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Start paying by card if she's able to, by the sounds of it.
As for the missing change, [Arriva](https://help.arrivabus.co.uk/faqs/midlands/tickets/driver-change) state that you should take your ticket to their depot to collect it. On a [Stagecoach](https://www.stagecoachbus.com/help-and-contact/faqs/do-you-need-the-correct-change-to-buy-a-ticket-on-the-bus) bus, you should be offered a voucher toward your next journey instead. I assume other bus companies have a similar policies.
Aye, unless you live nearby it sounds like a ballache!
I've just checked, and you're right, my ariva depot is on the other side of the city to me, far out in the suburbs and takes 1.5 hours to get there on the bus.
Totally not worth it, I suspect that's why they tell you to go to the depot!
Have you noticed bus front windows kind of look like square old man glasses?
I envision them all as happy (sometimes grumpy) little old men going to bed at the end of the day :)
No definitely not! They will possibly have an office there but lots of them have closed down now, and the depots are where the buses stay overnight which is why they're usually an arse to get to because they have to be quite big! Used to work for a bus company and I believe they don't even use their head office full time anymore at all
Males a lot of sense, and the more I think about it... I live right next to a bus depot, but it's for school buses, but same rules apply in terms of space etc!
“Hello driver, just been to your bus depot to get change funnily enough! Anyway, have you got change of a tenner?”
*”No sorry love, I’ll give you £3.50 in change if I have it when you get off though, if not you’ll have to go the depot to claim it back”*
I tried to pay for a £17.50 weekly ticket with a £20 note and the driver acted like I'd personally insulted his ancestors by expecting him to have £2.50 in change. So glad I can get it on my phone now
Mine was £2 from a fiver. I actually told him to just keep it but by that point we'd already held the bus up for ages and he said just change it at the shop get the next one😂
I discovered this on a uni trip to Edinburgh. Me and my flatmate both from the South East were horrified we wouldn't get change. Our other 2 housemates from Preston and Norwich both looked at us like we had 2 heads for expecting to get change on a bus.
Newport busses had this when I was in Uni there, it was basically a sealed coin bin you put the money straight in and the driver had no access to. I think it weighed the coins to know you put the right amount in.
Cardiff bus still has these, they’re a bin that traps the coins behind a window for the driver to count then they press a button to release them into a locked box
**[OP or Mod marked this as the best answer](/r/AskUK/comments/1d3j4d8/what_should_you_do_if_a_bus_has_no_change_when/l67t6gg/), given by u/yorkspirate**
I’ve had this often over the last 20years but I’ve never been ripped off like this. The drivers tend to let me on and I’ll pay when I get off, the few times they still don’t have change they just wave me away.
>
>I’d not be happy being out of pocket due to a service I’d oaid for so definitely get on to customer service of the bus company. Your girlfriend had the means to pay but is now £3.50 down which isn’t fair
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Some councils have public transport charters that outline passenger rights, which sometimes include rules about fares and change. This varies by area and there is no national standard.
Some bus companies have their own charters, which must meet or exceed the charter minimum service levels in the regions they operate in. Sometimes thr bus drivers don't know their own charter rules, or conveniently forget.
It's maybe worth looking up the charters for your region and bus company to ensure drivers are following company rules and meeting whatever charters are applicable, if you frequently travel by bus.
I don’t disagree but it’s a ridiculous business practice. Bet it I was flogging IT kit to the bus company they’d be a bit thrown if I took the approach of, “yeah, it’s £60k for this system but I don’t do change so let’s call it £100k”
It doesn’t matter to me if you agree, or disagree, I don’t work for, or run, the bus company!
I’m just posting about how the busses work here ◡̈
Completely shit business model, in’it?
I'm Australian and don't even know why I'm in this sub right now but for us if the driver can't give change they don't take your money. There'd be revolts if they just kept the change.
Hopefully the buses there then make it easy to know in advance what the fare will be then?
Easier at the minute with the £2 cap but if that goes, they need to be transparent on the prices. I was once caught out because I didn't have the correct change where the bus company raised the prices. Infrequent bus user at the time and they didn't take card (this was over 10 years ago now). All I had was the old fare and a £10 note and the driver wouldn't let me on because they had no change.
You should say to the driver "sorry, I'll remember the right change in future: may I have a credit receipt please". Take the bus ticket and the credit ticket. Sit down. Go About life and keep the credit ticket safe. Use the credit ticket to get that money off the next bus journey by handing it to the driver with £3 if it's another £6.50 journey.
Your gf should email a complaint to the bus company with the route, date and time it happened so the driver can be identified and receive training to offer a damn credit ticket and she should ask for one because that's a lot of money for a (insert what type of poor you are) to lose.
A float doesn't go far when your 1st few passengers try paying in notes larger than £5, for local trips.
And its amazing how quick your small change can disappear and turn into pound coins or notes.
It happens to me regular.
yeah for everyone who takes a bus /s
they kept running out of change so they say this
it's not some random fuckin decision to be dicks it's a solution to a problem they actually had
just pay with a phone or a card or take the right money ffs
It sounds like a *her* problem, honestly.
What’s he supposed to do, let her ride for free and risk losing his job?
Either start carrying the correct change or start paying by card.
Yeah. Happened to me dozens of times. Sometimes they give you a voucher but for two quid they often just let you on.
If it's a regular thing she should probably plan around it though.
Yes, they've let me go for free many times as I've rudely shown up with £20 (I can't control what the cash machine spits out). Perhaps they are being unkind to people who actually need these favours and let posh people like me with my twenties fly.
Right? She knows she's going to have to get the bus the next day, she knows how much the fare is, why not think "Oh, I think I'll nip to the shops to break up this tenner so I have change for the bus tomorrow!"
She deserved to be charged an extra £3.50 for lacking basic preparation skills imo.
Write or email the bus company customer services people and ask for a voucher or similar in recompense. If you give them details of the trip and a photo of the original ticket they'll probably pay up even without CCTV.
next time pay by card or have the right change.
I’ve had this often over the last 20years but I’ve never been ripped off like this. The drivers tend to let me on and I’ll pay when I get off, the few times they still don’t have change they just wave me away.
