# Lunatic Bus Driver



## Sadmak (16 Aug 2005)

My Sister was getting the CIE bus to Sligo yesterday. i brought her to the Spa Hotel which is a scheduled pick up.  The bus duly came and despite frantic waving did not stop. I therefore had to hop in the car and drive to Maynooth which was the next stop. The bus was pulled in at a layby so i pulled up at the far end about 4 car lengths from the bus. I put the luggage on and after my ister went on I (very calmly) asked the driver if The Spa Hotel was a stop - he said yes.  I asked him did he see me as i was waving. He answers "No Maybe I need to get my eyes tested" so I said "maybe you do" and walked away.  He then pursued me to my car and starts swearing at me calling me every name under the sun and stands in front of the car so i cant' go anywhere. Fine i sit calmly in the car and he starts writing down my number plate.  While doing so he spits out his chewing gum on the bonnet of my car. Still verbally abusing me.  When after about 3-4 minutes taking down my reg I start driving of and he smacks the side window of my car with his fist as i was driving off.

I want to make a formal complaint against this guy and am wondering what the best way to go about this is?


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## Capaill (16 Aug 2005)

Try the following from the Bus Eireann website

Dublin 

John Sheehy, Area Manager 
Jimmy Quirke, Services Manager 
Bus Éireann, Broadstone, Dublin 7 
Noel Daly, Manager, Busáras 
(01) 8302222 

[broken link removed]

C


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## CCOVICH (16 Aug 2005)

Sadmak said:
			
		

> My Sister was getting the CIE bus to Sligo yesterday. i brought her to the Spa Hotel which is a scheduled pick up. The bus duly came and despite frantic waving did not stop. I therefore had to hop in the car and drive to Maynooth which was the next stop. The bus was pulled in at a layby so i pulled up at the far end about 4 car lengths from the bus. I put the luggage on and after my ister went on I (very calmly) asked the driver if The Spa Hotel was a stop - he said yes. I asked him did he see me as i was waving. He answers "No Maybe I need to get my eyes tested" so I said "maybe you do" and walked away. He then pursued me to my car and starts swearing at me calling me every name under the sun and stands in front of the car so i cant' go anywhere. Fine i sit calmly in the car and he starts writing down my number plate. While doing so he spits out his chewing gum on the bonnet of my car. Still verbally abusing me. When after about 3-4 minutes taking down my reg I start driving of and he smacks the side window of my car with his fist as i was driving off.
> 
> I want to make a formal complaint against this guy and am wondering what the best way to go about this is?


 
Customer Service (if such a concept exists) within Bus Eireann for start.  Then, why not let the Gardai know what happened?


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## Janet (16 Aug 2005)

I would have gone straight to the Gardai when it happened I think.  You should write a letter detailing exactly what happened.  Ring CIE and explain what happened.  I'm assuming they are like Dublin Bus, in which case they will ask you to formally submit your complaint in writing.  If your sister has her ticket ask her for it as it will help them to identify the correct bus/driver.


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## Carpenter (16 Aug 2005)

I remember someone getting onto Joe Duffy and Livewhine last year about some similiarly atrocious behaviour from a bus driver, the powers that be were none to happy, you should pursue this, start by writing a detailed letter to company HQ.


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## rpmacmurphy (16 Aug 2005)

make a report to your local gardai first, get a copy then make a complaint to CIE "customer services" giving them a copy of the gardai report, then try some radio stations!
I dont know, is it just me who finds CIE long distance drivers to be a menace on our roads..high speeds, under taking, driving long distances in the overtaking lane, cutting out in front of drivers etc


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## ophelia (16 Aug 2005)

Well Sadmac, I had or at least my parents had a couple of incidents with Sligo Bus at Lucan Spa Hotel.  The first time was when they were waiting at the pick up stop there and the bus just flew by.  I stopped the next bus that came along because we weren't sure if the first one was in fact the Sligo bus (we didn't see any place name on top).When I politely asked the bus driver he quite arrogantly said said he wasn't the Sligo bus and he is only responsible for one bus, and no he couldn't check if the Sligo bus had left already. I called Busarus and they said it _might _have been the bus and it must have been full - there was no notice at the front of the bus to this effect however. They had to wait there another two hours for the next one.
Another, and more serious incident happened there on their way up to Dublin last year.  They asked the driver in plenty of time to be let off at the Lucan Spa Hotel. There is an arrow there for traffic to pull across the carriageway into the hotel, the driver however was too lazy to do this as he would have had to go back up the dual carriageway, cross the bridge and come back down the road again to get back to where he was, so he just dropped them at the grass verge on the side of a busy dual carriageway.  My parents are aged 77 and 83 and they were both carrying bags.  I was in the car park waiting for them and nearly  died when I saw them running across the motorway, trying to avoid traffic. I called Busarus and spoke to their customer services person, he was quite apologetic about it and assured me that the matter would be investigated.  I don't know if it still goes on as my parents haven't used that appalling service since. In hindsight I feel I should have taken the matter further by writing and requesting a written explanation of the event.  I feel this is what you should do too.  Another things that bugs me is the luggage problem.  When they reach their destination my Dad who is 83 and not in good health has to crawl into the luggage boot to retrieve his bag whilst the driver stands by looking at him. Hard to believe isn't it, but true nonetheless!!


