Princess Ivy

on my way to college yesterday, we came accross a group of local's. They have become almost a separate species to me. two lads tried to storm the bus without paying. the bus driver decided to do something about it, he went upstairs and brought one of them down and made him pay. it may seem logical, but the drivers often don't as these youths can be violent, but he did it and i was glad! Anyway, the lad paid, and then made a very rude comment to the driver. The driver then turned off the buss and told the lad to get off the bus or appologise. The yob refused to get off, unless he had a refund, and said he hadn't said anything rude. i had heard all of this, but wasn't prepared to get involved. i was sitting very vulnerably with two small children. but out bus was now blocking the flow of traffic. the driver started the bus and went a little further down the road, where he pulled onto the pavement. he braked so hard that both of my kids went flying forward on the seat. how i managed to get my arm out in time to stop them getting seriously injured is a miricle. my daughter has a bruise on her chest from where she hit my arm, the force of impact was that strong. Anyhow, imagine lots more swearing on the part of the yobs, and of course the bus driver. then they got off. As the driver closed the door one of the charmers (the other one, not the swearing one) threw a brick through the door. he didn't break it, the driver had quick reflexes and managed to get the door open again. then as we drove down, we were stopped at a traffic light. the yobs caught up and had their stones at the ready, which they threw of course at the bus windows.
i understand why people don't get involved. these chavs are damn violent. i've had my home egged and stones thrown at my windows for speaking against them, and i can't drive my house down the road. luckily for us the driver was a large tough brummie, but it took half an hour after the incident to calm my daughter down.

caladanbrood

I guess bus drivers nave to put up with a lot like that, especially in large cities like Birmingham...

I don't go on busses that often now, but i did go on one that was collecting kids from a school on its route. The school is our local chav school, and there was an old lady sitting on the bottom floor. We're stopped at the school, and some of the kids get on, others are still waiting outside for their buses later, and they start shouting at the old lady through the window. This is pretty annoying, but then they throw water through the open bit of window at the top.
Note, at the front of the queue, in plain line of sight, is a teahcer, who does nothing about it. The kids are only 12 or 13, so I told them to stop. They didn't, so I went to the door, told their teacher, and told them once more. All I got for that was more water and swearing. The teacher did nothing. The bus left after that, and though I got a grateful smile from the old lady, that was all.

Not as bad as your experience Ivy, but nonetheless

Princess Ivy

you're very lucky not to have to bus it. on the one hand it's much cheaper than running a car, but on the other.... experiences like this are now the norm, i'm afraid.