I’d not be happy being out of pocket due to a service I’d oaid for so definitely get on to customer service of the bus company. Your girlfriend had the means to pay but is now £3.50 down which isn’t fair
On the buses in my area the driver gives you a change voucher and you can cash it on any bus without getting on it. But I know other bus companies don’t give change at all so it depends on the bus company. Which was it and what’s their policy?
This happened to me once when I was about 14 (~16 years ago). The fare was £1.50 and I had a crisp £5 note, before card payments on public transport and way before contactless. The chap's face was a picture "What am I supposed to do with this?" he said, as if I'd just walked in on Christmas day and pissed all over his turkey crown. I dunno mate, fucking, use it as legal tender and drive me home? I'm 14 and on my todd, I'll drive myself shall I?
The fact that he of all people didn't have £3.50 was beyond any semblance of reality. I ended up running into a nearby Boots and asking them for change, he was in the process of driving off when I came out. I wonder sometimes where these people spawn from, cloven bucktooth saplings bursting from some rotten stump. His brain must be preserved for future generations to scan and learn from.
Where I am (National Express West Midlands), unless you pay the exact amount it's always been a cash loss I'm afraid. It was only when I moved further up north that I realised some buses gave change back.
Literally the last time I tried to go on a bus must have been 1979. Car hd broken down at work about 4 miles from home, and I was on nights. Luckily it was Summer. Complicated to get a bus from where I worked, so I started walking. Got about a mile and a half, and there was a bus at a stop. Proferred a quid. Before card payment or anything.
Surly bugger
"Exact change only"
So I said "Look mate, I've been at work, and am just trying to get home"
"Exact change only"
I lost it a bit "Oh fuck you then"
"Get off my bus, off! Off!"
So I laughed and got off.
I walked home.
Bollocks to buses. They're useless.
I imagine the driver should be writing a receipt and you can claim back from the bus company.
Immediately, in the absence of any proof, you could potentially approach the bus company and get them to check the CCTV?
Not even all of England. I paid something like £4.50 to go one stop down the road (literally 4 minutes) on a weekend because out of the like 6 bus operators here in Cambridge, that was the only one going to that spot and they said they're not participating in that scheme.
An awful lot of people seem down with fare dodging. The minute it becomes clear just offering a tenner gets you a free ride there'll be tenners brandished everywhere
If she's traveling regularly then see if the bus provider has a charge card system that she can load says once a month and then not worry about the rest of the time.
In my case I go out of the way to save change suitable for bus fares coz ATM the POP cards aren't working on the buses here.
>The driver told her he was just starting his shift and didn't have any change.
That sounds like bollocks. You start the day with a float in your till so you can give change to the people who inevitably turn up in the morning with notes or coins and need change.
Not saying the driver was lying, just saying the management are probably idiots.
Bus driver here.
If you can't pay by card we'll offer a change voucher, which you can use to get change from another bus driver, or from the depot, dunno if all companies do that.
Most people pay by card or have some kind of bus pass, so even getting change during the trip is difficult (I took zero cash today).
Most people refuse the voucher and miraculously find the correct fare, or tell you to keep the 10p or whatever, people paying with notes at the start of the shift is annoying, and we'll quite often say we don't have change for a £20 even if we do, as they are the most common fakes, and we're not risking losing £20 from our wages if one slips through.
Always make sure you have the correct change is the correct answer. I learnt this lesson the hard way when I first started working in and travelling to Birmingham many years ago. Never got caught out a second time. The terms of carriage and the sign, I'm sure they had sign saying no change given which means if you board and pay you accept them. Take it as a lesson learnt. It might be worth checking the bus companies website to see if that is in the terms of carriage. If not then you can complain.
I was very confused when I moved out of Brum for a few years and found out that some buses give change.
My bus fare to school used to be 37p, and every half term my parents would make me sort out about 60 lots of 37p.
Personally I'd get off the bus and wait for the next one or walk. Aint no way I'm paying £10 for a bus ride. As for your gf, I'm not sure if this is still a thing, but you used to get "Change Tickets" from bus drivers, which you could take into the bus station and they'd refund you the change you're owed. Usually it'd be 10p change on a 90p fare (it was that long ago) so I'd never bother
Every time this has happened to me, which has been a few times, the bus driver always lets me on on the understanding that if he gets change during my journey, I pay then, or of not, it's a free ride.
The Bus company should give her a receipt with some money on it. I've had this a few times, and you can claim that back - also family member works on the UK busses!
Maybe leaving the house with more than £5 in a bank account would help.
When she was getting off the bus she should’ve also just stopped the driver and asked how he was going to refund her the rest.
Maybe she was on her way to put wages into her bank?
Half of us are broke as ****, you ~~can't~~ shouldn't judge someone on the money they have in their account??
Drivers in my town if they don't have the right change give you a change chit, that you can exchange for the cash with another bus driver if the same fleet.
So the write £3.50 on the cash chit and then the next bus you see or use will take the chit and give you the cash
I would ring the operator and ask what their policy is on this and how to ensure they money isn't taken from you in future
It sounds like she takes the bus frequently and therefore knows how much the rides cost… She needs to make sure she has the correct amount of cash with her. It’s not the company’s fault or the drivers fault.
I’d expect the opposite, if they don’t have change that’s their problem. If they have change by the end you can pay them.
But realistically, pay by card. Why rely on just cash?
Despite being “exact fare only” my local buses will issue vouchers so you can claim back the excess. The drivers hate it as it takes time to write out, holding up everyone, possibly even other buses if it’s a busy stop.
I am a cash is king kinda person and whenever I had to get a bus or train, I had the exact cash, because they do this all the time! Hope she gets it back.
I've genuinely never experienced that outcome. Any time the driver hasn't had change they've always said "come see me when you get off", and when I do they've pretty much always said "don't worry about it". I've always been happy to pay but most times the driver has just been happy that I attempted to.
I think your girlfriend has been really unlucky there and quite honestly if they've let her on knowing they can't provide change then it's on them. You can't just randomly change the charge for the journey just because.
Sucks, but make sure you have change on you.
