This incident was a good month or so ago now, but I've just received the response. Initial complaint first, followed by their response:
Hi,
Please take the following as a formal complaint against one of your
drivers.
I'm writing to make you aware of a potentially life threatening incident
that I was the victim of while cycling in Glasgow yesterday.
I was approaching the traffic lights on Maryhill Road to turn onto Queen
Margaret Drive. The lights were red so I carefully filtered on the right
hand side of the queue of traffic and pulled in to the traffic in front of
a number 18 bus. The lights changed to green at that point so I moved off
and was then shocked to be passed with no more than a foot to spare by the
driver going at around 30mph. I shouted to ensure he was aware of my
presence.
As I passed the bus which had pulled in to the stop halfway down Queen
Margaret Drive I was in two minds about whether to stop and have a word
with the driver when he looked at me in his wing mirror and made a gesture
of firing a gun at me! This left me in no doubt that he had intentionally
endangered my life with this pass so I stopped and asked what he thought he
was doing. He called me a "f*cking idiot" and said I cut him up at the
lights (when the traffic was stationary!). This quickly turned into a
shouting match so I cycled off.
By this point I wasn't feeling my most confident so cycled closer to the
kerb than I'd have liked, only for the driver to take a second shot. This
time he passed with the same one foot gap between me and his bus only to
swerve closer to me as he was halfway passed, almost clipping my handlebars
and pushing me into the kerb.
I'm sure you don't need anyone to tell you that what the driver did, in
using his bus to intimidate another road user and almost hit me with it is
not acceptable.
I have already reported this incident to the police who had a word with the
driver on Byres Road at 1540 on Sunday, 10 minutes after it happened. The
police advised they'd contact your company but I have to make you aware of
the incident and how serious it was
If you're in any doubt about which bus was on the route at this time, the
registration was - SC54 TJO.
On the whole I find your drivers very courteous, and go out of my way to
give them space to pass when using the shared bus and cycle lanes around
the city, but incidents like this show that there is still a need for some
training among the drivers in your company and I trust that this incident
will be dealt with with the seriousness it requires.
=======================
Reply:
Dear
Thank you for your email dated 18 May and I was very sorry to learn of the
treatment you received from one of our drivers on route 18 on 17 May 2009.
We were very concerned to read your account of the driver's behaviour
towards you that day. In this regard, I can confirm that all of our
drivers regularly receive training in customer care (both at the
commencement of their employment and on an ongoing basis) and in
consequence, all staff are fully aware of their various service
responsibilities including the duty to ensure that they drive safely and
with due regard to pedestrians and other road users and the requirement to
treat customers with respect and courtesy at all times.
As a result of the information that you kindly supplied, we were able to
identify the driver on duty who, in accordance with Company procedures, was
interviewed by a senior manager. During the interview the driver stated
that he was not aware of driving close to you and if he did it was not
intentional. However, he did accept that he should have handled the
situation differently and he has apologised for his actions. Please accept
my assurances that at the conclusion of our investigations, appropriate
action was taken with a view to ensuring that there are no recurrences of
incidents of this type. In addition, I have arranged for a 'covert check'
to review this particular driver's standard of performance.
Please accept my sincere apologies for the actions of our driver on 17 May
on what we hope you will find to have been an isolated example of service
deficiency on our part. May I also take this opportunity to thank you once
again for taking the time and trouble in writing and thereby allowing us
the opportunity to take corrective action on this occasion.
Hi,
Please take the following as a formal complaint against one of your
drivers.
I'm writing to make you aware of a potentially life threatening incident
that I was the victim of while cycling in Glasgow yesterday.
I was approaching the traffic lights on Maryhill Road to turn onto Queen
Margaret Drive. The lights were red so I carefully filtered on the right
hand side of the queue of traffic and pulled in to the traffic in front of
a number 18 bus. The lights changed to green at that point so I moved off
and was then shocked to be passed with no more than a foot to spare by the
driver going at around 30mph. I shouted to ensure he was aware of my
presence.
As I passed the bus which had pulled in to the stop halfway down Queen
Margaret Drive I was in two minds about whether to stop and have a word
with the driver when he looked at me in his wing mirror and made a gesture
of firing a gun at me! This left me in no doubt that he had intentionally
endangered my life with this pass so I stopped and asked what he thought he
was doing. He called me a "f*cking idiot" and said I cut him up at the
lights (when the traffic was stationary!). This quickly turned into a
shouting match so I cycled off.
By this point I wasn't feeling my most confident so cycled closer to the
kerb than I'd have liked, only for the driver to take a second shot. This
time he passed with the same one foot gap between me and his bus only to
swerve closer to me as he was halfway passed, almost clipping my handlebars
and pushing me into the kerb.
I'm sure you don't need anyone to tell you that what the driver did, in
using his bus to intimidate another road user and almost hit me with it is
not acceptable.
I have already reported this incident to the police who had a word with the
driver on Byres Road at 1540 on Sunday, 10 minutes after it happened. The
police advised they'd contact your company but I have to make you aware of
the incident and how serious it was
If you're in any doubt about which bus was on the route at this time, the
registration was - SC54 TJO.
On the whole I find your drivers very courteous, and go out of my way to
give them space to pass when using the shared bus and cycle lanes around
the city, but incidents like this show that there is still a need for some
training among the drivers in your company and I trust that this incident
will be dealt with with the seriousness it requires.
=======================
Reply:
Dear
Thank you for your email dated 18 May and I was very sorry to learn of the
treatment you received from one of our drivers on route 18 on 17 May 2009.
We were very concerned to read your account of the driver's behaviour
towards you that day. In this regard, I can confirm that all of our
drivers regularly receive training in customer care (both at the
commencement of their employment and on an ongoing basis) and in
consequence, all staff are fully aware of their various service
responsibilities including the duty to ensure that they drive safely and
with due regard to pedestrians and other road users and the requirement to
treat customers with respect and courtesy at all times.
As a result of the information that you kindly supplied, we were able to
identify the driver on duty who, in accordance with Company procedures, was
interviewed by a senior manager. During the interview the driver stated
that he was not aware of driving close to you and if he did it was not
intentional. However, he did accept that he should have handled the
situation differently and he has apologised for his actions. Please accept
my assurances that at the conclusion of our investigations, appropriate
action was taken with a view to ensuring that there are no recurrences of
incidents of this type. In addition, I have arranged for a 'covert check'
to review this particular driver's standard of performance.
Please accept my sincere apologies for the actions of our driver on 17 May
on what we hope you will find to have been an isolated example of service
deficiency on our part. May I also take this opportunity to thank you once
again for taking the time and trouble in writing and thereby allowing us
the opportunity to take corrective action on this occasion.
