Anger as teenage girl is kicked off bus (From Thisisdorset)
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Anger as teenage girl is kicked off bus
9:00am Sunday 30th September 2012 in Latest By Steven Smith
APOLOGY: A Wilts and Dorset bus
A TEENAGER was left stranded in an area she didn’t know after a bus driver kicked her off.
Now 15-year-old Ella Claydon’s dad, Mark, wants better training for drivers and for passengers to be made more aware of their rights.
Mark, from Ferndown, said Ella, who lives in Ramsgate, Kent, was left scared and upset by the experience.
She was on her way to an appointment in Three Legged Cross when the driver of the X6 Wilts and Dorset bus told her that her pre-paid ticket was not valid from the stop she tried to get on, despite her doing the journey previously several times.
Mark said: “She showed him the ticket and he said it wasn’t valid for the bus stop so she would have to pay the money or get off the bus.
“She didn’t have the money and he just stared at the window until she got off. She was in tears and had to walk down a country lane to try to find the next stop.”
Ella, who was 14 at the time of the incident, then contacted her dad and a taxi was arranged for her to get home.
Mark said he had an apology from the bus company and some free tickets, but said he wanted drivers to be aware that they should not throw people, especially children off the bus.
“You hear stories about things that have happened to girls in situations like that.
“My daughter could have gone walking off down a country lane and someone could have seen her and dragged her off.
“There are policies out there that bus drivers just have to take details if someone can’t pay a fare.
“I feel that we need to do something to educate drivers and children as well as to their rights.
“We have a responsibility to protect our children.”
Ella said: “I was scared and upset because I didn’t know where I was.
“It was embarrassing because there were people on the bus.”
A spokesman for Wilts and Dorset said: “We take any complaint of actions that may compromise the safety of our customers, be they young or elderly, very seriously.
“We are instructing our drivers to take a more considerate approach to anyone who may be regarded as vulnerable in a similar situation.
“However, as with all bus operators we do have set fares, which have to be collected by our drivers.
“We again apologise to Mr Clayton and Ella.”
Comments(69)
sea poole
says...
9:24am Sun 30 Sep 12
penhale
says...
9:34am Sun 30 Sep 12
oneshortleg
says...
9:35am Sun 30 Sep 12
Turtlebay
says...
9:36am Sun 30 Sep 12
Most Wilts and Dorset drivers leave their vehicles sticking out at an angle of 45 degrees to the kerb, blocking other vehicles from getting past, especially other lorries.
This highly dangerous practice will come to a head one day when a lorry driver starts taking photos of the miscreants and forwarding them to the company and the Police.
penhale
says...
9:41am Sun 30 Sep 12
DebbieSE
says...
9:44am Sun 30 Sep 12
penhale
says...
9:55am Sun 30 Sep 12
DebbieSE wrote:If you have a pre-paid ticket why would you need money, she had to get on the bus to show the ticket so she did get thrown off.
If she didnt know where she was how come she had made the same journy before? She wasnt on the bus so to speak so she didnt get thrown off. More to the point as she was so far away from home why was she on her own? Its a shame that rules contradict themselfs. If you dont have enough money you dont get on yet if you cant leave youngsters on their own.
I do get fed up with such stupid remarks such as "as she was so far away from home why was she on her own"?, why shouldn't she be on her own, is it illegal for a 15 year old to walk about on her own.
I'm sure if it was your daughter you would be steaming at this drivers actions.
Bus drivers can take names and addresses of people who have not got enough money and this should be the case especially where young girls are involved.
Rules and regulations are made to be broken, if I was this driver I would have used a little common sense.
mj34
says...
10:02am Sun 30 Sep 12
penhale
says...
10:08am Sun 30 Sep 12
mj34 wrote:Yea right, I've seen plenty of bus drivers parked with the tail end sticking out and blocking the traffic when there has been plenty of room to park properly, they do this to stop traffic passing which makes it easier for them to pull out again, its common practice.
while ur remarks are funny turtle bay and penhale , i guess u dont drive a 40ft long bus ? then u would know why tail end is always sticking out , due t bus stops not long enough ,council not putting castle curbs in correct place for people getting off , AND LORRYS AND CARS ALWAYS PRETEND BEING BUSES ;)
Capricorn 1
says...