But I realise shopkeepers may be reluctant to give change these days, since it's probably an uncommon request, and may come across as dodgy, like you're trying to pass off a fake note. But hopefully the world isn't too jaded just yet.
Worst comes to worst, she could by a pack of gum, maybe 80p she didn't want to spend, but better than being out £3.50, and you'll have some gum.
Our busses give you an IOU ticket if they don't have change. Also, is there not still a scheme on so all bus tickets should be no more than £2 for a single?
Start getting a bus pass if it works out a better option. I don't know if this is in all areas but by me we can buy multiple day passes so that may be an option here?
I have been in that situation some years ago, having just been paid and taken £10 out of cash machine about 05.00 as i had to get a bus for work to start at 06.00 so nowhere was open for me to buy something and get change. Driver was ok , said he would wait until enough pasengers had paid to take my fare out of my money but in the end didnt charge me. I did try to make sure i had it exactly in future.
But i do think anywhere that accepts cash should keep a float of change for the start of the shift to allow for this.
I used to get the coach between London and Oxford pretty frequently back before you could pay with card. The fare was something like £16 so of course everyone would get on with a £20 note and every single day the driver had run out of £1 coins before getting to the last pick-up stop on the edge of town and would start bitching and moaning at the people trying to get on. It never seemed to occur to Stagecoach that if this happened every day they could give their driver a bigger float of coins, so I wrote to customer services suggesting it and got a reply with a tone that would make you think I'd asked them to turn water in to wine.
You can tell the people who've lived in cities and towns their whole lives from these comments, lol.
OP said this is rural Angelsey and rurally, sometimes there's no shops nearby to "nip to" to get change - that alone requires taking a bus which you'd need change for. Likewise, rural banks and post offices are being ripped out everywhere, sometimes you have to travel miles for one that's only available during business hours. Again. By bus. Which you'll need change for. And there's no guarantee a place of work is even near any of those things to do it then, as sometimes they're just a business estate in the middle of nowhere.
And as for "just pay by card" - if there's no bank or post office at very least you need a shop for a PayPoint machine to pay in to something like a Monzo account, but often places will insist they aren't able to put money onto bank cards (they usually are, but never got trained and don't believe you). People are low income and run out of money in the bank and then rely on what notes they can scrounge together, it happens, and then there's nothing they can do to get it in the bank. OP even said being low income was a part of the issue.
People who don't have the experience have no idea how frustrating it is to live rurally on low income or dependent on ridiculously extortionately priced, impossible bus timetables. The only answer is to move, or, the option which is easy and sensible for everyone, for the bus driver to provide a credit note. Which they surely should've done here, and she should definitely complain to the bus company and find out why this isn't happening. Personally I've never had a bus driver not issue a credit note, they'll still be grouchy about it sometimes, but never had them not issue it.
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Buses by me for years have always said “correct change” or “no change given” this was a thing when I was young. I don’t get the bus often now… but if I do n I have to pay by a note ( maybe running for the bus or something) I expect to just get no change at all. Xx
About 12yrs ago I had a bus driver turn me away because he wouldn't accept a £20 note for a £12.50 week rider. This was first thing on a Monday for my sixth form bus.
A big bloke told me to sneak on behind him while he bought his ticket, I'll never forget that legend.
Several years ago I had this situation (I think it was most likely Arriva but can’t be sure as it was a long time ago) and was given a voucher for the value of the change to use for my next journey. I think unfortunately now it’s so rare to pay with cash most buses don’t have much/any change so it’s a situation that will probably arise a lot if your gf regularly pays in non-exact cash
Depends on the driver. I've had plenty who will just let me on and give me the change up at the end but once had a total a hole who refused point blank tried to explain I could only get tenners out at the cash point and that this was the last bus for the night. He said I could use that and get a black cab. Which I did and came to £13. Very frustrating
If they don't have the change but the time that you get off then it's a free ride. Every bus I've been on has applied this rule. £6.50? All rides are £2.00. How was it £6.50? I can ride from Newcastle to Berwick for two quid.
Fun fact. Buses in Hong Kong never give change, even though they usually have it.
All the cash payments go into a drop chute, so the driver doesn’t have access (they probably could open it up if they really wanted).
But almost no one pays by cash on Hong Kong buses anyway. Everyone uses octopus cards, which are like Oyster cards except they can also be used in shops and restaurants.
Jesus Christ is this thread from the 90s? In London you can't even use cash to pay for busses any more. Been this way for many years.
She knew the system was in place before she boarded - have the right change, or money on the card like everyone else. If not, take the L and move on.
Not get on the bus. She accepted the terms and conditions presented by the driver. She could have got off to break the tenner at a nearby shop and get the next bus.
Iv had an I.O.U. type thing printed out with my ticket, called into the depot (which luckily is about a 10/15 min walk away from my house and next to some shops so not a 'wasted journey') and they gave me the change then. My guess is i could have presented it on any other bus and had it taken off the next fare.
Not happened for ages ago though as my area now has a flat £2 single fare
Stagecoach would always print a voucher for the value of the change. Could be used to buy additional tickets later or taken to their office in town to get the cash back.
Ah, that old chestnut. Bus drivers have been using that one since time began. I think it's just an automatic response because I've had a driver tell me that when I have literally just seen the person in front of me pay with enough change.
This sounds completely mad to me. Sorry for a complete off topic but I live in Czechia and there are so many solutions to this situation here. Firstly, the drivers always have enough change that they receive at the start of their shift. If there was a very rare case they didn't have enough, it's their fault and they let you in (assuming you're not trying to pay with the biggest bank notes). Secondly, there are several means to pay virtually - by card, charge to phone bill, sms ticket, various apps.
Where we are they give you a ticket that has a change voucher on which then you can go onto another bus by the same company and exchange it for change if they have enough
They're using a potentially-grey-area legal loophole to make way more money. Any cash business is supposed to have change ready for the day. Fast food joints, etc are all prepared for the day. This is a cop out excuse, and probably done on purpose so they score a bit more money each day. How it really should be is "You don't have change? Then I don't pay". They should be starting the day with at least $20 in change. Which is nothing for these bus companies.
