"Pre-booking seats on an advertised public service?

[Welshman]

I was swanning around West Yorkshire yesterday, using a Metro Day Rover, and, just for the ride, boarded a bus to a little village high in the Pennines, intending to return by the same bus.

When I showed my ticket again to the driver, and explained I was just out for the run, I expected the usual amazed look of pity for this bus "nutter" and the customary shrug of the shoulders. However, this one gave me a warning as to how he would not have been able to accept me had I tried this yesterday, as, according to him, a school party had prebooked all the seats on the return journey [it was a small, 30 or something-seater Optare], and I would have had to wait at this lonely outpost for another hour or so.

Apparently, he said his company had accepted this arrangement as it assured them of business on a normally quiet run, and the school found it cheaper to purchase 30 or so children's tickets for the service bus than hire their own transport.


Now I appreciate that on the rare occasion the bus is already full it will not be possible to board, but I'd never heard of being refused access to an otherwise empty vehicle because the driver had been forewarned there would be a bus-load waiting at a later stop.

I won't mention the route or the company, but are such unofficial arrangements allowed on what is an advertised "public" service? Or was he simply trying to wind me up?

 

[CatfordCat]

Booklet PSV 353A (opens as PDF) has more on the rules for registered bus services.

I can't find any reference to this sort of thing, unless it's registered as a 'demand responsive service' (i.e. where journeys can / need to be pre-booked.)

My memory of these is a bit fuzzy, but I think it's technically unlawful for a demand responsive service to accept 'walk up' passengers unless the bus has spare capacity and has already been booked to go to that passenger's destination. I don't know if there has been subsequent guidance and / or case law to clarify this.

There can be a dilemma with a potential overloaded bus, whether to board in any order of priority, e.g. season ticket holders, return ticket holders, people buying single tickets. I'm not sure there's anything in law about that either...

 

[radamfi]

On the timetable for Stagecoach bus X99 between Inverness and Thurso, it says "Passengers are advised to book journeys in advance via www.citylink.co.uk, particularly at peak times. Booking is not required and fares are still available on the bus, however booking is advised to guarantee your seat"

http://www.stagecoachbus.com/PdfUploads/Timetable_51338_175, X97 X99 Highland.pdf

I think this is registered as a normal bus service, albeit run by a coach.

 

[Welshman]

Thank you, both, for your replies.

It certainly wasn't "demand responsive"
Rather, simply an hourly turn-up and go local service, advertised in the timetable so presumably open to all, on a "first-come, first served" basis.

The "reservation" seems to have been an unofficial arrangement between the bus company and the school headteacher, as it's simply a normal stage carriage service with advance booking neither possible nor required.

I realise a driver could sometimes have a difficult decision over who is more in need of making the journey if the bus were filling-up at a stop available to everyone. In that case, and I were just going along for the ride, I'd probably decide to go somewhere else, leaving room for those who had to travel.

Neither was it a case of "all these senior citizens riding for free and taking-up the seats of fare-paying passengers" [!!] for, although I am of the age, my Welsh Bus Pass is invalid east of Chester, so I was paying the full fare of £5.40p!

The more I think about it, the more I feel he was winding me up, but I thought I'd seek the opinion of those on here, and thanks again for your responses.

 

[Deerfold]

When the 901 service (Huddersfield - Hebden Bridge) started running three times a day with a small minbus (12 seats?) passengers were advised to pre-notify the driver that you would be travelling.

A mobile phone number was provided in the timetable to contact the driver or you could ring the company on the day before. You could also ask for the service to divert off the main route for short distances.

Now it runs hourly with a much larger bus none of this is advertised or possible any more.