Complaint 28 bus to Lewes tonight from Amex

[seagullsovergrimsby]

*UPDATE - Just spoke to the Driver Manager Brighton Buses; apparently there is a formal Police investigation now under way given that there were further incident(s) involving other passengers and the driver which took place once we got off the bus. Can anyone shed any light on this?

I would suggest the club also put in a request for additional stewarding to prevent this occurring again.

The buses have numerous CCTV cameras on board. Even with stewards at the bus stop there will still be fans trying to queue jump and barge their way on to the bus.

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

Then the club need to hire some more buses privately on top of their deal with B&H buses, because at the end of the day getting home on time for some fans will be the decision on whether they renew their season ticket or not.

I don't believe that. Would anyone not renew simply because they can't get home quickly by bus? Shirley they'd find some other way of travel, or maybe not go to evening games?

 

[Acker79]

The transport at thr Amex is excellent. I expect the club to laugh at this thread. By the way, 15 buses would only hold about 1, 000 people.

So, you're saying we need 405 buses?

 

[shwoody1]

finally home so i can now comment on this. The bus was not overloaded. The driver on opening the doors got out of his seat and stated"right not all of you are gonna get on" in a pissed off very abrupt and rude manner. One passenger having been one of the first to arrive at the stop responded with a jokey " i am mate!" with a cheeky grin.(sorry if this sounds cheesy but it is exactly how it happened) The driver took exception to this comment and demanded the lad go to the back of the line. The driver then came back on to the bus which is when the lad snuck on if you like. The driver then gets the raving hump jumps back in his seat and refuses to move. If any of you doubters had seen it play out you would of been as disgusted as the rest of us on the bus. The driver was a disgrace, he caused all the problems for himself but is no doubt blaming anyone but himself. What happened after in fairness was close to getting out of hand and he was loving every bit of it. I believe at one point he claimed he was assaulted, absolute nonsense. Believe me this was one bellend asking for trouble, at the very least he needs retraining in dealing with the public, the reality sadly is hes more likely to recieve a month off full paid due to stress and we are all labled thugs.

 

[BensGrandad]

I was also on that bus and technically the driver was correct in that too many people got on and it was overloaded but it was his attitude and the manner in which he acted that upset everybody IMHO.

I cannot understand why B & H BUSES cant have a double decker waiting at the bus stop when the match finishes and when full it leaves and then goes as far as Lewes Bus station and the turn around and go straight back to the Amex and onto one of the P & R routes this would relieve the initial rush and the normal service would then cope.

Sound like the bus driver was being a dick!

If the bus was overloaded then surely that is his fault for not shutting the doors sooner?

Also why is it acceptable for a train to be massively over crowded but a bus isn't?

So you are suggesting that a bus is diverted from the P&R for the convenience of those that want a bus to Lewes. This seems to have been the first complaint about a bus to Lewes which seems to have been the fault of passengers who got on when the bus was full rather than the driver. Those of us that use the P&R have had to get used to delays, especially those of us in the WSU who stay for the final whistle and invariably end up waiting for the '2nd round' of buses. Last night was a very wet wait. Oh, and before anyone plays the kiddy card, I had my 9yr old daughter with us.

The point that seems to be missed is that the fact that the bus was overcrowded was down to the driver and also that he made very little attempt to get some people to get off the bus so he could proceed and in fact when some did get off he said " I am still not moving as the police have been inbforme and I am waiting for them to come and sort it out."

A young lady, probably late teens waiting with two older people possibly her parents said that particular driver is well known for doing that as he does it quite often when students get on the bus at the Uni to go into Brighton.

I know I am old but in the "good old days" Southdown ran the buses in Worthing and after events or at busy times put on a relief bus that went part of the journey to relieve the pressure and the passengers transferred for the rest of the journey back to the service bus. Similatr could happen after the matches finish.

I am not suggesting that a bus should be taken from those allocated to the P & R but an additional bus, like a relief be put on and after the journey to Lewes it then joined the P & R as an additional bus to help out the route that is busiest. A similar one could do the same from The Amex to the gyratory and back again. That would mean 2 buses 2 drivers and the normal bus service would then possibly be able to cope with the passengers using that route.

