What is it with all these pinch faced, anally retentive little hitlers....small men with big men trying to burst out?
Witness the lady using her Oyster card on a bus and found to be 50p short when the card was checked by the all powerful, all seeing and smirking hitlerite inspector of Oysters! She says her card did not make the noise which would warn you that your Oyster had run out. I am sure that research would show that she is a law abiding fully fare paying upright doyen of this land.
She is being summonsed to court over a 50p shortage at goodness knows what cost. Despite pleas from other passengers and an offer from her to pay the full fare, Hitler cocked a deaf'un and with the lack of humour and goodwill and sheer humanity most of us possess to scrape through our lives, issued her with a summons. Well, boogaloo to you mate, bet you feel great when you go to bed at night and ruminate on your sad little life.
So, what is the motoring thread? The government and the newt lover are trying to force us off the roads onto buses to breath the same air that this little twerp breathes through his lizard skin.
Chased from backside to breakfast time by little hitlers with yellow banded caps at the kerbside to being chased by Hitlerite Oyster catchers on the bus.
I am all in favour of genetic engineering to get these people taken out of the breeding program. Failing that. issue them with clown uniforms and tickling sticks and supply them with space dust lollies to hand out to the poor harrassed passengers and motorists.
For goodness sake, yes there are lots of fare dodgers out there, I know what most of them look like, but come on, use some common sense.
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ARRGGHH! I've just deleted my post. It was about how First bus drivers in Leeds always overcharge you by picking a stop to charge you for a couple of miles ahead of the one you asked for.
I once totalled up the cost between driving to a friend's house and taking public transport: (35 miles roughly)
Bus to station: 1.20
Train to Rochdale: 14.50
Bus to friend's house: 2.10
TOTAL: 17.80 (1.5 to 2 hours)
I know my car (taking into account insurance, tax, and fuel) costs me 15-20p per mile, and takes 40 minutes. Public transport is 50p per mile.
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This is why the govt want congestion charging. Rather than making PT as cheap as the private car they want to make using the car as stupidly expensive as taking PT! Sadly they'll get nowhere as most people use their car not because it is cheaper but because it actually goes where they want, when they want and doesn't go on strike or fail to turn up.
teabelly
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ARRGGHH! I've just deleted my post. It was about how First bus drivers in Leeds always overcharge you by picking a stop to charge you for a couple of miles ahead of the one you asked for.
Bus fare tables are set using 'fare stages', not every bus stop is listed.
For example, if you were getting on at bus stop number 2 out of 50 bus stops on a given route, and alighting at say stop number 32 you may be charged from stop number 1 to stop number 34 as these are the 'fare stages' for that route. The driver can only charge between two 'fare stages'.
A route may have 50 bus stops but only 25 'fare stages'.
Chances are you're not being overcharged at all....
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I phoned the Metro helpline and the chap on the end of the phone confirmed that I indeed being overcharged. Bear in mind that if my stop is your 32, the stop I was being charged for is ~40.
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I phoned the Metro helpline and the chap on the end of the phone confirmed that I indeed being overcharged. Bear in mind that if my stop is your 32, the stop I was being charged for is ~40.
Well I'd suggest that if you're 'always' being overcharged you take it up with First Leeds, I'm sure they'll be very interested.
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First
Kirkstall Road
Leeds
LS3 1LH
Tel: 0113 381 5550
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>>Witness the lady using her Oyster card on a bus and found to be 50p short
I thought the problem with these cards was being sorted out??
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Steve
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Oh how different the attitudes are in Spain. Just been to Valencia. All buses are run by the local authority, all run on LPG and a single fare is 1 euro regardless of journey length (10 tickets can be purchased for ?5.50 and used amongst a group of people) - no queues when getting on.
Car clamping companies are the same - we saw a car being lifted for causing an obstruction. The distraught owner ran across the road - the car was dropped on to the road, unshackled and he was on his way in minutes. None of this 'once its lifted we can't drop it again'. The Spanish clamping company was also run by the Council - they were lifting the car to get it out of the way, not to earn £200!
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Find work and move to Spain.
I?d give it three months before you realise they have their own different but equally frustrating and irritating problems that make you want to rip heads off.
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I'm sure Spain has many problems (the grass is always greener on the other side, often because it rains more!). My mum's brother sees Spain as some Shangri La and is moving out there, but the red tape is now starting to bite. My comments were in line with the thread and observation that public transport in Valencia is there for the public and not for some private company trying to maximise profits. Similarly when in Amsterdam I punched the wrong part of the ticket on a tram which in effect meant I hadn't paid, but this was explained to me and my journey continued. I wasn't expected to stump up an extortionate fee for what was a genuine mistake.
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Yeah I wasn?t getting at you, I left the UK (not for the reasons in the original thread, but they made the decision easier) and for three months it was like being on holiday. "Red tape starting to bite" really understates the problems I have. Sure I can park pretty much where the hell I want without getting a ticket but It took months to set up a business, three months to get a bank account. After 18 months I finally got personal permission from the transport minister to register my RHD car - three months after I?d sold it. It?s like being at war in a way, fighting and bribing for things I took for granted.
But then I think about my last UK parking ticket - Asda car park for not rolling the car forward enough into the bay (I couldn?t cos someone had fly-tipped a load of crap in there, probably to trap me)
And my favorite sunday morning cafe - made to take away the seats outside that were causing no obstruction on a pavement the size of a footie pitch. Probably by some anally abused council man with a clip-board.
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I finally got personal permission from the transport minister to register my RHD car - three months after I?d sold it.