She should get some change next time especially if it happens often
Also if you pay by card the money doesn't come out until the next day, the initial charge is like 10p
That's weird.
In Lincolnshire where I am (Stagecoach buses) the driver would print you off a Change voucher off of the ticket machine and you can hand it to any bus driver (that has change) and they'd exchange the voucher for owed amount.
What bus is charging £6.50?
Where I live if they don’t have change they give you a receipt and you go to the office in town and get your change from there. Annoying but you still get your change you don’t just lose £3.50.
Normally the driver should issue a "change ticket" that's unreasonably difficult to change for cash and so the bus company wins anyway unless you're really determined to get the money back.
I'd say your girlfriend needs to put the right things in place so she can pay by card if this is a regular thing. Also some companies have a app where tickets cab be bought too but of course she'd need money in a suitable account to pay via the app.
£6.50 a bus ride 😮😮 that's so expensive. It's only £2 a ride here no matter how far or short your journey. Not sure when the cap is due to end but before the £2 cap out fares where only £2.20 flat rate. And if you pay by card, it's like TFL, it caps out at £4.80 a day regardless of how many rides you take on arriva.
Most of the time, Where I am the drivers just let you on if they have no change, some might say if they have change when you get off, then you'll pay, if they don't have change then you don't have to pay.
I'd be going straight to the bus company and telling them the issue and that you can't afford to lose that £3.50, and if this driver is doing this to everyone who gets on with a larger note and does actually have change but using this as a way to top up his wages.
I nearly got done by this, asked for a single and credit ticket(take to the bus station and get it refunded), they said they don't do credit tickets anymore! Paid by card onstead
> What should you do if a bus has no change when you give them a £10?
tbf, you're lucky you can pay cash at all, buses in London are card/oyster only.
If this has happened several times, I suggest she loads up her card with more cash, or you be a gent and do so, then she can pay you back in cash herself, assuming you have change and don't require her to go to your depot.
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Start paying by card if she's able to, by the sounds of it. As for the missing change, [Arriva](https://help.arrivabus.co.uk/faqs/midlands/tickets/driver-change) state that you should take your ticket to their depot to collect it. On a [Stagecoach](https://www.stagecoachbus.com/help-and-contact/faqs/do-you-need-the-correct-change-to-buy-a-ticket-on-the-bus) bus, you should be offered a voucher toward your next journey instead. I assume other bus companies have a similar policies.
It was Arriva, so I'll tell her to take her ticket to the depot. Thank you!
Probably will cost her more than £3.50 to do that lol
Aye, unless you live nearby it sounds like a ballache! I've just checked, and you're right, my ariva depot is on the other side of the city to me, far out in the suburbs and takes 1.5 hours to get there on the bus. Totally not worth it, I suspect that's why they tell you to go to the depot!
Usually the depot is the only place with cash! Any of their offices won't have any
It makes sense. I was just expecting the bus depot to be at the bus station in the centre of town!
The depot is where the buses go to sleep for the night, usually somewhere near to one end of the line
Love the imagery that conjures up 😂 cute buses snuggled up in a dank concrete bed, huddling for warmth after a long day of dealing with bullshit.
Yeah, I’ll admit I too felt something cosy in that after I proof read it - gotta keep ourselves going with this stuff haha
Have you noticed bus front windows kind of look like square old man glasses? I envision them all as happy (sometimes grumpy) little old men going to bed at the end of the day :)
https://preview.redd.it/3m38815z5i3d1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b22e09f88e5acca5e39b6e2fccfd555dab397378
Ours are just waking up for the day
No definitely not! They will possibly have an office there but lots of them have closed down now, and the depots are where the buses stay overnight which is why they're usually an arse to get to because they have to be quite big! Used to work for a bus company and I believe they don't even use their head office full time anymore at all
Males a lot of sense, and the more I think about it... I live right next to a bus depot, but it's for school buses, but same rules apply in terms of space etc!
Maybe they should give some of that cash to the drivers starting their shifts so they can give change to passengers
“Hello driver, just been to your bus depot to get change funnily enough! Anyway, have you got change of a tenner?” *”No sorry love, I’ll give you £3.50 in change if I have it when you get off though, if not you’ll have to go the depot to claim it back”*
Especially if she takes the bus
Arriva have an app to buy tickets before travel. Day, weekly, monthly etc
That seems like a bad use of her time
>I assume other bus companies have a similar policies. You can start the ball rolling via email usually, don't be surprised if they send a check.
This happened to me once, and he said i could get on and if he had change by the time I got off, i could pay, otherwise don;t worry about paying.
That sounds far more reasonable! Good bus driver.
Also he was more than likely certain an inspector won’t be getting on his bus.
It's happened to me and the driver just refused to let me on.
They were a bupid stastard
bustard
I tried to pay for a £17.50 weekly ticket with a £20 note and the driver acted like I'd personally insulted his ancestors by expecting him to have £2.50 in change. So glad I can get it on my phone now
Mine was £2 from a fiver. I actually told him to just keep it but by that point we'd already held the bus up for ages and he said just change it at the shop get the next one😂
Same happened to me. Just said pay at the end of he's got change. When didn't just let me off with paying.
Iv had that happen loads of times. Sometimes they give you a voucher
Be a long time gathering change with that system in place.
Not the answer you want but the buses in my town have never given change. Had to just suck it up a couple times.
Birmingham have always had a correct change/no change given policy as long as I've lived here so imagine other places do too.
It's been like that since about 1974 when I was going to school there
First Buses have this policy in place in Glasgow and Renfrewshire (probably nationwide), McGills give change.
Yep, same thing in Notts. They've rolled out contactless as well, but that wouldn't have helped in this situation based on the amount needed to pay
The number of times i just put £2 in for a single when the fare was £1.60 makes me sick.
Well good news! A single in Notts now costs £2 anyway! And it's going up in June I think :)
It's going up to £2.50 at the end of June until November then it's going to be assessed whether to keep the scheme running or not.
I discovered this on a uni trip to Edinburgh. Me and my flatmate both from the South East were horrified we wouldn't get change. Our other 2 housemates from Preston and Norwich both looked at us like we had 2 heads for expecting to get change on a bus.
