12 April 2011

Where write for a complaint about an ACTION bus?

| bec452
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A serious incident happened on an ACTION bus 2 weeks ago whereby the bus driver did nothing to aid the victim. I need advice as to who to write a complaint to or how to take this matter further?

The ACTION website only has a generic address to write to and I want to make sure my letter can reach the people in the higher ranks.

Thanks in advance to those that can help.

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Do not bother as they close ranks and do nothing. Even if it is dangerous driving they say they are unable to find the driver

creative_canberran11:28 am 15 Apr 11

Lefty said :

Gantz said :

Do bus drivers have a duty of care towards passengers when there is altercation between them?

It doesn’t matter what occupation we have – as a human being, we should all have a duty of care for each other.

Depends what you mean by duty of care?

The common law does imply a duty of care to avoid doing harm to others.

The common law though has specifically precluded any duty existing to go to the aid of another, except in special circumstances where a duty relationship exists already such as parent to child or employer to employee.

As the operator of the motor vehicle, the driver’s sole duty responsibility is to the passengers in his capacity as a driver and to other road users, that is to say he must drive so as to not endanger his passengers or other road users. That’s why there’s signs prohibiting people talking to the driver during transit or even going near the cabin, to avoid distraction.

OMG

to bec452

You self righteous so and so. Write all you want if it makes you feel good. You’re prepared to spend a lengthy amount of time preparing a letter to try and get someone in trouble, yet at the time YOU sat back and did nothing.

YOU had a better view of what happened than the bus driver. You seriously need to take a good hard look at yourself.

BTW, the driver is under no obligation to get involved. It is a personal choice. He/she can be asked to assist in an enquiry and that is the extent of any obligation. Therefore your goal of getting the driver in trouble will fail.

Good luck to you!!!!

magiccar9 said :

The driver could have removed the passengers in both situations from the bus. They have the right to do that and the responsibility to ALL other patrons to uphold the rules.

Not quite. This is what the Road Transport (Public Passenger Services) Regulation 2002 states –

65 Offender to get off bus when directed
(1) A bus driver, police officer or authorised person may direct a person to get off the bus if the driver, police officer or authorised person believes on reasonable grounds that the person is committing, or has just committed, an offence against this part or part 3.2 (Bus tickets).
(2) A person must not fail to comply with a direction under subsection (1).
Maximum penalty: 5 penalty units.

66 Removal of people from buses
A person who fails to comply with a direction under this part to get off a bus may be removed from the bus by a police officer.

So a driver or transport officer/supervisor can direct a person to get off a bus but only a police officer is authorised to physically “remove” a person from a bus.

Question: was the incident brought to the driver’s attention? Did anyone actually ask the driver to call the police? If the answer to either is yes, then a complaint would be justified.

If no-one on the bus said or did anything, then everyone (or no-one) is to blame.

Also, don’t forget that EVERY bus is fitted with digital security cameras that record the entire bus. If a complaint was made to the police soon after the event, they would be able to request a copy of the footage.

buzz819 said :

Very easy for a bus driver to get on the radio and ask for Police to meet them at the next stop…

It’s very easy for a driver to ASK for the Police to meet them at the next stop, but there’s no guarantee that the police will actually attend.

Further question: does the ACT need to have dedicated Transit Police to deal with these sort of issues?

You have a phone…unless you’re one of those people who still uses phone tech from the 80’s, your phone has a camera or video. Instead of crying to the driver, get off your own damn ar$e, snap some pics or get some guerilla video of the offender/s. Get the victim, go to the cop shop.

Of course, when the offender/s see you taking pics, get ready to defend yourself. =)

Most of the complaints about ACTION I’ve read are written in black sharpie on the backs of the seats.

I have seen an ACTION bus driver stop the bus and kick off the offenders after threatening to call the police. This was after a relatively minor incident. Drivers can, and should take action like this, and I’m sure it would be somewhere in their contract. I’d complain directly to ACTION.

bec452 said :

[There was no way for the victim involved to contact the police immediately at that time. They were mugged on the bus, their phone was stolen.

I think if this line was included in the story from the start, people might have had more consideration for your story. As some people have indicated, a ‘serious incident’ might be someone drinking on the bus or it might be assault. Ive lodged complaints through action’s complaint system before and received comprehensive follow-up, for a much less serious matter than you described.

If that doesnt resolve to your satisfaction, then with the knowledge youve learned from that complaints process, contact the media.. the chronicle and CT know where to go and who to ask the hard questions of.. and of course, present company..

Pommy bastard3:27 pm 12 Apr 11

Lefty said :

It doesn’t matter what occupation we have – as a human being, we should all have a duty of care for each other. If you don’t want to get involved, at least ring 000 or ask other people to assist you. Safety in numbers!!!

