381
getting stuck on the 381 in Bermondsey (lovely!) in traffic...

between stops i realise that nothing is moving and isn't going to any time soon. i stand up and ding the bell

nothing

ding the bell again

driver: "we're between stops"

me: "we're stationary on the kerb!"

driver: "we're between stops"

bellend. needless to say i pressed the "emergency" open button above the doors and overtook the driver, pausing briefly to give him the bird
(Darth Vodka, Mon 29 Jun 2009, 18:44, 6 replies)

Tchoh
I hope you cooked it first.
(powervator and NONE SHALL PASS, Mon 29 Jun 2009, 19:41, closed)

ashally,
they're not allowed to open between stops any more. I remember talking to a driver about the same thing - the bus companies are such nazi bastards that they started putting secret staff members onto buses to ensure drivers don't open the doors between stops. And repeat offenders were getting the sack.
( Damocles wants no part of your debauchery, Mon 29 Jun 2009, 19:44, closed)

Weird that.
Thinking about it, surely the bus companies don't lose any money if you get off early?
( ejlflop errrrrgs. Regularly., Tue 30 Jun 2009, 0:52, closed)

Utterly cuntish behaviour
You fucking 'tard - it's for health and safety reasons - too many people getting injured by stepping into oncoming traffic, by jumping off when the bus is further away from the kerb and hurting themselves when it's not at a proper stop.

I know it's an inconvenience to you, but it would be a far bigger inconvenience to the bus driver if he lost his job, just because some snivelling little fuckwit like you couldn't wait a couple of minutes longer.

As for giving the driver the bird, words almost fail me. Did it make you feel big & clever? Did it add an extra 10% happiness to your day because you flipped a profane gesture at some poor bloke just trying to do his job? You're scum and you should be ashamed of yourself.
( Chum Gnomesky Nom Chompsky, Tue 30 Jun 2009, 1:00, closed)

I'm with the OP on this one
particularly as I've travelled that route myself countless times, getting stuck in the traffic along Jamaica Road/London Bridge.

If I want to get off a fucking stationary bus, I should be allowed to do so. I accept full responsibility for anything that happens as a result. I wouldn't bother asking the driver though, because he's got his rulebook and he will usually follow it to the letter. I'd just look out for cyclists/motorbikes and do exactly what the OP did by pressing the emergency door open button when the bus is kerbside. It inconveniences and endangers nobody.

Until you experience TfL bus drivers for yourself, it's perhaps hard to imagine a finer bunch of arrogant, ignorant jobsworths. Common sense is all that's required to decide when it's safe to let people off before the next stop.
( chart cat has an itch, Tue 30 Jun 2009, 2:30, closed)

similar
I was on a bus once that had stopped, not because of traffic, but because there had been a crash a bit further up the street involving another bus. Given that it was a bus that needed shifting i'd guess that some kind of spcialist moving vehicle would be required to get it out the way, so we'd be looking at hours rather than minutes for it to get sorted. I had somewhere to be and could just walk the rest of the way, so i asked the driver to open the doors. Would he? Would he fuck. He honestly intended to keep us all trapped on the bus for however long it took to sort out the mess up ahead, rather than just opening the doors and letting those of us who wished to leave to do so. No traffic was moving and we were right next to the kerb, so there was no possible way any accidents could happen but he point blank refused to open the doors. Health and safety be fucked, the man was just being a prick.
I didn't have the presence of mind of the OP to use the emergency release button though, so i just yanked the fuckers open, told the driver to fuck off and stormed off the bus. Of course, it was made slightly less dramatic by the fact that my initial yank massively underestimated the force required to keep a bus door open, as its constantly being pushed shut by the hydraulics, so it just opened a little bit and then snapped shut again. It's useful info for the future though, if you need to open a bus door for some reason without using the button, make sure and pull it really hard, cos theyre tough.
(unciebana It's good, but it's not right., Tue 30 Jun 2009, 23:14, closed)