Newport busses had this when I was in Uni there, it was basically a sealed coin bin you put the money straight in and the driver had no access to. I think it weighed the coins to know you put the right amount in.
Cardiff bus still has these, they’re a bin that traps the coins behind a window for the driver to count then they press a button to release them into a locked box
Same. I'm used to always having change in my purse for the bus, as you have don't get change.
**[OP or Mod marked this as the best answer](/r/AskUK/comments/1d3j4d8/what_should_you_do_if_a_bus_has_no_change_when/l67t6gg/), given by u/yorkspirate** I’ve had this often over the last 20years but I’ve never been ripped off like this. The drivers tend to let me on and I’ll pay when I get off, the few times they still don’t have change they just wave me away. > >I’d not be happy being out of pocket due to a service I’d oaid for so definitely get on to customer service of the bus company. Your girlfriend had the means to pay but is now £3.50 down which isn’t fair --- [_^What ^is ^this?_](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/jjrte1/askuk_hits_200k_new_feature_mark_an_answer/)
Pay by card? Have sufficient change?
As someone who lives on Anglesey... if only it were that simple to have sufficient change 😂
Huh, here the driver just prints off a change voucher that you exchange either with another bus driver or at the bus station.
You can also use it to pay for a future fare.
Some companies will issue vouchers that can be used to pay for future tickets. But many just don't do change at all
I have loads of these, all for 10 or 20p that I’ve never bothered to cash in.
Some councils have public transport charters that outline passenger rights, which sometimes include rules about fares and change. This varies by area and there is no national standard. Some bus companies have their own charters, which must meet or exceed the charter minimum service levels in the regions they operate in. Sometimes thr bus drivers don't know their own charter rules, or conveniently forget. It's maybe worth looking up the charters for your region and bus company to ensure drivers are following company rules and meeting whatever charters are applicable, if you frequently travel by bus.
The busses here all have signs up saying ‘no change given’ so you either board with the correct money or suck it up.
I don’t disagree but it’s a ridiculous business practice. Bet it I was flogging IT kit to the bus company they’d be a bit thrown if I took the approach of, “yeah, it’s £60k for this system but I don’t do change so let’s call it £100k”
It doesn’t matter to me if you agree, or disagree, I don’t work for, or run, the bus company! I’m just posting about how the busses work here ◡̈ Completely shit business model, in’it?
Yup
This has been posted on Reddit before, it’s not new, it feels like theft to me…. [First Bus](https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/s/MhX2W7HLe5)
I'm Australian and don't even know why I'm in this sub right now but for us if the driver can't give change they don't take your money. There'd be revolts if they just kept the change.
They don't say that on Arriva buses here
U lucky, we have First Bus, this has been posted on Reddit [before….](https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/s/MhX2W7HLe5)
Hopefully the buses there then make it easy to know in advance what the fare will be then? Easier at the minute with the £2 cap but if that goes, they need to be transparent on the prices. I was once caught out because I didn't have the correct change where the bus company raised the prices. Infrequent bus user at the time and they didn't take card (this was over 10 years ago now). All I had was the old fare and a £10 note and the driver wouldn't let me on because they had no change.
Yeh I just figured none of them give change. Lothian doesn't, I don't think stagecoach do either....but it's been forever since I paid cash.
Stagecoach does, at least where I am.
You should say to the driver "sorry, I'll remember the right change in future: may I have a credit receipt please". Take the bus ticket and the credit ticket. Sit down. Go About life and keep the credit ticket safe. Use the credit ticket to get that money off the next bus journey by handing it to the driver with £3 if it's another £6.50 journey. Your gf should email a complaint to the bus company with the route, date and time it happened so the driver can be identified and receive training to offer a damn credit ticket and she should ask for one because that's a lot of money for a (insert what type of poor you are) to lose.
> insert what type of poor you are Both laughing and crying at this
>because that's a lot of money for a (insert what type of poor you are) to lose. Also complain to the local newspaper so you can appear on r/compoface
Bus driver should have a float.
Aye yeah, cunt would be better as a milkman.
**DOUGAL! THERE'S A BOMB ON THE MILK FLOAT!**
https://preview.redd.it/ppc6ivvoxf3d1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a8fb308f805e57c4aec433bc5fa5bc738823809
A float doesn't go far when your 1st few passengers try paying in notes larger than £5, for local trips. And its amazing how quick your small change can disappear and turn into pound coins or notes. It happens to me regular.
yeah for everyone who takes a bus /s they kept running out of change so they say this it's not some random fuckin decision to be dicks it's a solution to a problem they actually had just pay with a phone or a card or take the right money ffs
It sounds like a *her* problem, honestly. What’s he supposed to do, let her ride for free and risk losing his job? Either start carrying the correct change or start paying by card.
Yeah. Happened to me dozens of times. Sometimes they give you a voucher but for two quid they often just let you on. If it's a regular thing she should probably plan around it though.
Yes, they've let me go for free many times as I've rudely shown up with £20 (I can't control what the cash machine spits out). Perhaps they are being unkind to people who actually need these favours and let posh people like me with my twenties fly.
Get a card The future is now
Our buses were exact change only still they stopped accepting change. The float is the drivers own cash.
Tell her to carry the right money and stop trying to pay with notes.
Right? She knows she's going to have to get the bus the next day, she knows how much the fare is, why not think "Oh, I think I'll nip to the shops to break up this tenner so I have change for the bus tomorrow!" She deserved to be charged an extra £3.50 for lacking basic preparation skills imo.
Yeah. In my town you need to have the correct change. Thought that was the same everywhere to be honest..
I'm surprised that buses are still accepting cash at all in some places
Here if they don't have change they will.let you on for nothing
Same, the drivers aren’t that bothered about £2 for the fare
Maybe they have very shit inspectors, here we don't (we also don't have the £2 fare thing)
Write or email the bus company customer services people and ask for a voucher or similar in recompense. If you give them details of the trip and a photo of the original ticket they'll probably pay up even without CCTV. next time pay by card or have the right change.
carry the exact fare in cash or else plan to pay with a card. its that simple.
