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West Midlands Buses in Discussion => General Discussion, Questions & Route Suggestions => Topic started by: Jay71 on December 03, 2023, 05:10:04 PM

Title: Free Journeys
Post by: Jay71 on December 03, 2023, 05:10:04 PM
I've seen an increase in the number of people asking for a free ride on a bus. Some claim to have lost a ticket or a pass. Some claim to be stone broke
If a driver is caught giving a passenger a free ride is this a sackable offence ?
Title: Re: Free Journeys
Post by: Stu on December 03, 2023, 07:37:47 PM
Quote from: Jay71 on December 03, 2023, 05:10:04 PMI've seen an increase in the number of people asking for a free ride on a bus. Some claim to have lost a ticket or a pass. Some claim to be stone broke
If a driver is caught giving a passenger a free ride is this a sackable offence ?
I doubt very much if any driver would be sacked for letting a fare dodger on.

It might be a different story if a driver was knowingly allowing someone to travel without a ticket, if it was a 'mate' or someone else they personally knew.
Title: Re: Free Journeys
Post by: Jay71 on December 03, 2023, 07:59:01 PM
Quote from: Stu on December 03, 2023, 07:37:47 PMI doubt very much if any driver would be sacked for letting a fare dodger on.

It might be a different story if a driver was knowingly allowing someone to travel without a ticket, if it was a 'mate' or someone else they ppersonally i
If somebody asks for a free journey & the driver says yes then I wouldn't call the person a fare dodger.   Surely some sort of action should be taken against the driver for letting the person have a free ride 
BTW,  would the person be fined if an inspector got on the bus?
Title: Re: Free Journeys
Post by: 2206 on December 03, 2023, 08:02:38 PM
Quote from: Jay71 on December 03, 2023, 07:59:01 PMBTW,  would the person be fined if an inspector got on the bus?
Probably yes as they are travelling without a valid ticket.
Title: Re: Free Journeys
Post by: Lukeee on December 03, 2023, 08:15:34 PM
Quote from: Jay71 on December 03, 2023, 07:59:01 PMIf somebody asks for a free journey & the driver says yes then I wouldn't call the person a fare dodger.  Surely some sort of action should be taken against the driver for letting the person have a free ride
BTW,  would the person be fined if an inspector got on the bus?
Yes as they are travelling without a valid ticket.

Regarding the driver think about it like this, if the passenger asks for a free ride and the driver says no and said passenger just walks on then what do you propose the driver should do? NX and Diamond advise their drivers to not get involved with fare evasion, if the driver turns the engine off this holds the service up for everyone else. If the driver gets out the cab he/she risks being attacked. Personally as someone who has drove for both of these companies in the past I wouldn't risk getting out of the cab for a £2 bus fare as you don't know what people are carrying in this day and age.