 

[Acker79]

finally home so i can now comment on this. The bus was not overloaded. The driver on opening the doors got out of his seat and stated"right not all of you are gonna get on" in a pissed off very abrupt and rude manner. One passenger having been one of the first to arrive at the stop responded with a jokey " i am mate!" with a cheeky grin.(sorry if this sounds cheesy but it is exactly how it happened) The driver took exception to this comment and demanded the lad go to the back of the line. The driver then came back on to the bus which is when the lad snuck on if you like. The driver then gets the raving hump jumps back in his seat and refuses to move. If any of you doubters had seen it play out you would of been as disgusted as the rest of us on the bus. The driver was a disgrace, he caused all the problems for himself but is no doubt blaming anyone but himself. What happened after in fairness was close to getting out of hand and he was loving every bit of it. I believe at one point he claimed he was assaulted, absolute nonsense. Believe me this was one bellend asking for trouble, at the very least he needs retraining in dealing with the public, the reality sadly is hes more likely to recieve a month off full paid due to stress and we are all labled thugs.

So, the whole thing could have been avoided if that fan wasn't being cheeky with his response and didn't get on the bus after explicitly being told to go to the back of the queue?

 

[shwoody1]

it wasnot overloaded!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Springal]

So, the whole thing could have been avoided if that fan wasn't being cheeky with his response and didn't get on the bus after explicitly being told to go to the back of the queue?

To be fair, if that is how it happened, sounds like he didn't do anything wrong. We've all made jovial comments like that. Those of us that are commuters will know bits of humour like that are needed to remain sane!

If a bus driver told me to get the back of a queue for no reason, I'd have given him a mouthful too.

 

[Gwylan]

finally home so i can now comment ...

Blimey, that's one hell of a delayed journey

 

[shwoody1]

So, the whole thing could have been avoided if that fan wasn't being cheeky with his response and didn't get on the bus after explicitly being told to go to the back of the queue?

The whole thing could of been avoided if the driver hadnt been so rude and abrupt on opening the doors. You obviously was not there otherwise im sure you would have a different view. the reaction of those at the front to the drivers welcome so to speak was one of disbelief.

 

[BensGrandad]

Whilst the driver was saying that he wasnt going to move there were empty seats upstairs. I was at the back of the queue and seeing the numbers waiting didnt expect to get on and was resigned to that. Yes the situation was 100% of the drivers making and could easily have been avoided.

 

[clippedgull]

it wasnot overloaded!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BensGrandad stated earlier in the thread it was!

 

[shwoody1]

BensGrandad stated earlier in the thread it was!

It honestly was not. There was only about 4 or 5 of us standing downstairs before it all kicked off. after helocked himself in a few more got on to vent their frustrations! He must of had hundreds of pictures taken of him on mobiles and if half the peeps complained that said they were going to the complaints department would of had a very busy morning!

 

[BensGrandad]

BensGrandad stated earlier in the thread it was!

Just to clarify there were empty seats upstairs and people standing down stairs rammed up to the door so I assume that if some had taken the vacant seats upstairs there would still have been more standing than permitted but I cant be sure but thats how it appeared. Many more jumped on the bus while the driver was ranting so it probably was over crowded.

 

[Questions]

On the 29 going up to the Forest game the driver would not allow Brighton fans onto the bus until all Lewes and Tunbridge Wells residents boarded stating that the football fans could have got on any old bus and he wasn't interested if they missed the game.
He was only worried in getting others home.

Yes, Brighton and Hove buses have received complaints, apologies have been sent out and the driver is being sought out to explain himself.

Brighton and Hove buses has at present no priority boarding scheme.



A very nasty incident almost took place that afternoon due to the drivers aggressive attitude.

 

[Stat Brother]

**UPDATE - Paul Barber has sent me an email to assure myself (and other fans) that the club will be looking into the matter, as well as how this type of incident might be avoided in the future. Watch this space.

Would that be the same Paul Barber, who some feel needs to be more accountable to the fans?

 

[Questions]

Ps he wasn't a bearded **** was he ?

 

[clippedgull]

Seems like an unsavoury incident all round. At least the CCTV cameras should give some clarification to the version of events.

 

[shwoody1]

Just to clarify there were empty seats upstairs and people standing down stairs rammed up to the door so I assume that if some had taken the vacant seats upstairs there would still have been more standing than permitted but I cant be sure but thats how it appeared. Many more jumped on the bus while the driver was ranting so it probably was over crowded.

I was stood at the bottom of the stairs when it all went off and honestly it was not rammed. after it all started more turned up from upstairs and outside. Just to clarify the point again the drivers reason for not leaving was a certain passengers refusal to leave the bus in my opinion correctly as he had done nothing wrong. Believe me if he had im sure myself and a few other dads there would have removed him. When he did leave of his own accord the driver still refused to budge. thats when it got abit ugly

 

[Dunk]

I think everyone on this thread just assumed the bus was overloaded as that seemed the most likely reason for the problem.

If the driver really refused to move because someone who he didn't like the look of got on then that is a disgrace. I hope the club and the buses take this seriously as lots of people rely on this service.