Too easy to turn a blind eye these days…..

Too right, that’s probably the most accurate and sensible thing ever posted here*.

*Apart from my own missives.

magiccar9 said :

In response to the OP I wouldn’t bother with the Ombudsman. Those incompetent paper pushers wouldn’t know up from down. Your letter would just get passed from one person to another until is ‘disappeared’.

Did someone carp in your sandwich?

breda said :

Bus drivers are there to drive the bus – they are not security guards. Indeed, they are required to be in control of the bus at all times, which they can’t be if they are roaming around sorting out anti-social behaviour. Who do you think would be blamed if some idiot jumped into the driver’s seat and set the bus in motion while the driver was remonstrating with a passenger?

Agree that you should ask the driver to contact the cops (or do it yourself) if you think that is warranted.

As for putting misbehaving kids off the bus, can you imagine the outcry from their parents if dear little Tarquin or Samantha were ‘abandoned’ on the side of the road? The driver would be accused of child abuse, subjecting them to the risk of abduction and who knows what else. The drivers can’t win in that situation.

There was no way for the victim involved to contact the police immediately at that time. They were mugged on the bus, their phone was stolen.

magiccar9 said :

HenryG said :

magiccar9 said :

I’m not saying that the driver MUST do something, but when the incident is reported to them/conducted within breathing space of their faces, where are their morals? The driver could have removed the passengers in both situations from the bus. They have the right to do that and the responsibility to ALL other patrons to uphold the rules. I’m sure that somewhere inside their contracts it states that they have a duty of care to those on their busses.

In response to the OP I wouldn’t bother with the Ombudsman. Those incompetent paper pushers wouldn’t know up from down. Your letter would just get passed from one person to another until is ‘disappeared’. I would do a little digging. Find the most senior person within ACTION that you can and let them know.

I will do everything to push this as far as I can. If we all just “hardened up” and ignored the problems in the system for fear of “naming and shaming” someone who was in the wrong, then criminals have the green light to victimise anyone they can.

Lefty said :

Gantz said :

It doesn’t matter what occupation we have – as a human being, we should all have a duty of care for each other. If you don’t want to get involved, at least ring 000 or ask other people to assist you. Safety in numbers!!!

Too easy to turn a blind eye these days…..

Thank you Lefty. My sentiments exactly. That is all that was requested of the bus driver, to call the police! Apparently that was too much to ask. It’s nice to know that there are still decent people out there.

Bus drivers are there to drive the bus – they are not security guards. Indeed, they are required to be in control of the bus at all times, which they can’t be if they are roaming around sorting out anti-social behaviour. Who do you think would be blamed if some idiot jumped into the driver’s seat and set the bus in motion while the driver was remonstrating with a passenger?

Agree that you should ask the driver to contact the cops (or do it yourself) if you think that is warranted.

As for putting misbehaving kids off the bus, can you imagine the outcry from their parents if dear little Tarquin or Samantha were ‘abandoned’ on the side of the road? The driver would be accused of child abuse, subjecting them to the risk of abduction and who knows what else. The drivers can’t win in that situation.

magiccar9 said :

I’m not saying that the driver MUST do something, but when the incident is reported to them/conducted within breathing space of their faces, where are their morals? The driver could have removed the passengers in both situations from the bus. They have the right to do that and the responsibility to ALL other patrons to uphold the rules. I’m sure that somewhere inside their contracts it states that they have a duty of care to those on their busses.

In response to the OP I wouldn’t bother with the Ombudsman. Those incompetent paper pushers wouldn’t know up from down. Your letter would just get passed from one person to another until is ‘disappeared’. I would do a little digging. Find the most senior person within ACTION that you can and let them know.

Demanding morals will get you nowhere.

I’m sure ACTION drivers have their own safety as first priority. Ans so they should.

Bus drivers are not bouncers, cops or moral beacons.

HenryG said :

magiccar9 said :

I have had a couple of similar experiences on ACTION busses. The first time I was on a school bus, standing right next to the driver because of over crowding, two school bullies came from the back of the bus down to me. They seemed to have a problem with me, and one punched me in the side of the face. Did the driver even blink an eye? Nope!

The second time I reported to the driver that a passenger was consuming alcohol (whilst in the car of a < 1 year old child). Did the driver do anything? Nope!

Harden up sweetpea, what do you think the bus driver can do? Are you inferring that you would like to see a grown man get in a fist fight with school children because you got punched in the face. Your assult is a police matter not a matter that can be solved by a guy driving a bus. Did you take the drivers details and report the incident? How much do you actually think goes on, on a bus. The drug dealing the obvious violence and the rest of it. A bus driver is getting paid to drive the bus and make sure that your transport requirements are met.

