Coming home tonight, I was very nearly not brought home because the driver of the 70 apparently didn’t seem to understand that you only need a photo ID for your Free Travel Pass if you live in Dublin, and not here in Dunboyne over the border in FUCKING CO. MEATH!!!

Here’s a copy of my e-mail of complaint which I have just sent off to the Dublin Bus e-mail that they provide on their website, if you want to have a read at all. It’d be a fucking miracle if they actually respond to it though, let alone do anything about it.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I wish to make a formal complaint to Dublin Bus for the treatment I received from the driver of the 2320hrs departure of the Route 70 bus from Hawkins St. to Dunboyne on the 28th October 2009.

I have a mental disability, and am receiving Disability Allowance, and as such I have received a Free Travel Pass, which entitles me to free travel on your services. On the aforementioned journey, when I attempted to board the bus at Dame St. Ulster Bank stop, I showed my Travel Pass to the driver, ensuring that he noticed it and I proceeded to sit down, when I was called back and asked for my photo pass, which I do not have. After answering that I did not have one because I did not need one, I was told that I was “not going back [to Dunboyne] on this bus you’re not”. After attempting to explain to the driver that the documents that arrived with my Travel Pass specifically stated that I did not need one, I was also told that the pass “is useless without the card”. Only after I briefly showed my Social Welfare card and was rummaging through my wallet to pay the cash fare, I was informed “I said you can go on”.

This experience was distressing and embarrassing for myself, as I have almost never had any issues with utilising my Free Travel Pass on any service from Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, or Iarnród Éireann for the length of time I have had the Pass; and I was also worried that if I was refused travel on the bus, that I would be stuck in town for the night as that particular service is the last service to Dunboyne during the evenings.

After arriving home, I went and searched information regarding the Photo ID for the Free Travel Pass, and I came across the following: http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Publications/SW40/Pages/9DoIneedtoshowevidenceofmyidentity.aspx

In addition, if you live in Dublin, Cork city, Waterford city, Limerick city or Galway city you must also produce a Free Travel Photo ID

As Dunboyne, and thus my address is in Co. Meath, therefore I am not required to possess a Photo ID.

An incident similar to this also occurred within the last month, when a bus inspector boarded the bus I was on and proceeded to check tickets, when I showed him my bus pass, I was also asked for the Photo ID, to which I did also reply that as I am from Co. Meath, I do not require the Photo ID. Only on production of another form of Photo ID was the inspector satisfied.

If the condition is supposed to mean that anyone who lives in the catchment area of Dublin Bus or Bus Éireann city services, then why it is not explicitly mentioned in the condition? Also, why are your members of staff not informed of this fact that passengers from outside of Dublin may not necessarily have Photo IDs for their Free Travel Passes when they don’t need one, and that undue hassle over not having one is unnecessary?

Regards,

Chris Daly

I really don’t want to have any of this shit from them, it’s bad enough that the bus service back in the evenings is a load of shite…