The last late night bus did not turn up...

[TheDarkPrince]

Dear all at www.theanswerbank.com,

I went out with a friend one night and decided to take the last bus home from the main bus stop. We duly arrived at the bus stop 10 minutes early. We waited for the last bus, but it did not arrive at the stated time. We waited around 15/20 minutes after the depature time and gave up waiting as it was now long after 11pm. We went to the local taxi rank and got a cab home. In the next few days we wrote to the bus company to complain that the bus did not arrive. And we tried to claim our taxi fare back from them. After a long wait we received a reply from the bus company. The reply basically said that they had checked the tacho graph on the bus and it showed that apparently the bus had left at the correct time. They did not send us a copy of this.

I believe that we can make a freedom of information request to see the cctv footage. Can we ask the bus company to make the video footage of the bus leaving the depot as they stated available? We are willing to pay the £10 fee as stated in law.

Has anyone successfully done this?

Many thank in advance.

[ABerrant]

Is this bus company a public body? If not (i.e. it is a private company) then The FOI Act does not apply.

I would be very surprised if any transport company offers consequential loss for a failure of a scheduled service.

[Hopkirk]

They are lying.

1. Buses do not normally have tachographs fitted.

2. Even if this one did, it would not show where the vehicle was, just what movements it made.

[askyourgran]

I have not heard of anyone ever trying to claim for the delay of last bus home. You could try the American case: Sandra Bullock vs the People.

[tenrec]

What Hopkirk said!

[pizza]

Like previous replies never heard bus drivers having a tacho graph I would look into that !

You were early for this last bus and it failed you !

The thing that worries me is had you not had the money to pay for a taxi and you had walked home you were putting yourselves in danger, the bus company needs to accept accountability for that bus not turning up !

[Eve]

If it is a private bus company could you write to a higher body/authority if there is one in your area such as we have GMPTE in Greater Manchester and I remember an article recently that a bus company was fined significantly for running a poor service.

I always try to get the last bus to me from the first stop in town as I've been on it before now when it's shortcutted through town so missing out a few stops entirely and felt so sorry for any people who would have been waiting there.

Whereabouts are you?

[ojread2]

Whilst the bus may not have a tacho graph (and it may have one), the ticket machine will be able to give a reading of where the driver was at any given time. They would laugh at your request for CCTV footage

It will not be the bus company interested in your complaint, but your local council may be. Bus must run on time, and there are rules that cover this, or the company face large fines

I suggest, if you wish to make a complaint, you call your local council

[ojread2]

I forgot to answer your actual question lol

Yes, where I worked, the bus company would pay any taxi fares payable if the last bus from some where did not run upon presentation of a receipt should anyone complain and checks showed the bus didn't run

[Hymie]

Many years ago, before I held a driving licence, I regularly caught the last bus home from where I worked.

If I had a return ticket and that bus did not run – the local bus company would refund the taxi fare, which happened on more than one occasion. But without a return ticket (contract to supply the service) I doubt they would have had any legal duty to compensate me.

[vulcan]

I used to work for a large commercial vehicle garage and we had several qualified tachograph technicians who had to attend a refresher course every three years. They were entitled to fit and calibrate tachographs to all vehicles which the law demands and these include buses and coaches. The local bus services also had their own qualified technicians, so, yes, buses and coaches are fitted with tachographs.If the bus in question left the depot on time the tachograph would certainly indicate that and also the speed and distance travelled but of course would not state the route taken.

[Buenchico]

As ABerrant states, the FOI act only applies to public bodies.

The right to see CCTV recordings (upon payment of a maximum £10 fee) comes about through the provisions of the Data Protection Act but it only applies to your right to see recordings which feature images of yourself. There is no general right to view CCTV recordings.

The terms of carriage of bus companies normally exclude any liability for 'consequential loss'. So to pursue a claim for such loss you'd need to show that such a provision contravened the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. Since (unless you had a return ticket) you never actually entered into a contract with the bus company, that might prove to be very difficult.

Your chances of getting compensation via 'official' routes are probably very low. Contacting the local press is far more likely to yield the result which you're seeking.

Chris

[Hopkirk]

Thinking about it, I have seen old paper style tachos fitted on buses, but they are usually not used as they are not required.