RHD, LHD... LHD, RHD. Brrrrr, madness... I hope you've finally decided ?
If not, take a look at the current situation in your local showrooms. Citroen, for example - a C5 3.0 V6 with a 6-speed autobox - yours with a 35% discount. Plus free insurance, I suspect. Plus winter tyres, yes, for sure. Who knows, they might even send your mother in law to Disneyland while they're at it ;)
Same with every other dealer, except for Lexus I think.
- - - - - - -
I am the only Pole over here.
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What is it with all these pinch faced, anally retentive little hitlers....small men with big men trying to burst out?
The main aspects of little hitlers are that:
(a) when you meet one, you can only fall foul of them. There is no other option.
(b) they gravitate towards jobs in public transport. The career path may well go via local government, the Inland Revenue, and the Post Office, but PT is the real aim. After all, where else can they trap you in a steel container with no means of escape from their unique form of logic?
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Folks may be interested in the weblog of a very literate and entertaining Parking Enforcement Officer, to see the other side of all this. He has a specific entry where he mentions the "little Hitler" insult...
tinyurl.com/7ox54
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Mods? This started as a very unpleasant direct pop at TfL on an as yet legally undetermined set of very specific circumstances, and has not yet been deleted/closed.
Had it been a go at a manufacturer or dealer it would have been shut down by now. Why the double standards?
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>Mods? This started as a very unpleasant direct pop at TfL on an >as yet legally undetermined set of very specific circumstances, >and has not yet been deleted/closed.
Yes it did start in that way, mainly because I witness the unpleasant attitude of these people on a regular basis. Ever see them at the main line station or tube with their aggressive manner when the police are there to back them up? How aggressive would they be if the police weren't there?
I use the main line, the tube and the bus every day and am often asked for my ticket by very polite people going about their business in a decent and, often, charming, manner. They know who the bad people are, they have heard all the excuses anyone has ever uttered. I have no problem with people who do their job with politeness, firmness of purpose and with a sense of fair play.
My issue was with the pinch faced Hitlers who have ether for blood and a stone for a heart who treat EVERYONE as bad regardless and get a cheap thrill out of upsetting just about everyone in their path.
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OK, as this thread has been judged not to be offensive to the 'visually challenged' employees of TfL; I still find that and the 'little Hitler' tag way OTT for this forum. That aside,it may be worthy asking why a minority of these employees can be direct at times.
I'll bet my bottom dollar that this is borne out of years of dealing with abusive, sullen and often physically aggresive members of the travelling public for whom a request for a ticket is tantamount to a gross infingement of their human rights (mainly because they haven't bought the right ticket or a ticket at all). I read a while back that a physical check on those adults stopped using child tickets through barriers revealed that a sizeable proportion were carrying drugs, knives or otherwise wanted for criminal offences.
These guys aren't paid a great deal, so the highest standards of human awareness/diplomacy may be beyond the reach of some. The fact that the majority manage to put up with what they do to a good standard is a result.
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So what you are saying then Rhino is that they are justified to treat people the way they do - everyone is guilty until proven innocent!!!!!!!!!!
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Not at all; I'm just saying that the pig ignorant staff are in a minority, the majority are ok.
I use public transport in London as well as driving there. The widespread fraud by passengers using the new multi door bendy buses was staggering; people routinely abused the trust extended (Oyster card swipes, and ticket machines at all stops) and this resulted in the need make people pay for their trips. It was amazing the effect that routine inspections had on these people, most of whom I am sure would not in other circumstances dream of dishonesty or theft.
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So why do people see fare dodging as acceptable behaviour!! Is the cost of public transport too high? or is there another reason?
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Depends who views it as acceptable behaviour, in much the same way as some people view speeding, illegal parking, disabled badge misuse, etc as acceptable whilst others are prepared to stay within the law.
Everyone who fare dodges knows that what they are doing is wrong, but still go ahead and do it. THese are the same people who claim they have beem victimed by 'little hitlers' when they are caught out.
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And it could soon be £50, how much keener will the inspectors become then?
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4373458.stm
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But is it actually illegal? Would it not be a civil matter? I currently have someone who owes me money for work done, now the police won't get involved in that as it is a civil matter, yet when it comes to fare dodging then they get involved and it is crime of the century, but from what I can see it should be a civil matter, people get annoyed because of the double standards and so they stop paying or pay a different fare. Personally I hate Public Transport as it is full of the general public and I prefer to choose the company I keep but I can understand why people fare dodge and get fed up of the "Little Hitlers"
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If you intended to, and actually did, sneak out of the back of a taxi stopped at lights near your house, would that be a civil matter? I don't think so. I really can't see the difference, save that a bus or tube is not in private ownership.
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When you are dealing with members of the public in the service industry you should always start off with respect and politeness even if you display a sense of purpose. Then, there is room for manouvre if someone acts up and you need to be firmer still. If you start off as arrogant, hectoring and bullying with an aggressive tone where do you go from there? You can't go backwards and try to be respectful. You can only escalate the volatility of the situation.
I agree that there are many of them who go about their business in sensible fashion. But, there are all too many who fit the "hitler" bill perfectly, i.e. hectoring, bullying, aggressive but only with the vulnerable & decent ones because they know they won't turn around and punch their lights out.
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The best recourse with seemingly inadequate people like this is to get a) witnesses and b) request they get a supervisor to attend the scene immediately. There's no point in getting in stew with these people without doing something about it.
And 'punching their lights out' is not an option, so don't be silly.
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Apologies and retract my last para.; I misread your post.
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