10:10am Sun 30 Sep 12
Dibbles2
says...
10:38am Sun 30 Sep 12
penhale wrote:Where do they draw the line though?the girl was 14 at the time, would have had no ID to prove her name and address. Before we know all the kids will crack onto the idea of being able to get a cheaper ticket and going further than allowed. This may be an isolated incident but as said she had made the journey several times before so she knew where she was! A bit of parental hysteria and a non story for sure.
DebbieSE wrote:If you have a pre-paid ticket why would you need money, she had to get on the bus to show the ticket so she did get thrown off.
If she didnt know where she was how come she had made the same journy before? She wasnt on the bus so to speak so she didnt get thrown off. More to the point as she was so far away from home why was she on her own? Its a shame that rules contradict themselfs. If you dont have enough money you dont get on yet if you cant leave youngsters on their own.
I do get fed up with such stupid remarks such as "as she was so far away from home why was she on her own"?, why shouldn't she be on her own, is it illegal for a 15 year old to walk about on her own.
I'm sure if it was your daughter you would be steaming at this drivers actions.
Bus drivers can take names and addresses of people who have not got enough money and this should be the case especially where young girls are involved.
Rules and regulations are made to be broken, if I was this driver I would have used a little common sense.
Ex Community member
says...
10:42am Sun 30 Sep 12
When the bus driver was half way there, he said I had to get off, saying I was at my destination, having never travelled to that area on a bus I was unsure but trusted his judgement!
I ended up walking for miles, suffering serious pains of pre-eclampsia and premature labour!
The bus driver didn't even know the route he was on hence why he didn't know where his last stop was, making my return ticket useless!!!
Tripod
says...
10:56am Sun 30 Sep 12
Richard Head
says...
11:04am Sun 30 Sep 12
How would you feel if the youngster was molested whilst walking home.
Why didn't the driver take her name and address so that the bus company could write to her and give her the opportunity to pay the fare by post.
Isn't that normal procedure?
mj34
says...
11:11am Sun 30 Sep 12
pete woodley
says...
11:12am Sun 30 Sep 12
Upkeep
says...
11:26am Sun 30 Sep 12
penhale
says...
11:32am Sun 30 Sep 12
Dibbles2 wrote:Unfortunately I don't know where you draw the line, the plain fact is that there are so many scum bags out there these days who seek out young girls that it has become necessary to show a little common sense, I'm sure this driver would not feel so smug if something had happened to her through his actions.
penhale wrote:Where do they draw the line though?the girl was 14 at the time, would have had no ID to prove her name and address. Before we know all the kids will crack onto the idea of being able to get a cheaper ticket and going further than allowed. This may be an isolated incident but as said she had made the journey several times before so she knew where she was! A bit of parental hysteria and a non story for sure.
DebbieSE wrote:If you have a pre-paid ticket why would you need money, she had to get on the bus to show the ticket so she did get thrown off.
If she didnt know where she was how come she had made the same journy before? She wasnt on the bus so to speak so she didnt get thrown off. More to the point as she was so far away from home why was she on her own? Its a shame that rules contradict themselfs. If you dont have enough money you dont get on yet if you cant leave youngsters on their own.
I do get fed up with such stupid remarks such as "as she was so far away from home why was she on her own"?, why shouldn't she be on her own, is it illegal for a 15 year old to walk about on her own.
I'm sure if it was your daughter you would be steaming at this drivers actions.
Bus drivers can take names and addresses of people who have not got enough money and this should be the case especially where young girls are involved.
Rules and regulations are made to be broken, if I was this driver I would have used a little common sense.
uvox44
says...
11:39am Sun 30 Sep 12
penhale
says...
