Are you a regular bus user/

[skyep]

Have you noticed the steady decline in peoples manners? It's a regular scrum just to board the bus. I feel sorry for the older people, there's not a lot of respect for their generation anymore, not many will offer up there seat anymore. People swearing, litter strewn about, mobiles playing loud music regardless of others. Girls swearing, it's so bad! What are your experiences?

[cameo]

i catch a bus quite often and it's usually very non-eventful.
i know what you mean about the swearing though. don't get me wrong, i can swear with the best of them, but not on a bus in front of loads of people. they have no respect for themselves or any one else.

[skyep]

Cameo - What area would that be? I commute in the Manchester area.

[Dizzieblonde]

I've regularly been podged in front of in queues by elderly people, and had the most unbelievable argument with some old 'dear' in the queue of Druckers' patisserie once (which is quite posh, or at least where I come from! lol), so I think people's manners are generally terrible - not just younger people unfortunately.

[tradey]

i use the bus most days to get to the shopping centre with my little girl,yesterday we went out on the bus and there was a lady sat where you put the buggies,she wouldnt move,i asked her nicely if she could move,she just ignored me,then to sun it up as i was getting off my little girl left her telly tubby on the bus,i tried to shout and wave at the driver but he looked at me and just drove off,so all day my little girl was crying,so all i can say is it isnt just the passangers on the bus with no manners the bloody bus drivers have none too

[skyep]

I was on a surreal bus journey home yesterday. The bus was full, the isle was full, there were teenagers at the back of the bus slagging off people in the street, a mobile playing music full blast, it was crazy. Felt detatched looking on at the spectacle!

[Dizzieblonde]

Sounds like you've had your own vision of Hell Skyep! I know what you mean though - sometimes when you see something like that, you just have an overwhelming loss of faith in human nature, don't you?

[skyep]

tradey - I see that alot, I personally will vacate my seat if there's someone getting on with a buggy, but some as you say will not. I have seen parents actually have to miss the bus because people aren't prepared to move, awful!

[skyep]

Dizzieblonde - The scary thing is, how much more can it deteriorate?

[s3ahors3]

to be honest i've found the elderly the worst their rude at the best of times

[Dizzieblonde]

As paranoid as it sounds, I sometimes think either all the 'decent' people will emigrate and entire towns will become no-go areas, or on the other hand, some bloody and barbaric uprise of the middle-classes! lol

[skyep]

Dizzieblonde - Wierd you should think that, I have often envisaged living in an area, where people first have to be strictly vetted before being allowed in , a colony of good decent people, people who can enjoy themselves still, but have respect for others.

[enigma]

I know how you feel skyep. I have had similar experiences to Tradey. I have a double buggy and some people refuse to move from the buggy area - even although there are usually doazens of other seats on the bus where they could sit - and would rather watch you struggle. On one bus I was on , one woman refused me the seat but told me that I could squeeze my buggy in beside her (she's all heart) so although I fitted my buggy in (just) , I had to stand for the entire journey and I was maddened by the fact that she was only about 40 , able bodied and there were plenty of empty seats - even just one row behind which she could have moved to. I hate it as well when you are trying to get off the bus and have to wait for the stampede to pass , only to discover that when you do finally get off , people try to swarm on to the bus before they would think of letting you off first and don't usually move until they are asked to do so by the driver.

Whilst most elderly people smile at my kids and talk to them , you get the element who make snide comments to you about the fact that you have dared to carry your children in a buggy on a bus rather than walking the 3 miles which they used to in 'their day' or for not folding it and carrying two kids under each arm. I've lost count of the amount of times i've been told 'It wasn't like this in my day. We just had to throw our kids on the bus and hope for the best , struggling up stairs and everything. Your generation are spoiled' (In reference to low floor buses)

[skyep]

enigma - Sounds all so familiar. Wouldn't it be nice if they employed somebody to keep the peace? I actually feel sorry for some of the nice bus drivers, there are some that are not so nice, but you can understand maybe, facing this day in day out, that they lose faith in people.