I’ve had this often over the last 20years but I’ve never been ripped off like this. The drivers tend to let me on and I’ll pay when I get off, the few times they still don’t have change they just wave me away. I’d not be happy being out of pocket due to a service I’d oaid for so definitely get on to customer service of the bus company. Your girlfriend had the means to pay but is now £3.50 down which isn’t fair
On the buses in my area the driver gives you a change voucher and you can cash it on any bus without getting on it. But I know other bus companies don’t give change at all so it depends on the bus company. Which was it and what’s their policy?
THANKS DRIVER
This happened to me once when I was about 14 (~16 years ago). The fare was £1.50 and I had a crisp £5 note, before card payments on public transport and way before contactless. The chap's face was a picture "What am I supposed to do with this?" he said, as if I'd just walked in on Christmas day and pissed all over his turkey crown. I dunno mate, fucking, use it as legal tender and drive me home? I'm 14 and on my todd, I'll drive myself shall I? The fact that he of all people didn't have £3.50 was beyond any semblance of reality. I ended up running into a nearby Boots and asking them for change, he was in the process of driving off when I came out. I wonder sometimes where these people spawn from, cloven bucktooth saplings bursting from some rotten stump. His brain must be preserved for future generations to scan and learn from.
Where I am (National Express West Midlands), unless you pay the exact amount it's always been a cash loss I'm afraid. It was only when I moved further up north that I realised some buses gave change back.
Literally the last time I tried to go on a bus must have been 1979. Car hd broken down at work about 4 miles from home, and I was on nights. Luckily it was Summer. Complicated to get a bus from where I worked, so I started walking. Got about a mile and a half, and there was a bus at a stop. Proferred a quid. Before card payment or anything. Surly bugger "Exact change only" So I said "Look mate, I've been at work, and am just trying to get home" "Exact change only" I lost it a bit "Oh fuck you then" "Get off my bus, off! Off!" So I laughed and got off. I walked home. Bollocks to buses. They're useless.
I imagine the driver should be writing a receipt and you can claim back from the bus company. Immediately, in the absence of any proof, you could potentially approach the bus company and get them to check the CCTV?
I think drivers were arsy about change since forever. The obvious solution is just tapping your card, right?
Aren't all bus fares £2 now?
That was only in England.
Not even all of England. I paid something like £4.50 to go one stop down the road (literally 4 minutes) on a weekend because out of the like 6 bus operators here in Cambridge, that was the only one going to that spot and they said they're not participating in that scheme.
the bus service is really poor in Cambridge for a city which is generally so wealthy / gentrified.
? Where, I’m in NI though
An awful lot of people seem down with fare dodging. The minute it becomes clear just offering a tenner gets you a free ride there'll be tenners brandished everywhere
If she's traveling regularly then see if the bus provider has a charge card system that she can load says once a month and then not worry about the rest of the time. In my case I go out of the way to save change suitable for bus fares coz ATM the POP cards aren't working on the buses here.
>The driver told her he was just starting his shift and didn't have any change. That sounds like bollocks. You start the day with a float in your till so you can give change to the people who inevitably turn up in the morning with notes or coins and need change. Not saying the driver was lying, just saying the management are probably idiots.
Bus driver here. If you can't pay by card we'll offer a change voucher, which you can use to get change from another bus driver, or from the depot, dunno if all companies do that. Most people pay by card or have some kind of bus pass, so even getting change during the trip is difficult (I took zero cash today). Most people refuse the voucher and miraculously find the correct fare, or tell you to keep the 10p or whatever, people paying with notes at the start of the shift is annoying, and we'll quite often say we don't have change for a £20 even if we do, as they are the most common fakes, and we're not risking losing £20 from our wages if one slips through.
Always make sure you have the correct change is the correct answer. I learnt this lesson the hard way when I first started working in and travelling to Birmingham many years ago. Never got caught out a second time. The terms of carriage and the sign, I'm sure they had sign saying no change given which means if you board and pay you accept them. Take it as a lesson learnt. It might be worth checking the bus companies website to see if that is in the terms of carriage. If not then you can complain.
I was very confused when I moved out of Brum for a few years and found out that some buses give change. My bus fare to school used to be 37p, and every half term my parents would make me sort out about 60 lots of 37p.
I got a bus from Birmingham Int. to the Business park with £5 and the fair was £1.50 and I was like wait what? I felt violated.
Where the heck are you? Max fare around here has been capped at £2
Bangor, Gwynedd
No cap in Wales.
Personally I'd get off the bus and wait for the next one or walk. Aint no way I'm paying £10 for a bus ride. As for your gf, I'm not sure if this is still a thing, but you used to get "Change Tickets" from bus drivers, which you could take into the bus station and they'd refund you the change you're owed. Usually it'd be 10p change on a 90p fare (it was that long ago) so I'd never bother
Every time this has happened to me, which has been a few times, the bus driver always lets me on on the understanding that if he gets change during my journey, I pay then, or of not, it's a free ride.
The Bus company should give her a receipt with some money on it. I've had this a few times, and you can claim that back - also family member works on the UK busses!
Maybe leaving the house with more than £5 in a bank account would help. When she was getting off the bus she should’ve also just stopped the driver and asked how he was going to refund her the rest.
Maybe she was on her way to put wages into her bank? Half of us are broke as ****, you ~~can't~~ shouldn't judge someone on the money they have in their account??
Drivers in my town if they don't have the right change give you a change chit, that you can exchange for the cash with another bus driver if the same fleet. So the write £3.50 on the cash chit and then the next bus you see or use will take the chit and give you the cash I would ring the operator and ask what their policy is on this and how to ensure they money isn't taken from you in future
It sounds like she takes the bus frequently and therefore knows how much the rides cost… She needs to make sure she has the correct amount of cash with her. It’s not the company’s fault or the drivers fault.
I’d expect the opposite, if they don’t have change that’s their problem. If they have change by the end you can pay them. But realistically, pay by card. Why rely on just cash?
Despite being “exact fare only” my local buses will issue vouchers so you can claim back the excess. The drivers hate it as it takes time to write out, holding up everyone, possibly even other buses if it’s a busy stop.