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## Brendan Burgess (16 Aug 2005)

Hi SadMak

This is roadrage and you must go to the Gardaí. You can go to Bus Eireann as well, but I have never got any satisfaction from them when complaining about their drivers. ( Mind you, I never got much response from the Gardaí either).

Bus drivers are very careful about their eyesight. If it is defective, I think that they are transferred to an office or admin job. So you should definitely report this guy. They probably will test him, if nothing else.

Brendan


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## Thrifty (16 Aug 2005)

Hi,

Sounds awful. Let us know how your complaint's dealt with. I've rarely got a satisfactory response to the few times i have complained or asked for information from various services (phone companies esp). Its usually me making all the calls and then its takes weeks even months to reply to letters. i'd be very tempted to go to the Gardi in your case as i feel it might be the one thing to make them sit up and take notice. Call me cynical but I feel from experience that there are some companies/ organisations that just bin complaints and pretend never been received.


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## onekeano (16 Aug 2005)

I had an incident a short while ago after which i contacted the garda confidential telephone line and left a message with my contact details. To my surprise a superintendent called me later that day to take details. 2 weeks later I got a call from the traffic corps asking for more details as they were going to interview the thug in question - seemed to me that at least they were taking it seriously.

Definitely recommend that course of action.

Roy


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## RainyDay (16 Aug 2005)

I reported a Bus Eireann driver who broke the lights on the M50/N4 roundabout (not too far from the Spa Hotel, funnily enough) to Bus Eireann via their website and got a nice acknowledgement from the Area Manager a few days later. I've no idea how seriously they took the matter internally.


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## Sadmak (17 Aug 2005)

Thanks All.

I went to my local Garda station last night and made a complaint. The officer assured me that they would contact bus eireann and get the name of the driver and a Garda would be sent out to caution him. 
Today i am going to contact CIE and let them know about the incident and that i have contacted the Gardai.
My friend who is a senior police officer in another county has told me that i could get him charged witha  public order offence (whether i had witnesses or not) but i don't want to go that far.  If the police do have a word with him then i will be happy enough to forget about the whole thing.
I will let you know if I hear back from either CIE or the Gardai


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## SteelBlue05 (17 Aug 2005)

Fair play to you Sadmak, dont let him get a way with that. Unbelievable, cant believe he reacted like that. At least he wont do it to someother person.


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## Grumpy (17 Aug 2005)

Well Done!Complain and take action should be keywords in Ireland now.
Had words with a Dublin Bus driver on a cycleway he decided we should share, some time back.His response to my complaint was "I`m worried".I don`t think the possibility of management action fills them with dread.


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## Cahir (17 Aug 2005)

I complained about a bus eireann driver on the Drogheda "nightrider" bus about a month ago via the website but still haven't received an acknowledgement despite requesting a response.  

It was unreal, first he crashed into a taxi driver on the quays, then flipped out at the driver.  Then went into a section in the airport that said "Police, do not enter", then he went the wrong way and almost crashed into a motorway sign.  The bus was over an hour late (very inconvenient as I'd specifically gotten the early night bus because I had a flight the next day).  There were other incidents too but I can't remember them now - I did keep a copy of the complaint.  I think the driver was drunk or on drugs - it was so scary!


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## 90210 (17 Aug 2005)

To be honest you need to be serious and press charges or walk away from the whole incitement, from experience once you are unwilling to file a charge the police don’t want to know about it, certainly in Dublin. They have to enforce the law primarily and then leave the pleasantries till later. The "we will talk to him" one, is pure rhetoric as it rarely happens.



You could write to CIE and let them know that their employee caused you serious emotional / mental, stress / torture, that would get their goat. 

I had an incident not too dissimilar before, it culminated in a financial donation from the company to a specific charity, once I dropped the matter.


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## Cahir (22 Aug 2005)

This morning I finally got a reply from Bus Eireann:

 Good Morning xxxx,

                                    Can I start by apologising for the late reply but I only received your email this morning.

Thank you for email concerning our niterider service from Dublin to Drogheda on Saturday 02.07.2005. I would like to apologies for any distress caused to you. The matter is been dealt with as we have already had a complaint about this Driver. The service was operated by a private operator on our behalf who let us and himself down with the behaviour of his driver. 

Once again please accept my sincere apologies for any distressed caused to you.





Yours Sincerly


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## Guest127 (24 Aug 2005)

minor compared to above. but when my daughter was in her first year in st pats in drumcondra the bus drivers regularly passed the bus stop. leaving her and other students standing there. She said on some occasions they were full but not always. I complained once to BE and the lady said the bus was 'probably' full. Matthews Coaches now  run a private Dundalk/Drogheda/Dublin motorway service with stops at Whitehall/Drumcondra/Dorset Street. Cheaper, more modern, and doing the bizz. Dont know if they run a service that would have suited Cahir though.


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