Passenger fights back

HERE at Newington Green we are all accustomed to the simultaneous arrival of two or more no 73 buses. 

In mid-morning off-peak hours, one or both buses are near-empty. Being an off-peak time, there is often no one at the bus stop. Several times I have come within sight of both bus and bus stop and waved frantically that I wanted to take the 73 towards Victoria. The drivers’ response normally is to hasten their departure (chance for a longer chin-wag at the terminus?). 

I decided to do something about this and managed to halt the second bus at a pedestrian crossing, blocking the bus while I photographed the driver, now hooting angrily.

To no avail – he only stopped as my autistic son entered the now-opened door and I raced round to join him. Passengers were mostly annoyed to be thus delayed. But was I not right to enforce a more economic use of bus capacity in a slack period? 

PITAO
(Name and address supplied)

Published: 8 July, 2011