11:43am Sun 30 Sep 12
mj34 wrote:Excuse, excuses, I would know about proper parking as I was an hgv driver for 30 years and I never had trouble parking when delivering, sometimes with a 40 foot artic, so don't give me those type of excuses, If I had parked a lorry like some bus drivers do I would have received no end of tickets.
i can explain that is well penhale , as iv said council put the curbs in wrong place , but u wouldnt understand what i mean cos u dont do the job , and also the other reason that happens is a bus pulled in behind another bus , so tail end sticking out , which takes me back to bus stops not long enough but u wouldnt know that either because u dont do the job. but the bus in front has pulled away and the bus with tail end is still loading and unloading so this looks likes just this bus has only been at the stop because all u cars etc behind have had no way of seeing whats going on in front , i hope this answers your issues. have a good day
Plain fact is that bus drivers think they own the roads, blocking roads, pulling out on other motorists to name a couple, in short some of them are just plain nasty as this story clearly shows.
penhale
says...
11:44am Sun 30 Sep 12
uvox44 wrote:Yea right, a staged photo, get a life.
interesting all the smug remarks about bus drivers parking badly/illegally - yet in the picture the bus is exactly in the right place, but oh, what's that parked illegally behind? oh a car....enough said penhale and others .....
pete woodley
says...
11:54am Sun 30 Sep 12
uvox44 wrote:The car is not in the bus space.
interesting all the smug remarks about bus drivers parking badly/illegally - yet in the picture the bus is exactly in the right place, but oh, what's that parked illegally behind? oh a car....enough said penhale and others .....
zabadoo
says...
12:04pm Sun 30 Sep 12
No it is parked on double yellow lines so is parked illegally in Wimborne Square. Can't park there now though since the revamp of the Square!
Miss Opinionated
says...
12:07pm Sun 30 Sep 12
Why did none of the passengers offer to help, sure at least one of them could have offered the fare if it was that worrying?
People try and squirm out of fares every day - almost every journey. Hard to spot a genuine case amongst all the spongers.
penhale
says...
12:08pm Sun 30 Sep 12
uvox44 wrote:Even though the car may be parked illegally the bus seems to have been parked in the correct fashion, funny that.
interesting all the smug remarks about bus drivers parking badly/illegally - yet in the picture the bus is exactly in the right place, but oh, what's that parked illegally behind? oh a car....enough said penhale and others .....
ConBly
says...
12:17pm Sun 30 Sep 12
Morrigan
says...
12:21pm Sun 30 Sep 12
You have to wonder what is wrong with people these days ......
Upkeep
says...
12:23pm Sun 30 Sep 12
Miss Opinionated wrote:There's no dispute to your comment. The fact remains though that a child was asked to leave the bus. That's wrong. It's morally wrong and I suspect it goes against Wilts and Dorset's own guidelines for this situation.
If it was your job on the line, you might think differently about the driver. What these companies spout in public is very different to what they say in company meetings.
Why did none of the passengers offer to help, sure at least one of them could have offered the fare if it was that worrying?
People try and squirm out of fares every day - almost every journey. Hard to spot a genuine case amongst all the spongers.
billythereb
says...
12:42pm Sun 30 Sep 12
After a great day/eve. xmas shopping we proceeded to get the bus back to the car.We were on the opp. side of the road to were u catch the bus ,i manged to get his attention as the traffic was busy to cross he had a smug grin on his face as he shook his head and then drove off !
i thought to myself wot a horrible little sad man and gave him the finger as he went by.... the next bus was about an hour later so we exploited the moment and had an half in the pub across the way!
When the next bus arrived i mentioned the tale to the driver who informed me that he was a miserable so and so and just had a bad attitude to the public i said he was a complete tosser and the bus driver agreed so mr. bus driver in Salisbury if u read this ur a complete plonker
mmm2008
says...
12:49pm Sun 30 Sep 12
uvox44
says...
1:04pm Sun 30 Sep 12
BmthNewshound
says...
1:25pm Sun 30 Sep 12
.
What most people on here are saying is that if you don't have a valid ticket W&D should still let you travel.
.
Rather than critisise the bus driver I think the irresponsible father who allowed his 4 yr old daughter to travel alone in an area she didn't know without any money in her pocket.
.
The story only gives one rather dubious account - presumably she didn't come all the way from Kent just to get the bus to three legged cross for no reason and so had probably visiting someone so wasn't exactly left stranded all alone in the back of beyond.
.
