• Replies 8 replies
  • Subscribers 33 subscribers
  • Views 1138 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Don't understand.

Robert124

I often have difficulty understanding human behaviour.

This thread is about travelling by bus.

A while ago I mentioned that I didn't understand why some people never rang the bell on the bus when they wanted to stop a bus and get off, instead they went up to the bus driver and said, "next stop please."  Is this a form of etiquette that I'm unfamiliar with?

Now I had problems with a day trip by coach.  The driver insisted that everyone say their name verbally to him so he can check his printed list.  He refused to look at our tickets or boarding passes, which have our names printed on them, he kept saying, "you must tell me your name", someone showed him a ticket, the driver told him that he can't look at it because it would just confuse him, and insisted they they say their name to him.

Is this another form of etiquette?  

I thought it would make more sense to check the printed name on the ticket with the printed names on his list.  Because speaking a name can cause confusion with unusual names and how they're pronounced.

  • in reply to Iain

    It could be that he was wearing bifocal or distance glasses which were good for driving,but not for print. Either that or he might not be able to read a name and "hold" it in working memory long enough to check it ... auditory information is processed differently from text. One can only speculate ...

  • in reply to Iain

    dunno it feels weird. saying something to some random stranger.

    i feel their job would be ok, its driving around. the only boring part is that it will be the same route all the time and they will have to boringly stick to the very bottom of the speed limit and stop all the time lol

    putting up with unruly passengers can be annoying though, i think if i was bus driver id just ignore them and tell them to get on and shut up so that the disruption is avoided. i wouldnt wanna step beyond my driver screen or get too close to the passengers, they will all have germs... i been on the bus enough to know everyone only goes on there when they are full of a cold and they often beeline towards you sit behind you and cough on the back of your head all the time, or infront of you so their germs can drift downwards to you. dont like busses for the germs on it lol this was even before covid haha dont get me started on trains too, the only time i got on a train i caught the cold off someone on it the first time and was sick all month.

  • in reply to Caelus
    Caelus said:
    i find that the strange part lol why thanks

    That is just common courtesy.

    The job is probably grindingly dull so having someone express a little appreciation for the driver doing a decent job probably makes them feel a little better about themselves.

    It costs nothing and can bring happiness so why not? Spread a little joy in the world.

  • i have never seen that happen.... everyone rings the bell on the bus were im from. im from up north west though in wigan.

    everyone says thanks when they get off... i find that the strange part lol why thanks, hes just doing his job and you paid him probably more than what the journey is worth and then risked getting infected by all the sneezing passengers inside, plus its a bit weird talking to stranger especially saying thanks or anything like that it feels cringe to me.

  • in reply to T

    Ahh.... back in the day, the conductor would ring the bell. Once for stop, twice for go. 

    Ben

  • I wonder if it was an old tradition about the bell. I remember my Mum saying in the 60s when she moved from the London suburbs to the West Country she rang the bell to get off. She was told by the conductor, as buses has them then,  it was his job to ring the bell.

  • Robert124 said:
    when they wanted to stop a bus and get off, instead they went up to the bus driver and said, "next stop please."  Is this a form of etiquette that I'm unfamiliar with?

    There is no single form of etiquette for these situaitons - some people will ring the bell, some will just stand in plain view of the driver expecting him to notice and some will say something to the driver ("next one please mate", "this one's mine" etc).

    Robert124 said:
    The driver insisted that everyone say their name verbally to him so he can check his printed list. 

    It is possible the driver had a disability like dyslexia so he could not read the name correctly, or his eyesight wasn't great for reading small print on the ticket (but the list was large print) - the key thing here is that the driver is the person in command and you need to follow his reasonable instructions.

    If you can't speak then you need to inform him of this in some way - a sunflower lanyard for example or a card saying "I'm non verbal" will do the trick and he will then have to deal with whatever issue he has and try to match the names.

    It is not etiquette here, just a case of you not understanding that you are supposed to follow instructions from the person in charge.

  • I don't think the coach driver one is etiquette, just a weird personal quirk. Maybe he likes the verbal interaction or maybe he really does find it harder to look at your tickets and then check the list rather than just focus on the list while you talk. 

    I've never seen anyone ask a bus driver to stop instead of ringing the bell. My first instinct is that maybe it's a holdover from a time or place where that was what you did and there was no bell, or maybe they just like to deal with people (like how some people much prefer using a checkout with a person at the supermarket).