Second Opinion

Some passengers have to have a second opinion. Today I was on Paignton Bus Station waiting to take over a bus for my second half when a 12 came in and loaded and then departed. Seconds after the bus had started t0 reverse off the stand 3 people came into the bus station and watched the bus go with mounting horror. One of them walked up and down in almost despair at the thought of having to wait for the next bus. In some places I can understand this as buses are few and far between but here in Torbay there is a bus from Paignton to Torquay every 7 or 8 minutes. Anyway as she wandered about like a lost explorer in the middle of the Sahara Desert she noticed that on the front of a 12 heading for Brixham (the opposite way to Torquay) there occurred the name of the place she wanted to get to; Torquay. She called to her friends in a way gold miners proclaimed the discovery of the yellow stuff, crying out in excitement that she had found a bus for Torquay. As I was standing next to her I did my customer care bit and explained that the bus had already been to Torquay and was going the opposite way to the one she wanted. "Oh. Thank you." she said, biting back the tears of disappointment at the discovery that all she had found was fool's gold. She still went and asked the driver if he went to Torquay just to make sure.

A similar incident occured a few days ago when I was doing one of my rare excursions into the world as it exists before 8 am. I'm not sure I like being up that early. Anyway, I was following an X80 through Preston (we need a Preston by pass by the way). It had stopped at St Paul's church and one passenger had boarded. I was dropping a couple of passengers off at the same stop and pulled in behind. I could see through the back window of the X80 that the passenger had had a short and apparently unfulfilling conversation with the driver and had got off and was now walking back to my humble bus. I knew what was coming. Sure enough passenger got on with an Around Torbay Concessionary Pass in hand and wanted to go to Christchurch a mile down the road. I said exactly what the X80 driver would have said, "Twirly" (1) Around Torbay passes can not be used before 9:30 on weekdays. I must have been more convincing than the FirstBus driver, or maybe a more honest face because the passenger believed me and paid the fare, grumbling while I prised the coins from a very unwilling hand. My advise to write to Nic Bye the Mayor probably went unheard as the passenger wandered down the bus looking for some poor soul to tell his tale of woe to. But that early in the morning poor souls are hard to find.

Footnote (1) "Twirly"... Too early!