Response from bus company

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Hip Priest

Veteran
Well I can see what line this thread is going down. :headshake:

We have established that my approach to the bus driver was wrong and ill-thoughtout.
But if I hadnt, all three of those drivers would still be out causing havoc and putting other cyclists in danger. At least now the depot manager knows of their incompetence and can deal with it. And hopefully change these peoples minds.

I have the utmost respect for the bus company in general, and I was shocked by the opinions of the drivers.

If you dont like what I do or the way I act, noone is forcing you to read my threads. The topic of this one was the response from the company, not what happened (thats why the other thread got locked).
Instead of crying on here and trying to change humanity, consider the implications of me not confronting the driver, or asking the other one if the depot manager was in. I could have easily let it go but decided that their behaviour was unacceptable. If you want to complain about it, make your own thread, or go to BusChat.net.

If you don't like people commenting on your videos then no one is forcing you to upload them to a public forum.

And can we drop the pretence that this is about safety? This is all about YOU being RIGHT.

Your comments in the tunnel thread and your speed on shared paths show that safety is not your primary concern.
 

Spinney

Bimbleur extraordinaire
Location
Back up north
[mod hat on]
This thread is heading for being locked. The thread is supposed to be about the bus company's response to Matthew's letter, and any follow up there may be about retraining those ignorant drivers.

NOT for having a go at Matthew. Please keep to the original topic.
 
He looked like he was getting on a bit. Set in his ways. Last time he checked his mirrors he saw a Ford Consul.

That, like saying "SMIDSY" ought to be an incrinating factor rather than a mitigating one. Spose the Arriva reply was:

Tell you what mate, you're not wrong!

That sunglasses-wearing bloke is a nightmare, he's way past retirement, is as useful as a chocolate fireguard and exists in a state of permanent befuddled bewilderment, the soppy old duffer! You think his ignorance about cycle lanes is bad, last week we caught him stuffing bread in the DVD player trying to make toast, the week before he was trying to make his car door open with the TV remote, what ya gonna do, LOL!

Cycle safe.
 

Slaav

Guru
I have mentioned earlier an idea that may be more useful than the route Matthew has gone down but will now concentrate on the reply from teh Bus COmpany etc.

There are two ways to go about this and this will determine any follow up action (possibly by all parties...)

Matthew could reply along the lines as suggested by others and not by himself - I think others' views on this from a possibly more circumspect and rounded stance may be beneficial. I don't think (sorry Matthew) that my suggestion will ever be taken up if you personally popped along with a video, HC and copy of Cyclecraft and offered to train the drivers yourself. This is partly due to your 'previous' with them and the unfortunate bigotry of some to you due to your age and personality (or what I have seen of it.) This is not a dig at you because I have certainly been guilty of this bigotry myself and I fear that I may not look at your threads objectively or from a totally fair view point. Apologies for this which is why I am more cautious in my replies generally these days.

If you didnt have previous and received that letter, I would suggest a response is certainly warranted and possibly even a suggestion to pop down for a 15 minute meeting with the Head of Training or similar. The depot manager him/herself may have sufficed but I get the feeling that they will just look for a quite life and be nice and pleasant to you but maybe not take you or a follow up letter that seriously.

In this instance, I would suggest that you simply 'let it go' I am afraid.

I also like Boris's posts on this and other subjects but it is a broad Church so to speak :smile:

Im sumamry, I do not think that your overall approach is really 100% correct and that, unfortunately will always mean that the GOOD STUFF gets a little lost or overlooked. Trya nd be more circumspect in this matter and many others and you will have a quiter time of things.

Lastly (you will be delighted to read - if you have made it this far) I disagree that if Matthew hadn't confronted and 'blown this out of porportion' etc the issue wouldnt have arisen as those pig thick/ignorant drivers would still have their attitudes and be a danger to cyclists generally. If a tree falls and nobody hears it, the tree has still fallen (or something like that IYSWIM)

Hopefully no offence taken and I have tried to keep this relevant to the response from the bus company and why I think this particular incident should be simply let go now.
 

classic33

Leg End Member
And in reading the comments on there, it seems little different to this & the previous thread.
The only difference being that is bus drivers talking about cyclists on there, here its cyclists on cyclist.
 

classic33

Leg End Member
Can we nominate Matthew's pair as 'Nits of the year'?
Why not.
 

Kookas

Über Member
Location
Exeter
[QUOTE 2635983, member: 45"]How can you tell?[/quote]

Recognised the UI - I'm typing on mine right now. I love it. It's pretty cool to see someone else has it outside of a technology forum.
 

Kookas

Über Member
Location
Exeter
[QUOTE 2636071, member: 45"]I hardly fire up the laptop these days.[/quote]

I don't even have one, lol.
 

PaulSB

Squire
The thread concerns the bus company's response. It strikes me this is a letter which could have been written by any one of millions of large companies around the world. It's what they do, whether this is acceptable or not is debatable.

For me knowing in advance a complaint on most subjects is likely to illicit a similar response means I'm unlikely to complain in the first place. This of course means the company has won but for me it's usually sufficient to withdraw my custom from such companies - admittedly that would be near impossible in the case of Arriva.

How did we arrive in a world of being fobbed off by companies who don't care about their customers? I'm unsure but think it revolves around compensation culture. Arriva will do whatever is necessary to tick all the boxes. It's the system, a shame but its how things work in our modern world.

As for Matthew? I feel it's a shame he seems to have encountered more hassle in Rhyl in 2-3 years on his bike than I have in my entire life, 59 years and counting. There must be a lesson here, either don't live in Rhyl or examine your own attitude......... and Rhyl has always struck me as a fairly harmless place to live.
 
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