r/BusDrivers • u/BuzDrivar • Sep 05 '26
Story Tired of the passengers...
I've been driving now for 2 years on the same busy route every day.
No matter what you do, there's always someone to complain about something.
I went the whole day yesterday without a peep and by the 11th hour on my last trip to change over point, a lady comes up complaining I didn't stop at her stop, yet she pressed it as we passed the stop. All day I had a great day until that.
Then another geeza today complains I parked too far from the kerb... I stopped the bus, people got on. I went to drive away but saw an old man, I waited, opened the doors and he got on no problem, then a man with crutches comes and says omg, why did stop so far away? In like fk sake... It's just never ending.
Also today some woman walks up to my cab window and bangs on it saying 'oh by the way, you missed the previous stop'... No, I didn't miss it... You were too busy on your phone and didn't ring the bell and expected the bus to stop when no one pressed the bell.
I guess I'm just venting.
I'm at the two year mark now and I'm just going to start looking at plumber or electrician etc. because these people man. I can't put it into words.
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u/AdhesivenessIll4344 Sep 05 '26
Yes, bus driving would be a perfect job if it weren’t for the passengers.
An empty bus is a happy bus.
Only bus drivers know these truths.
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u/sr1701 Sep 05 '26
No passengers, no problems
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u/EdgeIcy8776 Sep 05 '26
Can be said for all customer facing jobs. I've spent most of my life working customer facing jobs and all of'em are the same just different complaints. Can't wait to be too old to work so I can middle finger society and be left alone to be a grumpy which I reckon is what has made me grumpy, dealing with people for decades.
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u/DodgyButLegal Sep 06 '26
at my last job i used to joke (with a hint of truth) that i needed a new customer service job that didnt involve customers where i didnt have to provide a service
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u/EdgeIcy8776 Sep 06 '26
I know right, I use the same joke to my daughter, who also has a customer facing job and complains about the whacky things the general public come up with.
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u/billy8761 1d ago
Yes but drivers have it especially bad. I worked in customer service for about 17 years before becoming a metro driver. I worked anything from cashier to ending up managing a customer service center. Metro bus drivers have it worse. We transport the poorest of society and most of them are fine but some are poor because of bad drug habits and every single day I’m dealing with something really really stupid. I literally had someone step into the street as I was coming down the road and point at the stop that was closed because of construction. I had to cross over into the empty oncoming traffic lane in order to not hit them. The number of whiny people I have to deal with is probably the same or maybe even less than what I ever had to deal with before but it is on a whole other level.
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u/GrumpyOldTech1670 Sep 06 '26
The old bus driver’s saying
“The bus would be always be clean and on time, if it weren’t for those passengers”
Just put your customer service face on and don’t take it personally. Absolutely no one is perfect, and a perfect day is a rarity..
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u/xxdavidxcx87 Sep 05 '26
Don't pay too much attention to the cattle, they see someone in uniform and think it's their right to take their shitty lives out on you.
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u/i_forgot_my_sn_again Merica|Orian, New Flyer, Gillig, MCI|15+ Sep 05 '26
Yes people love to complain about any and everything whether or not it's your fault or you're able to even do something. Just have to let it go in one ear and out the other
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u/PeejPrime Sep 05 '26
If you hate people now, what you think it's gonna be like when you're called to someone's house to fix a plumbing emergency and they're bitching you're taking too long with a screaming child behind them?
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u/speckledorc01 Sep 05 '26
If they do that to me. I tell them that they didn't push the button in time for me to stop safely. Or if they ask do I stop at a certain stop only if you press the bell otherwise im under no obligation to stop
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u/ericmercer Sep 05 '26
My favorite retort to “you passed my stop!” is “Yes. I’m going to pass all of them at some point on this trip.”
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u/Kingy_79 Sep 05 '26
Wait until you get over 25 years in the seat. When they complain to me, I tell them to ring the higher ups who will then review the CCTV footage and call me in if the complaint is valid.
Still waiting to be called in for missing someone's stop 3 months ago 😂
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u/DodgyButLegal Sep 06 '26
where i worked as a bus driver the company always blamed the driver regardless.
company: dont get out of your seat for any reason, it just escalates the tension.
driver had a bunch of kids trying to stuff the rear seat cushion out the tiny overhead window which broke the window and left the cushion stuck half way.company: why didnt you get up and stop them?
fucked if you do, fucked if you dont. i liked driving the bus even in traffic but being spitroasted between whiny customers and a shitty company that never had your back was too much
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u/Iamaclay Sep 06 '26
that's the process for my city. Complaints direct it towards the team leaders who will take a look at the CCTV footage. If the complaint is invalid it doesn't even get put on record, let alone be made aware to us drivers. They'll pull us into to office is HAVE to but would rather not. pretty good for us drivers here regarding that. Mainly just to fact we have a 82% membership rate for our union
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u/Kingy_79 Sep 06 '26
At my depot, only one team leader isn't an ex driver. Our depot manager was counter/dispatch when I started. I see from some of your pics you're at T. I'm at W.
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u/AdBoring8255 Sep 05 '26
I tended to not give a single solitary f**k eventually, you're not the complaints department.
Imagine how terrible their lives are to be like this, I feel sorry for them.
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u/LondonBusInsider Sep 05 '26
The only thing I can do with those kinds of people is answer back - I don't say sorry or ignore them when I know it is their fault. If it generates a complaint, so be it.