I know W&D drivers can appear grumpy but when you think about the abuse they have to take from passengers its a wonder W&D can actually find anyone willing to driver the buses in the fist place.
username is already in use
says...
1:47pm Sun 30 Sep 12
FrDarryl
says...
2:00pm Sun 30 Sep 12
penhale
says...
2:58pm Sun 30 Sep 12
uvox44 wrote:The illegally parked car as you put it is not blocking the road or the bus lane so like all the comments you put on here, they have no bearing on the actual story
penhale you really are sad if you think it's a staged photo-yea I expect the Echo paid to hire the bus and driver and the ILLEGALLY parked car is a stage prop! DOH!
muscliffman
says...
3:10pm Sun 30 Sep 12
Very likely we are in the areas of appearance and attitude.
So often quite young girls choose to present themsleves to the world as adult young women, easily looking at least a decade older than their real age - it is nothing new, natural and quite understandable.
Fine, but this is when trouble (often a lot worse) begins and I suspect the driver here might have had no idea that he was dealing with someone so young.
Attitude though is often more true to age and easily accelerates the sort of situation that probably happened here.
Had this girl calmly and politely explained her situation I believe she would have been allowed to travel without incident.
Please give the bus drivers a break, how do people think they benefit in any way from doing what is reported? They don't, on the contrary, because this sort of negative and one-sided story blows up out of nowhere!
andydixon
says...
3:11pm Sun 30 Sep 12
Dibbles2
says...
3:40pm Sun 30 Sep 12
penhale wrote:But her father is rresponsible for her and not the bus company? It could happen to anyone of any age. Elderly getting mugged, Woman going into premature labour? Old man falling and breaking his hip on a crooked pavestone right where he was told to get off? Drug addict scoring from man at a diffrent stop to the one he ewanted and overdosing on bad gear?Would that be the drivers fault? You cannot expect the driver to pre empt any eventuality!
Dibbles2 wrote:Unfortunately I don't know where you draw the line, the plain fact is that there are so many scum bags out there these days who seek out young girls that it has become necessary to show a little common sense, I'm sure this driver would not feel so smug if something had happened to her through his actions.
penhale wrote:Where do they draw the line though?the girl was 14 at the time, would have had no ID to prove her name and address. Before we know all the kids will crack onto the idea of being able to get a cheaper ticket and going further than allowed. This may be an isolated incident but as said she had made the journey several times before so she knew where she was! A bit of parental hysteria and a non story for sure.
DebbieSE wrote:If you have a pre-paid ticket why would you need money, she had to get on the bus to show the ticket so she did get thrown off.
If she didnt know where she was how come she had made the same journy before? She wasnt on the bus so to speak so she didnt get thrown off. More to the point as she was so far away from home why was she on her own? Its a shame that rules contradict themselfs. If you dont have enough money you dont get on yet if you cant leave youngsters on their own.
I do get fed up with such stupid remarks such as "as she was so far away from home why was she on her own"?, why shouldn't she be on her own, is it illegal for a 15 year old to walk about on her own.
I'm sure if it was your daughter you would be steaming at this drivers actions.
Bus drivers can take names and addresses of people who have not got enough money and this should be the case especially where young girls are involved.
Rules and regulations are made to be broken, if I was this driver I would have used a little common sense.
uvox44
says...
4:24pm Sun 30 Sep 12
penhale
says...
4:28pm Sun 30 Sep 12
muscliffman
says...
4:38pm Sun 30 Sep 12
penhale wrote:So parents are NOT responsible for their own children but the general public, corporate Companys and their employees are? Not sure you meant to say this but you just did.
Exactly, it could happen to anybody of any age so her father is not responsible, its the responsibility of all of us to see that nobody comes to harm, that includes bus drivers and bus companies.
Dibbles2
says...
4:40pm Sun 30 Sep 12
penhale wrote:Of course her father is responsible for her! I wouldnt dream of my teenage daughter/son going anywhere with out a mobile or back up cash for emergencies. I also wouldnt let my child travel somewhere that they didnt kno w where they were. Is that the bus drivers fault? Is it the fault of every other person on that bus that didnt help the girl? Blame cultural blaming other people for someone elses inadequate parenting!
