Quite Extraordinary!

I pulled up at a bus stop in one of the suburbs yesterday lunch time and had a 'verbal altercation' with a chav over the price of the bus fare. This is nothing new in itself, but the detail was quite extraordinary.

He boarded all agitated and bouncing on his Reebok Classics. He asked for his fare - a day ticket, costing £3.00. I said "Three pounds please". He put two pound coins on the table top. "It's three quid, mate." I said, adding the common touch.

He looked at me, still hopping about, and shook his head. In a deep, croaky, chav-like voice he said: "Yeah mate I know it is. You just said two quid, yeah?"

I said three pounds. The ticket machine said three pounds. The ticket had three pounds printed on it. He's probably bought a day ticket for three pounds on countless occasions like everyone else.

"Well I said three pounds" I said.

"Nah, mate, you said two pounds innit".

Now it could be possible that he mis-heard me. If I knew what a fare was and someone said it was less than that, I'd tender what I was being asked. But if I mis-heard, I'd ask for clarification, not argue the toss.

"Look mate, I'm not fucking stupid, know what ah mean?" He put a load of 20p and 10p coins down and walked off.

As luck should have it, this little lot totalled £1.10, so he had in fact tendered £3.10. I couldn't help shouting back: "There's too much here, don't you want your change?" There was no reply. "I thought you're not stupid."

So after all that he effectively gave me a tip of 10p. I made sure I removed it from the takings so that when I paid in at the end of the day, my money was exactly right.

Common Sense Solution: It's simply a case of manners. Some people have none. They are often high on drugs or alcohol. They do not care for anyone else, other than themselves. They are incapable of moderating their behaviour in different circumstances. I try not to be too pessimistic, but matters have got significantly worse over the years I've been bus driving. There are much bigger questions about society that the government needs to address, though sadly whatever half-hearted measures are taken, will fail as our human and civil rights legislation inadvertently protects these wankers.