[enigma]

Part 1 : I'll give you a laugh Skyep , just to show that there are indeed bus drivers with a sense of humour.

I got on the bus a few days ago and the driver leaned forward towards me before I got on and said something which I missed the first part of - all I heard was that double buggies weren't allowed on and I went into a panic. I asked what he had said and he repeated it , this time adding the first part that no-one in jeans could come on. I laughed and said , tough I was coming on. and he told me that next time I had to remember the dress code as he wanted some sense of decorum on his bus and wouldn't let just anybody on. The driver wound up everyone who got on the bus. The woman behind me told me that she was the first passenger on at the terminus and he told her that she would have to go to the bus behind as he wasn't accepting passengers. When she went to the next bus , the driver laughed and said that the driver in front was winding her up. When she went back to the first bus , the driver was laughing and making faces , saying na , na , na , na , na. She took it well and then he said to her that he was going to wind me up. At the next stop he leaned forward and told the woman boarding that he didn't accept passengers. She looked puzzled and said 'but you have passengers on already.' He turned round to us and shouted 'In the name of God , where did you lot come from !' , clutching his heart in mock fright. The funniest though was when he said to one passenger ' Excuse me missus , are you getting on ?' She said yes and he replied 'Well in that case , i'm getting off' and then he jumped off the bus and looked at his watch scowling and asked 'Does anyone know if there's a bus due ? Bloody buses. You can never rely on them !'

[enigma]

Part 2 : He did this all the way to the bus station and all of the passengers were in fits of laughter. It was more the look on his face which was funny but what a difference to get such a chatty , funny driver. Just as well that none of us were in a hurry though lol ! He certainly brightened my day and when I told him as much , I said that I hoped that I would get his bus again. He replied , 'How does Monday suit you ? Pick you up at the same time ? Okay , it's a date' My eldest daughter (8) laughed and said that she would tell her dad that I was making a 'date' with the driver ......... and she did - little snitch lol !

[sue11]

Enigma what a briliant story! I would have probably contacted the bus company to tell them that the driver, as long as I was not getting him in trouble of course, kept everyone in stitches with his humour!
I don't travel on the bus much, but when I do, I come across all the same sort of stuff. Or if I don't everyone seems morose and unhappy. Without trying to find excuses for people's rudeness, I think the journey can be quite stressful especially if you have had a bad day at home/work/uni etc and are not in the best of moods already! But I do also agree that the elderly can be the rudest of all. Are there any of the offenders out there reading this that can stick up for themselves?
Cheers Sue

[enigma]

Hi Sue. Yes , that's something I intend to do because I feel that he deserves some kind of recognition for his excellent manner with the public - especially when drivers come under fire so often and get blamed for all sorts. They have a difficult job to do - especially those who work the night shift picking up clubbers. Have you ever travelled on a bus in the wee small hours ? You meet some crazy people then , I can tell you !

Just as you say though , I don't want to get him into trouble though , so when I do send in my letter , I will of course have the sense not to mention that he left his bus unattended for a brief moment to stand at the bus stop lol ! Somehow I can't imagine his bosses finding that at all funny. It was though , he's quite a character. Not as funny typed here perhaps but you have to meet him to know what I mean.

[suffragette]

I think the removal of conductors on buses to reduce costs also led to an increase in tension and lack of manners amongst passengers.

Conductors did so much more than collect fares. They maintained order in queues before allowing people on board, they helped Mums with their buggies, moved people to appropriate seating and minimised the mosh pit mentality of teenagers.

They may only have been very minor figures of authority in our lives, but their function did help make travelling on crowded buses a little more tolerable.

[skyep]

enigma - Just got back from shopping, you made me laugh about that funny driver!

[skyep]

sufragette - I agree. The cost of employing a conducter would soon pay for itself in less vandalism, a happier passenger & encourage more people to use public transport.