Exactly, it could happen to anybody of any age so her father is not responsible, its the responsibility of all of us to see that nobody comes to harm, that includes bus drivers and bus companies.
Derf
says...
4:54pm Sun 30 Sep 12
I would suggest to this father that perhaps he should reconsider letting his daughter wait at a bus stop given she is statistically more likely to come to grief.
Also, having lived in Ramsgate, the bus drivers there are hardly 'skilled' in any sort of customer service...
pete woodley
says...
5:19pm Sun 30 Sep 12
Letcommonsenseprevail
says...
5:30pm Sun 30 Sep 12
muscliffman
says...
5:49pm Sun 30 Sep 12
pete woodley wrote:Not sure if you are serious or sarci here Pete, because there certainy have been many over the years.
I have not heard of any Yellow bus drivers doing this ?.
Most memorable I recall recently was the child who threw herself off a moving Yellow bus by demonstrating that an 'Emergency Door' will open as intended when you turn the handle - even when granny is sitting beside you.
(Girl was OK I understand).
Made the Echo in a similar one sided blame the bus/driver/Company style.
pete woodley
says...
6:08pm Sun 30 Sep 12
pete woodley
says...
6:09pm Sun 30 Sep 12
freedom for pokesdown
says...
6:14pm Sun 30 Sep 12
She phoned her Dad, he sorted it out. What happened is exactly what should have happened - though I would say that keeping a little money with you for emergencies is only common sense
I'm not a great fan of the bus companies but in this case I'm on their side
streetangelz
says...
6:51pm Sun 30 Sep 12
I don't think there should be any restrictions on travel or when passengers are getting onto a bus which might take them out of the Poole/Bournemouth ticket area they should be warned that if they go to far that they may not be allowed to return from out of the area.
fifty shades of brown envelopes
says...
7:43pm Sun 30 Sep 12
you sound dimmer than the bus driver,
penhale
says...
8:38pm Sun 30 Sep 12
Dibbles2 wrote:I'm certain that if any harm had come to this girl the bus driver would have been blamed for bad judgment, the actions of one person can adversely affect the well being of another.
penhale wrote:Of course her father is responsible for her! I wouldnt dream of my teenage daughter/son going anywhere with out a mobile or back up cash for emergencies. I also wouldnt let my child travel somewhere that they didnt kno w where they were. Is that the bus drivers fault? Is it the fault of every other person on that bus that didnt help the girl? Blame cultural blaming other people for someone elses inadequate parenting!
Exactly, it could happen to anybody of any age so her father is not responsible, its the responsibility of all of us to see that nobody comes to harm, that includes bus drivers and bus companies.
fifty shades of brown envelopes
says...
9:05pm Sun 30 Sep 12
streetangelz wrote:You was lucky not to get kicked off the bus , if its true the driver said you had a valid ticker
I had something similar in 1997/8 when I was in college. I went to a friend's house just beyond Wimborne using my normal ticket and was able to get off the bus to go to her house but when I went to rturn to Poole the driver told me that my ticket was valid in the area I was in but luckily for me the driver let me on.
I don't think there should be any restrictions on travel or when passengers are getting onto a bus which might take them out of the Poole/Bournemouth ticket area they should be warned that if they go to far that they may not be allowed to return from out of the area.
hamworthygirl
says...
2:53am Mon 1 Oct 12
The Liberal
says...
9:37am Mon 1 Oct 12
a.g.o.g.
says...
10:07am Mon 1 Oct 12
Upkeep wrote:Against the Law Civil at least I would think, (in loco parentis?) and so leave both the driver and Bus Co. liable had any real damage ensued The parent/guardian might have also transgressed by putting the girl in that position it seems.
Miss Opinionated wrote: If it was your job on the line, you might think differently about the driver. What these companies spout in public is very different to what they say in company meetings. Why did none of the passengers offer to help, sure at least one of them could have offered the fare if it was that worrying? People try and squirm out of fares every day - almost every journey. Hard to spot a genuine case amongst all the spongers.There's no dispute to your comment. The fact remains though that a child was asked to leave the bus. That's wrong. It's morally wrong and I suspect it goes against Wilts and Dorset's own guidelines for this situation.
fossilmole
says...
