Our team does have the ability to do all sorts of things to the material you post, but we would much rather leave it to the good graces of you, the members.