Major Rant

Babes is a bus driver, and his company wants to make a load of changes to working conditions which in a nutshell will mean more work over longer hours for less money. As a result the union have had them out on strike and working to rule and the like (none of which Babes has wanted but he will not cross a picket line)

It's a on going saga and the local paper has been adding fuel to the fire by reporting all sorts of rubbish regarding demands being made by the union and the drivers. The thing that is getting me all riled up is that for some reason some people think bus drivers are a lower class of citizen and therefore they have the right to abuse them. Calling them all sorts of disgusting names and throwing things at them. A little old lady who looked like butter wouldn't melt got on the bus screamed greedy bitch in the face of a young female driver (thanks to the headlines in the paper) and threw her newspaper in the drivers face. The poor girl had only been with the company for a few months and was so shocked she was trembling.

I will hold my hands up and say that before my hubby started working as a bus driver I complained like many others about the timetables (or sometimes apparent lack of them) but never directly to a driver and I was never rude to a driver or didn't say thank you when I got off the bus.

Having now seen it from the other side I can see that drivers can be easily thrown off schedule by not being able to get round a roundabout due to heavy traffic, or a hold up when a passenger having stood waiting for a bus waits until they get on it to count out the money needed for their fare (even when they know how much the fare will be) Buses are not supposed to move until all passengers are seated or standing safely. It only takes a hold up of 10 mins to throw the whole timetable off (that's how tight the timetables are). When there is 20 people at a bus stop waiting to get on it takes time to load them,(especially with the new ticket machines) and that's made longer if there's a buggy to load or a person with lots of shopping (my Babes is one of the good drivers who gets out to help mum's with their buggies and old ladies with their shopping carts). If a wheelchair user gets on the drivers need to get out and pull out the ramp to help them (not that its a problem but it all adds a little extra time on to the trip which can in turn make the buses run late)

Everyone is entitled to be hacked off at having to wait ages for a bus but why would it be acceptable to abuse the driver (and I'm not talking about moaning about the time spent waiting) as if they deliberately set out to run late and spoil every ones day. They don't like running late anymore than Joe Public likes it. You wouldn't believe the grief that the drivers can get sometimes.

Yesterday there were 2 buses running together, so in order to get back on time Babes was told to "blank up" (drop off only no pick ups) so that the other bus in front could pick up passengers allowing the bus Babes was driving to get ahead a bit and thereby putting the service back on time. So he stopped back from the stop to let passengers off and an older lady (although she was not behaving like a lady) came to get on Babes bus. He politely told her that the bus in front was picking up and she should get on it as he was dropping off only. She gave him a right mouthful and told him she would get on any effing bus she wanted. Babes told her that if she carried on swearing she would not be allowed on the bus (company policy) so she sat down still moaning and then he heard another passenger telling her to take his number and report him WTF!

Were you aware that drivers carry DNA swab kits as part of their uniform as they get spat at so much ? (although this has decreased since the kits were issued and some people prosecuted I believe) Nearly all buses are all fitted with CCTV cameras for driver/passenger protection, and the newest ones are also fitted with bandit screens. Babes has been shot at by an air rifle, had bricks thrown at the bus windows, some drugged up idiot once even tried to attack him through the small side window (he slammed the window shut on the guys arm, and that soon stopped him)

Another passenger had a right go at Babes because it was raining and she had got wet (the bus was on time too) because of course he had made it rain and made her come out without a jacket on.!!!!!

Now to balance the books as it were I will also admit that not every driver out there is a good one. Some of them can be rude and ignorant but there are more good than bad. Same goes for the passengers, Babes has some cracking regulars on his routes that he has a right laugh with.

Old ladies that give him sweeties (he could charm the birds down from the trees my Babes) young mums that thank him profusely for his help with unloading the buggies and or shopping, or holding on to their babies for them. Even a regular who he drops at the pub at lunchtime then picks him up again after 2 hours and he's off his face but still jovial and friendly. On a Friday or Saturday late shift he'll get the young lasses away into town for a night on the tiles begging to steal his tie or get a kiss, the usual flirting rubbish that groups of girls seem to do when they're boozy. (not that Babes minds that bit!!)

Anyway I've calmed down in the time it's taken me to write my rant so I'll go now and relax with a cup of hot water! (roll on tomorrow I think I may even have some alcohol to celebrate the end of the challenge) Sorry if I've bored you but sometimes I just get my dander up.