11:20am Mon 1 Oct 12
If there is a risk to this young lady we should really do something to deal with the 'low-lifes' who create that risk for any of us. Time for some of the crimes we read of to be given their just consequences.
a.g.o.g.
says...
11:40am Mon 1 Oct 12
fossilmole wrote:And the RAF then became your "in loco".
Oh come on ....this lady is 15! I joined the Royal Air Force at that age. Stop trying to wrap all our youngsters in cotton wool and let them find their way in the world. If there is a risk to this young lady we should really do something to deal with the 'low-lifes' who create that risk for any of us. Time for some of the crimes we read of to be given their just consequences.
beachcomber1
says...
12:17pm Mon 1 Oct 12
girl tries to get on bus, driver says ticket invalid so tells her she can't. so what? why is the driver being pilloried? does this mean any young girl can get on a bus and be allowed to travel without a valid ticket?
kingstonpaul
says...
12:55pm Mon 1 Oct 12
Increasingly we find ourselves living in a state where a genuine oversight or mistake are penalised. To err is no longer human, it’s a finable offence.
The situation in this country that allows the ill-educated foot soldiers of public services, the health & safety security industries to boss and bully ordinary citizens should be cause for concern.
Ganmor
says...
1:35pm Mon 1 Oct 12
has not updated correctly, the assumption is always that the passenger is at fault.
Bring back Alex Carter to sort the mess out.
fifty shades of brown envelopes
says...
3:36pm Mon 1 Oct 12
derek_acorah
says...
4:09pm Mon 1 Oct 12
Richard Head wrote:Richard, do you have a toothbrush mustache? Have you ever worked in security at a holiday camp? Do you have an irrational hatred of people called Butler?
I used to be an Inspector on London Transport buses and we had a golden rule, "Never, ever, ever kick a youngster off a bus"
How would you feel if the youngster was molested whilst walking home.
Why didn't the driver take her name and address so that the bus company could write to her and give her the opportunity to pay the fare by post.
Isn't that normal procedure?
fifty shades of brown envelopes
says...
5:06pm Mon 1 Oct 12
it was just after the war what the Germans started.
CC C-siders
says...
9:15pm Mon 1 Oct 12
mj34 wrote:U wot?
i can explain that is well penhale , as iv said council put the curbs in wrong place , but u wouldnt understand what i mean cos u dont do the job , and also the other reason that happens is a bus pulled in behind another bus , so tail end sticking out , which takes me back to bus stops not long enough but u wouldnt know that either because u dont do the job. but the bus in front has pulled away and the bus with tail end is still loading and unloading so this looks likes just this bus has only been at the stop because all u cars etc behind have had no way of seeing whats going on in front , i hope this answers your issues. have a good day
Clear as mud. What bus do you drive?
Dancer94
says...
10:15pm Mon 1 Oct 12
penhale
says...
8:24am Tue 2 Oct 12
This week it is reported that a 15 year old girl was thrown off a bus, as in the other story both of these girls are considered children, do we now have bis drivers who will thrown children off a bus who are between 1 year old and 15 years old, as any human being between one and fifteen years of age are considered children they should not be put in danger by jobs worth bus drivers.
lazystar
says...
2:57pm Wed 3 Oct 12
about why my 11 year old daughter was left stranded at 7.30am this morning ? she came running home extremely upset,luckily i hadn't left yet .she had to wait an hour for the next bus .After ringing her school i was told on this occasion she will be excused & not be given a detention which will happen the next time. But worse than a detention is that my young 11 year old was left on the pavement in the pouring rain crying - she is not allowed to walk to school on her own as a lot of children (who would have left by then) walk across kings park & then the 'heathland' surrounded by brush & trees in semi darkness - i do not consider this a safe environment for a young child.I am absolutely appalled & disgusted that this has happened.She gets the public bus which is filled with school children every day but in bad weather such as today this gets filled very quickly - i do not understand why a bus that visits 2 main schools in the area can justify only 1 bus & leave a young child stranded its outrageous if i had left this morning for work on a different bus she would have been left locked out of the house & abandoned.
BournemouthMum says...
9:17am Sun 30 Sep 12