If the driver did step in to help then he would be in trouble and the complaint would then be to action about him doing something. How about you people as citizens get off your own butts to help the fellow man.

The bus drivers have to put up with this sort of stuff happening everyday and just becuase it happens once while you are on a bus and it puts you out of your own little comfort zone you want to name and shame a bus driver who has done nothing wrong and feed him to the wolves.

Is it not better to let a person with an obvious drinking issue and a baby at the same time to ride the bus then to make them walk and put the infant in more danger. Did you get the persons details and contact the right authorities? What would you have the bus driver do?

I’m not saying that the driver MUST do something, but when the incident is reported to them/conducted within breathing space of their faces, where are their morals? The driver could have removed the passengers in both situations from the bus. They have the right to do that and the responsibility to ALL other patrons to uphold the rules. I’m sure that somewhere inside their contracts it states that they have a duty of care to those on their busses.

In response to the OP I wouldn’t bother with the Ombudsman. Those incompetent paper pushers wouldn’t know up from down. Your letter would just get passed from one person to another until is ‘disappeared’. I would do a little digging. Find the most senior person within ACTION that you can and let them know.

magiccar9 said :

I have had a couple of similar experiences on ACTION busses. The first time I was on a school bus, standing right next to the driver because of over crowding, two school bullies came from the back of the bus down to me. They seemed to have a problem with me, and one punched me in the side of the face. Did the driver even blink an eye? Nope!

The second time I reported to the driver that a passenger was consuming alcohol (whilst in the car of a < 1 year old child). Did the driver do anything? Nope!

Harden up sweetpea, what do you think the bus driver can do? Are you inferring that you would like to see a grown man get in a fist fight with school children because you got punched in the face. Your assult is a police matter not a matter that can be solved by a guy driving a bus. Did you take the drivers details and report the incident? How much do you actually think goes on, on a bus. The drug dealing the obvious violence and the rest of it. A bus driver is getting paid to drive the bus and make sure that your transport requirements are met.

If the driver did step in to help then he would be in trouble and the complaint would then be to action about him doing something. How about you people as citizens get off your own butts to help the fellow man.

The bus drivers have to put up with this sort of stuff happening everyday and just becuase it happens once while you are on a bus and it puts you out of your own little comfort zone you want to name and shame a bus driver who has done nothing wrong and feed him to the wolves.

Is it not better to let a person with an obvious drinking issue and a baby at the same time to ride the bus then to make them walk and put the infant in more danger. Did you get the persons details and contact the right authorities? What would you have the bus driver do?

ACT Ombudsman: http://ombudsman.act.gov.au/

“The ACT Ombudsman can investigate complaints about the actions or decisions of any ACT Government agency, including problems with: parking; public housing; debt recovery; dog control; building licenses and inspections; motor vehicle registry; contract/tender disputes with ACT Government agencies; public transport; planning, electricity or water supply; and Legal Aid.”

I have had a couple of similar experiences on ACTION busses. The first time I was on a school bus, standing right next to the driver because of over crowding, two school bullies came from the back of the bus down to me. They seemed to have a problem with me, and one punched me in the side of the face. Did the driver even blink an eye? Nope!

The second time I reported to the driver that a passenger was consuming alcohol (whilst in the car of a < 1 year old child). Did the driver do anything? Nope!

Lefty said :

Gantz said :

Do bus drivers have a duty of care towards passengers when there is altercation between them?

It doesn’t matter what occupation we have – as a human being, we should all have a duty of care for each other. If you don’t want to get involved, at least ring 000 or ask other people to assist you. Safety in numbers!!!

Thank you for that wonderful insight into humanity…

Too easy to turn a blind eye these days…..

It’s also very easy for the bus driver to end up in a bad condition due to the offeneder attacking them.

Gantz said :

Do bus drivers have a duty of care towards passengers when there is altercation between them?

Very easy for a bus driver to get on the radio and ask for Police to meet them at the next stop…

colourful sydney racing identity11:10 am 12 Apr 11

Who turned a blind eye at what?

Gary Byles gary.byles@act.gov.au, head of TAMS – and head of Action

Gantz said :

Do bus drivers have a duty of care towards passengers when there is altercation between them?

It doesn’t matter what occupation we have – as a human being, we should all have a duty of care for each other. If you don’t want to get involved, at least ring 000 or ask other people to assist you. Safety in numbers!!!

Too easy to turn a blind eye these days…..

Do bus drivers have a duty of care towards passengers when there is altercation between them?

or approach The Chronicle or The Canberra Times… better still, details here on RA…

Jon Stanhope
Minister for Transport

stanhope@act.gov.au

GPO Box 1020, Canberra, ACT 2601

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