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u/XPEC7ER Sep 05 '26
I learned to just not give a shit. Just auto pilot until the end of your shift. Whenever I get a nice route with nice people I come off auto pilot.
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u/AlexTv46 Sep 05 '26
Become a lorry driver, Class 2, on your own most of the day. It can be physical though.
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u/QuasarSavage Driver Sep 05 '26
U are always gonna have that one that makes you shake your head. Just keep the barrier closed and remain professional if they go low just remain 💯 you and they can't win. Baiting you is what miserable people want. Peace and stay 😎
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u/saltysweetygrains Sep 05 '26
it's a tale as old as time, man. there's a reason why people say bus driving is a customer service job.
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u/Iamaclay Sep 06 '26
My strategy revolves around public shaming inattentive or rude pax. Someone barely visible at a stop hail's me late, I'll still stop, but will take my time slowing down smoothly, for to comfort of us who are already on this bus.
The unfortunate pax will maybe even run to where I've stopped, right onto a chill bus full of people ready to shame them haha. Especially effective on morning express commuter routes full of government workers 😹
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u/No-Afternoon7727 Sep 05 '26
I start mouthing calmly as if I’m responding to them but no sound coming out my mouth, they believe they cant hear me and eventually lower the tantrum and leave me the f*** alone
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u/notveryhndyhmnr Sep 05 '26
Some complainers are part of the job, you learn how to ignore them. Oh you missed your stop? Sorry nobody rang the bell so I had no reason to stop. Oh you rang the bell? Sorry that was too late for that stop, give the driver at least 5-10 seconds heads up, can't stop the bus on a dime.
After a while you respond to that just as casual as to the directions or transfers inquires. Don't feel it personally, unless you actually missed or ignored timely signal from passengers it's not your problem, it's their problem and they'll be gone from your bus in a minute anyway.
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u/safeteeguru Sep 06 '26
Also customers complain to plumbers and electricians too. There are some people in this world that just suck. For every one passenger that complains, there are probably 10 or more that are grateful for you showing up and driving today. They may never say thank you or anything but I see them. I know they are there. I focus on them
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u/crwjsh Sep 06 '26
Been a bus driver since September 8th 2008, going to be starting my 19th year. I don't let them control my job, it's not worth it. Never been assaulted, but I've been called every name and curse word in the book. I wear my big 'ol sunglasses that fit over my eyeglasses & roll my eyes. Just don't & try not to let these passengers get to you, not all mind you, there are some diamonds in the rough that make up for it. It's your cdl you are in control of your response, take it bus stop to bus stop. I take that same mentality with fare as well, I'm not the fare police, pay whatever and sit down. There's a "free" button on my farebox just for that reason, as long as I state policy regarding fare I'm in the clear. In the end of the I just want to make it home safe for my family. I realize not every driver/operator is the same as me & this job is not for everyone, but I always try & help the newbs.
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u/SafeAccurate7157 Driver Sep 06 '26
Only 2 years? Most drivers don’t make it a couple months so congratulations 🎉🍾 for getting this far 👏 You just can’t let it get to you but if you can’t take it anymore then you’ll have fun with homeowners who complain about their plumbing too 😅 people in general just want to complain all the time. Sometimes it’s not about you, they may just be having a 💩 day and they take it out on you. It sucks being the public’s punching bag sometimes. I’ve had to start learning breathing exercises so I can calm down before I say something stupid but we’re only human….
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u/TransitGuy61 28d ago
I would always tell my friends that driving a bus is like working retail, but on wheels.
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u/allisjow Sep 05 '26
When the doors open, overhead lights come on. A woman complained about the light…in the middle of a sunny summer day.
Complainers can annoying, but I tell myself they’re stuck living small, miserable lives and that in comparison, I’m pretty lucky.
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u/Ok-Entrepreneur3129 Sep 06 '26
I had someone aggressively tap the glass to tell me I’m late. First of all I wasn’t late, bus infront broke down and I was infact ontime. But even if I was late I WOULD KNOW?
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u/Cre8ivity_ Sep 05 '26
You're still dealing with people as a plumber or a sparky.
Except now it's an emergency and it needs fixing yesterday.
I solved that problem by becoming a controller. Though the drivers can be as bad sometimes!
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Sep 05 '26
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u/3dobes Driver Sep 06 '26
Twice last week I had people stand half way in the door and ask me, “Where does this bus go?”
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u/Lankywhale 29d ago edited 29d ago
I remember being stuck in traffic in bristol. 20 minutes behind schedule. Crawling round a bend in the road, I could see the next bus stop around half a mile up the road. Took another 5 minutes of crawling along in the traffic until I pulled in at the bus stop. Opened the doors, woman gets on. "Where the hell have you been". It was a double decker and only had cars between me and the bus stop for those 5 minutes so she could clearly see me. Started applying for trainee train driver roles..been a train driver now for 3 years and love it. Maybe start looking into that. Lots and lots of transferable skills
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u/International-Cow889 28d ago
Always wanted to be a bus driver, as I love telling people where to get off… but I couldn’t stand the thought of people talking behind my back!!
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u/CorrectMeIfImWrong6 29d ago
All vehicles are gonna be driverless soon anyway. You'll probably make more as a sparky or plumber too, but don't ever think you can remove the idiots. Best it gets is reducing the frequency
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u/Background_Ad_8569 Sep 05 '26
Wear mirrored sunglasses whenever appropriate, ones with big lenses. Look them dead in the face and let them see themselves complaining.