All for the sake of 9p

A teen boarded today and asked for his destination. The fare was £2.80. He gave me a load of coins and said "There you are, mate, it's all there."

I trust no one when they do this, so put it on my cash tray top and counted it out. The total was £2.71. He was 9p short.

If he'd boarded and said: "I'm really sorry but I've just counted my money and all I've got is £2.71 for a teen single to X, could you let me off?" I may well have done, and manually issued him a £2.71 ticket. I would not have given him a ticket for £2.80 though as I would then personally be responsible for the 9p and I am not employed to pay passengers' bus fares.

So, in my eyes, he was deliberately trying to board without the correct fare by making out the money was exact when it was nothing of the sort. I told him he couldn't travel unless he had £2.80. He then asked how far £2.71 would take him because - guess what - he had no more money on him. I told him which village he could travel to and he went for that. He even had 11p change as that fare was £2.60. Bargain.

Now, when we got to that village, do you think he rang the bell and alighted?

Did he bollocks.

I didn't shout out the village name, I left my cab and shot upstairs to get him. One day I'll possibly be stabbed for acting like this, but until then, I have behaviour on my bus the way I expect it to be. If you saw me face-to-face you also wouldn't argue with me, let's just put it that way. He was 'lead' off the bus exclaiming that it was cold outside. Though no sooner he he got off the bus he lit up a cigarette. "Dam!" I thought, "I should have charged him adult fare!"

Common Sense Solution: Always count money presented to you in this way. Mostly the amount is correct. Sometimes there's a little more. A bus driver should never be expected to foot the partial cost of a passenger's ticket in this way. The driver needs to know what the score is and many will allow a 9p discrepancy to go. Treating a bus driver like a mug or simply lying to him, will result in this way.

2p short

Sometimes a passenger does not have sufficient money on him to pay his fare. Our contract of employment clearly states that on these occasions he may not travel. There are no exceptions, not even for children. It is the responsibility for the minor's parent to ensure they have sufficient money to pay the bus driver. Not my words, but the words of my company. We are told to waive the above ruling on the last bus of the day and if the minor shows clear signs of distress.

One of the drivers at work was recently disciplined for not allowing a passenger to board when he was 2p short. A stinking letter has been written by the teen's disgruntled mother. He was summonsed to appear with representation before one of the managers. He reported that he was exonerated of all blame when it was pointed out that he followed procedure to-the-letter. It was not the last bus of the day and the college student showed no sign of distress.

What annoyed him and what made me put finger to keyboard is the comment put to him by the manager. He was told that he should have just let him off the 2p. This would have solved the issue. While this is clearly accurate, the driver would then have been 2p short in his takings and would have been stopped the 2p from his wages. The money is immaterial. The principle is everything. Giving a free ride and telling the student to keep all of his (insufficient) money is even more serious - gross misconduct, for which dismissal is likely.

At no point was the option of overriding the ticket machine mentioned. A specific key sequence enables the driver to key in the exact amount of money tendered and this is printed on the ticket. I've used this on many occasions. I've also made it known to one of the supervisors that I've done this as £1.68 is better than zero if the passenger is turned away for being 2p short of his £1.70 fare.

I'm going to continue doing it. This way, everyone is happy. Probably. The passenger travels and, more importantly, is issued with a ticket. The company also receives more money than it would if its own procedure was followed. My worry, though, is that I will still be severely disciplined for it. I think I should raise this officially and get written advice on a number of scenarios I shall put to them.

Sadly, this is an issue than no one at work gives a fuck about until it blows up in everyone's face. Then they care a lot and all hell can be let loose.

Common Sense Solution: If a passenger is 10p short of his fare it is surely better to issue a ticket for that amount and to allow travel than to turn the passenger away, receiving no money. If the passenger becomes a serial offender, this is another matter. But in most cases, the passenger is genuine. Large bus companies have very strict rules about their takings while in their drivers' hands yet refuse to offer guidance and advice on specific scenarios. If this issue is potentially so serious, they need to get real and issue unequivicable guidance that covers all situations.