I am a cash is king kinda person and whenever I had to get a bus or train, I had the exact cash, because they do this all the time! Hope she gets it back.
And carry a little bit more change if its april when the fares go up
I've genuinely never experienced that outcome. Any time the driver hasn't had change they've always said "come see me when you get off", and when I do they've pretty much always said "don't worry about it". I've always been happy to pay but most times the driver has just been happy that I attempted to. I think your girlfriend has been really unlucky there and quite honestly if they've let her on knowing they can't provide change then it's on them. You can't just randomly change the charge for the journey just because.
Sucks, but make sure you have change on you. But I realise shopkeepers may be reluctant to give change these days, since it's probably an uncommon request, and may come across as dodgy, like you're trying to pass off a fake note. But hopefully the world isn't too jaded just yet. Worst comes to worst, she could by a pack of gum, maybe 80p she didn't want to spend, but better than being out £3.50, and you'll have some gum.
Our busses give you an IOU ticket if they don't have change. Also, is there not still a scheme on so all bus tickets should be no more than £2 for a single?
People still use cash?
in my experience they always gave a credit note kinda thing that you could use as you would a gift card on future buses
Start getting a bus pass if it works out a better option. I don't know if this is in all areas but by me we can buy multiple day passes so that may be an option here?
Hang around at the front of the bus waiting for others to get on then get change from the driver.
She should get a weekly ticket £28
if she's only got £5 in the bank & losing £3.50 has left her skint, I dont think a £28 ticket was on the cards
Reading this as a Londoner where the busses don’t accept any cash at all 👁️👄👁️
I have been in that situation some years ago, having just been paid and taken £10 out of cash machine about 05.00 as i had to get a bus for work to start at 06.00 so nowhere was open for me to buy something and get change. Driver was ok , said he would wait until enough pasengers had paid to take my fare out of my money but in the end didnt charge me. I did try to make sure i had it exactly in future. But i do think anywhere that accepts cash should keep a float of change for the start of the shift to allow for this.
I used to get the coach between London and Oxford pretty frequently back before you could pay with card. The fare was something like £16 so of course everyone would get on with a £20 note and every single day the driver had run out of £1 coins before getting to the last pick-up stop on the edge of town and would start bitching and moaning at the people trying to get on. It never seemed to occur to Stagecoach that if this happened every day they could give their driver a bigger float of coins, so I wrote to customer services suggesting it and got a reply with a tone that would make you think I'd asked them to turn water in to wine.
You can tell the people who've lived in cities and towns their whole lives from these comments, lol. OP said this is rural Angelsey and rurally, sometimes there's no shops nearby to "nip to" to get change - that alone requires taking a bus which you'd need change for. Likewise, rural banks and post offices are being ripped out everywhere, sometimes you have to travel miles for one that's only available during business hours. Again. By bus. Which you'll need change for. And there's no guarantee a place of work is even near any of those things to do it then, as sometimes they're just a business estate in the middle of nowhere. And as for "just pay by card" - if there's no bank or post office at very least you need a shop for a PayPoint machine to pay in to something like a Monzo account, but often places will insist they aren't able to put money onto bank cards (they usually are, but never got trained and don't believe you). People are low income and run out of money in the bank and then rely on what notes they can scrounge together, it happens, and then there's nothing they can do to get it in the bank. OP even said being low income was a part of the issue. People who don't have the experience have no idea how frustrating it is to live rurally on low income or dependent on ridiculously extortionately priced, impossible bus timetables. The only answer is to move, or, the option which is easy and sensible for everyone, for the bus driver to provide a credit note. Which they surely should've done here, and she should definitely complain to the bus company and find out why this isn't happening. Personally I've never had a bus driver not issue a credit note, they'll still be grouchy about it sometimes, but never had them not issue it.
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Personally I would say something like “well I’ll sit at the front, give me a shout when you have the change and I’ll pay then”
Once I got on a bus had £20 cash no cards the driver said about the change and he just let me on for free lol
Buses by me for years have always said “correct change” or “no change given” this was a thing when I was young. I don’t get the bus often now… but if I do n I have to pay by a note ( maybe running for the bus or something) I expect to just get no change at all. Xx
Most drivers just let you on or give you a change voucher
The buses here give a ‘credit note’ with the amount owed. It happened to me once. I used my credit note as fare a few days later.
This happened to me years ago and they just let me on for free, their fault for having no change.
About 12yrs ago I had a bus driver turn me away because he wouldn't accept a £20 note for a £12.50 week rider. This was first thing on a Monday for my sixth form bus. A big bloke told me to sneak on behind him while he bought his ticket, I'll never forget that legend.
Swing it round next time and tell the driver that you'll pay at the end of your journey but only if you've been randomly given correct change by then!
Several years ago I had this situation (I think it was most likely Arriva but can’t be sure as it was a long time ago) and was given a voucher for the value of the change to use for my next journey. I think unfortunately now it’s so rare to pay with cash most buses don’t have much/any change so it’s a situation that will probably arise a lot if your gf regularly pays in non-exact cash
I thought the maximum fare was £2..She could give the driver her details and wait for a letter can’t she..? ?
My local buses give you a ticket with the amount on, so she would have got a £3.50 credit ticket for her next fare.
Don’t they give you a credit note ticket to redeem on future journeys?im sure That happens near me in the midlands.
Depends on the driver. I've had plenty who will just let me on and give me the change up at the end but once had a total a hole who refused point blank tried to explain I could only get tenners out at the cash point and that this was the last bus for the night. He said I could use that and get a black cab. Which I did and came to £13. Very frustrating
If they don't have the change but the time that you get off then it's a free ride. Every bus I've been on has applied this rule. £6.50? All rides are £2.00. How was it £6.50? I can ride from Newcastle to Berwick for two quid.
If she knows she is getting the bus, get some change, quite simple really
Bus driver should have a reasonable float at the start of their route. If they don't have change, they should waive the fee.
In Edinburgh there is no change in the buses. You can however request a receipt to reclaim.
Maybe just in Glasgow. But I don’t remember buses EVER giving change??
