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Old April 28th 06, 09:50 PM posted to uk.transport.london,uk.local.london,uk.transport.buses
Chris! Chris! is offline
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First recorded activity at LondonBanter: Apr 2005
Posts: 140
Default Freedom passes unchecked


Tristán White wrote:
snip


I am gobsmacked how I have never seen any of the young men challenged ONCE
over their card, which is blatantly in it's orange "Freedom Pass" wallet,
and which shows "F'DOM PASS" or something like that on the display when
swiped on the bus. I've been watching.


When all the old ladies get on the bus in front of me it says
"Travelcard Z1-6D" not "F'DOM PASS". Are you sure you have been
looking at the display?

The only pass that seems to make a funny noise is the kids travel free
pass.

Seen as everyone you are moaning about is a "young man", could you
possibly have confused their correctly owned kids travel free pass with
a freedom pass?

Or could the pass be the one given to all people who live with a bus
driver?


Just yesterday, a fit athletic-looking young man jumped onto the bus, did
not appear to have any learning difficulties


How do you know he didn't have learning difficulties? Not everyone
with learning difficulties is short, wears glasses, dribbles and is
confused! Dsylexia (spelt wrong, I am sure) counts as a learning
difficulty but has no visible signs

and certainly no physical
difficulties. He was listening to his iPod (so not deaf) and certainly
didn't appear to be blind - although his trousers were half-way down his
bum and his shoelaces were undone but that is apparently fashionable and
not a sign of being mentally challenged, or blind for that matter, although
it should be.

Another young athletic man in his late teens came on the bus a couple of
days ago.... Again, he was physically fit and appeared to be in all his
senses, although admittedly he was wearing a Manchester Utd baseball cap,
which may just have been a cunning disguise to make the bus driver think
that he was indeed possibly retarded. In which case, it worked.

What I want to know is, how come these things don't appear to be
challenged, but other things (eg showing out-of-date travelcard, PAYG out
of credit, 15 year old not having photocard, etc) do get checked.


Checking a freedom pass would be exaclty the same as checking someone
with an annual travelcard is the one using it (so making people touch
their pass on the reader, then show the photo to the driver). If the
drivers check these all the time it slows boarding and oyster was a
complete waste of time and money. So thats my theory why they don't
check freedom pass photos.

snip