I had a weird incident today, come to think of it, i realise this has happened before but in a more subtle way.
I know there bus stop that i got on when i went outbound so on return i wanted to stay on until he gets to that bus stop but it turns out they go far away park up near a park and with this guy go for a toilet break.
At first i show him the map as he just stopped at the last stop, all he does is gesture the card payment and shoo me off with his hands. I show him the map again and ok he lets me stay on but heās annoyed.
So i say sorry in chinese when he gets back on, he ignores me. He then gestures me later to tap the card again. I say sorry in chinese to his face, he flaps his hands for me to go back.
As i get to my stop i say thank you in chinese and then the hand flapping to get off. then i say thank you for your help in chinese and he keeps flapping his hands.
itās so rude is it not? does this happen to locals? i wouldnāt think so. I felt like shouting back at him.
Now thereās no complaint form for the bus company.
Oh and also what is up with breaking really hard every time he stops, i nearly went flying, some drivers are fine and donāt keep stamping on the break accelerator. is it the type of bus that makes it hard or something?
You get all kinds of behavior from bus drivers here, from super-polite to totally rude. This guy sounds ruder than average, but pretty normal really. These guys work long, hard hours for not-great pay, so itās kind of understandable. The lack of basic understanding about how to properly use a brake is shockingly common. This is why (well, one of the many reasons) I avoid taking buses whenever possible.
I see bus drivers treat locals like crap sometimes, like driving off while an old lady is trying to run to catch the bus (she was running towards the front of the bus, so Iām sure the driver saw her). So maybe you, maybe not.
So youāre complaining that he 1) ignores you 2) shoo you off the bus at the end of the line 3) heās annoyed and 4) he keeps flapping his hands.
I donāt see really where he really did anything wrong it sounds like youāre maybe not understanding the situation well. Two of things are based on your perception and two of them or normal actions when you ask someone to get off the bus but maybe you donāt speak their language so you wave your hands to suggest off the bus.
Actually there are complaints tickets in the bus available, usually next to the emergency exit in the backā¦ Often they also have a @line account posted in the Bus which you can message with the time and bus number to file your complaintā¦ Surprise surpriseā¦ They actually do speak pretty decent English at their line customer serviceā¦ Give it a try next timeā¦
Bus drivers are dicks here. Or uneducated to the point of idiocy. When my wife was heavily pregnant theyād always start the bus before she could even sit down. Seems like common sense. And then of course thereās the dangerous driving, forcing scooters off the road and starting the bus again before a person has the chance to step off. Anyway, I donāt know about āracist.ā I think theyāre just jerks to everyone. Not to sound elitist, but itās probably why they have such a low-status job in the first place.
Iām not sure where you are located, but from where I am based I respectfully disagree. Dealing with often awful road conditions, many of the drivers Iāve met (at least in Taipei) are incredibly patient and polite. I met an awesome gentleman today on the 284 bus. Kudos to him and others like him. Iād go nuts if my job was dealing with Taiwan drivers day in day out.
The big difference in bus driver quality is due to the different bus companies that operate in the city. The 284 bus is run by Capital Bus, which requires their drivers to greet passengers at specific points along a route and also dresses them up as Santa during Christmas. The OP took the 310 bus, which belongs to Taipei Bus, a more dodgy operator.
Based on my entirely unscientific observations, I would venture to say that in Taipei/Xinbei, Hsintien Bus Company is the worstāthough this is not a swipe at their drivers, itās more a general observation on the condition of their equipment and the dim lighting and general (un)cleanliness of their buses.
The worst is Sanchong Bus company (san-chong ker-yun). I just saw one pull a left turn after just turning green in front of the oncoming traffic - the way the manic scooter drivers do.
Sanchongās 936 have variety of drivers with attitude ranges from very polite to quite rude.
You generalizing the driver attitude, same like you generalize all Germans are Nazis, or all Middle East refugees are suicidal bombers, or all westerners here are good at English.
You should lodge complain to their costumer service line. CS usually have decent English.
Are buses in Taiwan, within the city, operated by private companies? Iāve always thought they were under the government or some agency by the government.
I have lived within walking distance of their (Sanchong Busā) terminal station for 10 years and there is a distinct difference between the driving attitudes of many of their drivers and the other better companies, like Capital.
I only remember Shou Dué¦é½ (City Bus?) having the nicest drivers as well as the nicest buses. Thereās some in between companies, but I remember a lot of the white/blue/red buses that mostly run from Taipei Main Station to Xizhi are the worst.
Agreed with this entirely. Itās mostly my observation from a few years ago when I wasnāt on the scooter yet, but the friendliness of bus drivers does really depend on which company they are under.
And then thereās this guy. Gold standard of bus drivers right there.
Many would like to drive a truck after dealing with Passengers often. I talked with a bus driver at a starting point waiting to start her run, she thought it would nice to have people to talk with (passengers), but from her experience passengers complain a lot and make the job stressful (even more so). There are many younger drivers here in Kaoshiung with degrees now days as there driver shortage and pay is higher than many other jobs (with office jobs starting at NT$26,000 or so, NT$35,000+ for driving a bus looks good).
