Is it illegal for busdrivers to question passengers' disability (or
apparent lack thereof) when fit young men get on and use their orange
Freedom Pass on London buses?

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.

Just yesterday, a fit athletic-looking young man jumped onto the bus, did
not appear to have any learning difficulties 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challenged, but other things (eg showing out-of-date travelcard, PAYG out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.

I'm not saying that these Freedom Passes are necessarily all fraudulent
misappropriation of granny's card - and some of these young men may indeed
have a disability of their own that is not immediately apparent - but
surely drivers are allowed to check or ask, without fearing to cause
offence in any way? Or is it that they are not allowed to do this, because
of disability and equal opportunities or something. If so, this is wrong:
OK, the able-bodied aren't asked about their ability so you may wonder why
should the disabled be hassled. But the fact of the matter is, fraud is
happening, and bus-drivers should not be forbidden (if this is the case) of
asking why an apparently mentally and physically fit young man is using a
freedom pass.

Could someone explain more?

Tristán White wrote:
Is it illegal for busdrivers to question passengers' disability (or
apparent lack thereof) when fit young men get on and use their
orange Freedom Pass on London buses?

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.

[snip]
But the fact of the matter is,
fraud is happening, and bus-drivers should not be forbidden (if
this is the case) of asking why an apparently mentally and
physically fit young man is using a freedom pass.

All the driver needs to do is to ask to see the photocard. The Freedom
Pass is not valid unless the photocard is carried with it and bears the
same name as the pass. Drivers should not, in my view, get involved in
questioning passengers about their disabilities.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

"Richard J." wrote in news:3Mr4g.60971$wl.47175
@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk:

All the driver needs to do is to ask to see the photocard. The Freedom
Pass is not valid unless the photocard is carried with it and bears the
same name as the pass. Drivers should not, in my view, get involved in
questioning passengers about their disabilities.


But they question passengers about their age! Why shouldn't they question
them about their disability, if they appear to be completely of sane body
and mind?

It's not as though fraud is not happening on a massive scale!

Anyway, in the cases I've mentioned, the driver did not ask to see the
photocard even.

"Tristán White" wrote in message . 109.145...
"Richard J." wrote in news:3Mr4g.60971$wl.47175
@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk:

All the driver needs to do is to ask to see the photocard. The Freedom
Pass is not valid unless the photocard is carried with it and bears the
same name as the pass. Drivers should not, in my view, get involved in
questioning passengers about their disabilities.


But they question passengers about their age! Why shouldn't they question
them about their disability, if they appear to be completely of sane body
and mind?

It's not as though fraud is not happening on a massive scale!

Anyway, in the cases I've mentioned, the driver did not ask to see the
photocard even.
--------------------------------------------------------------
What's in it for the driver?even if the passenger is fiddling his freedom pass,probably a smack in the face or worse,let Ken Nazi reinstate bus conductors.

"Scooter" Scooter @ Hooter wrote in message ...

"Tristán White" wrote in message . 109.145...
"Richard J." wrote in news:3Mr4g.60971$wl.47175
@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk:

All the driver needs to do is to ask to see the photocard. The Freedom
Pass is not valid unless the photocard is carried with it and bears the
same name as the pass. Drivers should not, in my view, get involved in
questioning passengers about their disabilities.


But they question passengers about their age! Why shouldn't they question
them about their disability, if they appear to be completely of sane body
and mind?

It's not as though fraud is not happening on a massive scale!

Anyway, in the cases I've mentioned, the driver did not ask to see the
photocard even.
--------------------------------------------------------------
What's in it for the driver?even if the passenger is fiddling his freedom pass,probably a smack in the face or worse,let Ken Nazi reinstate bus conductors.

Scooter wrote:
What's in it for the driver?even if the passenger is fiddling his freedom pass,probably a smack in the face or worse,let Ken Nazi reinstate bus conductors.

Ermm drivers are behind a glass/perspex parition - conductors weren't.
So the driver would not get a smack round the face but a conductor
could do. Therefore your argument fails

"Chris!" wrote in message oups.com...

Scooter wrote:
What's in it for the driver?even if the passenger is fiddling his freedom pass,probably a smack in the face or worse,let Ken Nazi reinstate bus conductors.

Ermm drivers are behind a glass/perspex parition - conductors weren't.
So the driver would not get a smack round the face but a conductor
could do. Therefore your argument fails
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK then, let's have the driver behind a perspex screen & a conductor /stroke guard in full body armour to protect the passengers from being murdered on the tops of buses as happened in the Holloway Road recently when a poor man was stabbed to death after he told some filthy piece of scum to stop throwing chips at his girfriend.

Tristán White wrote:
"Richard J." wrote in news:3Mr4g.60971$wl.47175
@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk:


All the driver needs to do is to ask to see the photocard. The Freedom
Pass is not valid unless the photocard is carried with it and bears the
same name as the pass. Drivers should not, in my view, get involved in
questioning passengers about their disabilities.



But they question passengers about their age! Why shouldn't they question
them about their disability, if they appear to be completely of sane body
and mind?

It's not as though fraud is not happening on a massive scale!

Anyway, in the cases I've mentioned, the driver did not ask to see the
photocard even.


were you near enough to the driver to see if the passengers showed their
photocard with their pass? Or just presuming because the driver didn't
ask they didn't show one

christine wrote in
:


were you near enough to the driver to see if the passengers showed
their photocard with their pass? Or just presuming because the driver
didn't ask they didn't show one

Yes, it was simply swiped through the plastic of the closed orange wallet.

Yesterday, the youth in question was in the queue in front of me, which is
how I saw it said "F'DOM PASS" or some such thing on the display.

On Fri, 28 Apr 2006 18:42:03 -0500, Tristán White wrote:

Yesterday, the youth in question was in the queue in front of me, which is
how I saw it said "F'DOM PASS" or some such thing on the display.

My daughters' uncle used to be a London bus driver, and he said that asking
to check everyone's pass just gets you aggro. He said they can get on with
a dry cleaning receipt as far as he's concerned.
--
loobyloo
Flat 978, The Old Lard Factory, Lancaster http://loobynet.com/
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