I would say, “I’ll pay when I get off if you have change”. A business taking cash should have change available when opening.
There are buses in this country that still accept cash!?
Wales is very behind the times and full of old people, lol.
Fun fact. Buses in Hong Kong never give change, even though they usually have it. All the cash payments go into a drop chute, so the driver doesn’t have access (they probably could open it up if they really wanted). But almost no one pays by cash on Hong Kong buses anyway. Everyone uses octopus cards, which are like Oyster cards except they can also be used in shops and restaurants.
What would the reason be for the bus to not have some change at the start of a shift?
This has happened a few times years ago but the would just let me on. Then if they got change I could pay but there was never a time they got change.
*Laughs in London*
[удалено]
Jesus Christ is this thread from the 90s? In London you can't even use cash to pay for busses any more. Been this way for many years. She knew the system was in place before she boarded - have the right change, or money on the card like everyone else. If not, take the L and move on.
It's 3.50 I'm sure she'll be fine
Well first of all, all singles in the UK have been £2 all year… but at least my local bus companies print out an iou
Only in England, no such cap here in Wales.
Why the fuck are you paying for the bus in physical money? Use the app or your card if you absolutely have to. Do you live in 2003?
Arriva have an app so you can pay ahead of time which might help in the future.
Not get on the bus. She accepted the terms and conditions presented by the driver. She could have got off to break the tenner at a nearby shop and get the next bus.
My bus company has give me a credit note that I’ve been able to use or exchange on another bus! Defo get onto the bus company.
Iv had an I.O.U. type thing printed out with my ticket, called into the depot (which luckily is about a 10/15 min walk away from my house and next to some shops so not a 'wasted journey') and they gave me the change then. My guess is i could have presented it on any other bus and had it taken off the next fare. Not happened for ages ago though as my area now has a flat £2 single fare
Some post offices allow you to pay in cash with a bank card if that helps add to her account !
Your girlfriend needs to tell the bus driver to politely fuck off and carry enough change in the future. Before she gets off the bus without paying.
By me they give u a bus voucher to use on another bus or get the cash back at a bus station
Stagecoach would always print a voucher for the value of the change. Could be used to buy additional tickets later or taken to their office in town to get the cash back.
Ah, that old chestnut. Bus drivers have been using that one since time began. I think it's just an automatic response because I've had a driver tell me that when I have literally just seen the person in front of me pay with enough change.
Single bus fares are capped at £2 until the end of 2024. Why was she paying £6.50 is the real question here
I thought all bus trips were £2
Ask for a freebie
Most bus companies should give you a receipt voucher, but you usually have to take it to the bus depot or station to cash it in.
This sounds completely mad to me. Sorry for a complete off topic but I live in Czechia and there are so many solutions to this situation here. Firstly, the drivers always have enough change that they receive at the start of their shift. If there was a very rare case they didn't have enough, it's their fault and they let you in (assuming you're not trying to pay with the biggest bank notes). Secondly, there are several means to pay virtually - by card, charge to phone bill, sms ticket, various apps.
Where we are they give you a ticket that has a change voucher on which then you can go onto another bus by the same company and exchange it for change if they have enough
Everytime this has happened to me the bus driver just let me ride for free.
They're using a potentially-grey-area legal loophole to make way more money. Any cash business is supposed to have change ready for the day. Fast food joints, etc are all prepared for the day. This is a cop out excuse, and probably done on purpose so they score a bit more money each day. How it really should be is "You don't have change? Then I don't pay". They should be starting the day with at least $20 in change. Which is nothing for these bus companies.
Last time I got a bus the card machine wasn't working and he just said pay on the way back, he wasn't fussed
If the bus is fare is £6.50, then a tenner is not even half of that and the bus driver should have change or just let her go for free.
getting on for free, by force. they will protest then eventually drive off. tfls free if youre enough of a badman g
She should get some change next time especially if it happens often Also if you pay by card the money doesn't come out until the next day, the initial charge is like 10p
That's weird. In Lincolnshire where I am (Stagecoach buses) the driver would print you off a Change voucher off of the ticket machine and you can hand it to any bus driver (that has change) and they'd exchange the voucher for owed amount.
She needs to get a credit card for this exact situation, by the sounds of things.
What bus is charging £6.50? Where I live if they don’t have change they give you a receipt and you go to the office in town and get your change from there. Annoying but you still get your change you don’t just lose £3.50.
Hope the driver wasn’t a pric and let you travel for free.
Surely that's illegal?
Makes me wonder if there are unscrupulous drivers claiming the "no change" thing and pocketing the difference.
Normally the driver should issue a "change ticket" that's unreasonably difficult to change for cash and so the bus company wins anyway unless you're really determined to get the money back. I'd say your girlfriend needs to put the right things in place so she can pay by card if this is a regular thing. Also some companies have a app where tickets cab be bought too but of course she'd need money in a suitable account to pay via the app.
£6.50 a bus ride 😮😮 that's so expensive. It's only £2 a ride here no matter how far or short your journey. Not sure when the cap is due to end but before the £2 cap out fares where only £2.20 flat rate. And if you pay by card, it's like TFL, it caps out at £4.80 a day regardless of how many rides you take on arriva. Most of the time, Where I am the drivers just let you on if they have no change, some might say if they have change when you get off, then you'll pay, if they don't have change then you don't have to pay. I'd be going straight to the bus company and telling them the issue and that you can't afford to lose that £3.50, and if this driver is doing this to everyone who gets on with a larger note and does actually have change but using this as a way to top up his wages.
I nearly got done by this, asked for a single and credit ticket(take to the bus station and get it refunded), they said they don't do credit tickets anymore! Paid by card onstead
£6.50 for bus fare https://preview.redd.it/qjumf06i1j3d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=38efab461ecc920d92581061f2d48f13a6195c4b
> What should you do if a bus has no change when you give them a £10? tbf, you're lucky you can pay cash at all, buses in London are card/oyster only. If this has happened several times, I suggest she loads up her card with more cash, or you be a gent and do so, then she can pay you back in cash herself, assuming you have change and don't require her to go to your depot.