This term is uttered almost weekly to bus drivers. It is usually announced by a passenger when they have been told they cannot get their own way. "Well the other driver lets me get off here" or "Well the other driver never has a problem with a £20 at 6am" or "Well the other driver always lets me get on in between stops."
Not dissimilar to rocking horse shit, The Other Driver does not exist.
I had an incident this morning in which The Other Driver managed to issue a ticket that it is impossible to do. A guy boarded in town and wanted to go 15 minutes to a suburb. The fare: £2.90.
"The other driver only charged me £1.90 on Monday," he said.
Oh did he now. We do not do a £1.90 fare and the ticket type this chap wanted cannot be overridden, either. Now, like all of us from time to time, he was simply mistaken, except this guy wasn't willing to accept this: "I think £2.90 is very expensive!" I replied, "Well that's the fare."
"Well how far will £1.90 get me?" About 2 stops within the town centre, was the reply.
The passenger coughed up the extortionate £2.90 and sat down. Calm then ruled supreme.
Common Sense Solution: You need to be firm. Tell the passenger if no such fare exists. Don't give in. Consistency is key. The Other Driver will be sure to get a mention, but remember that he or she is an illusive figure - a figment of their imagination, a justification of their verbal diarrhoea.
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