Citylinking - Not-so-smart thinking!
Damn those fucking Germans. I was stuck next to one who talked at me,
in German, for three hours AND invaded MY space. Damn Germans. Anyway,
as I didn't know where she lived (although I suspect I got the rest of
her life story, in German) I wrote to Citylink instead.The Complaint
Dear Sir/Madam,
I can only apologise for writing again so soon after my recent complaint, which to date remains unresolved. This letter is to lodge a further complaint about the standard of service which I received on a Citylink Coach.
I had to drop my car off at a local garage yesterday, to have an engine problem sorted. I thought that I would have my car back by today, unfortunately I didn't. So, with a very important meeting which I had to attend in Glasgow, I decided to board the 07:45 service from Fort William to Glasgow. The bus was fairly empty and the journey to Glasgow was fairly enjoyable. I can only compliment you on this factor, as the return journey was entirely different.
I arrived fresh from my meeting at Buchanan Street Bus Station at exactly 14:37, and the Glasgow to Uig bus was waiting in Stance 56. It was not in the Citylink livery, but a very nondescript blue. Which made me assume that it was a Rapson's Coach. The giveaway being, it was a fairly old jalopy with a private registration to hide the true fact of the age of the vehicle. The driver in question, not wearing a name badge, was a miserable middle-aged male. I had purchased a "day return" ticket from the ante meridiem driver, and right until 14:59; the driver was only accepting pre-booked tickets. This is acceptable in most cases, but as there is no provision for purchasing a pre-booked ticket in Fort William, that I am aware of, I had to wait with the several other passengers who had similar tickets. When we were permitted to board the bus, I had to make do with a seat at the rear. I normally like to partake of some sleep on this three-hour journey, but due to the fact that I was sitting in front of a teenage mother and her ever screaming child, I knew from the outset that this was going to be a long journey.
As the driver reversed away from the stand, incidentally I was under the impression that reversing a bus/coach laden with passengers was classed as an illegal manoeuvre, although this was inevitable, the driver managed to perform this same manoeuvre on no less than three occasions, one being on Loch Lomondside. After reversing the coach, the driver managed to stall the engine, very difficult on a diesel engine I'll have to say, before we had left the confines of the bus station. This was definitely going to be a long journey.
As this service goes via Glasgow Airport, I didn't realise I would have to sit next to a staring German woman for the majority of the journey. Most disconcerting. I was relieved, however, that at Glencoe a passenger disembarked and I had some more space. Bearing in mind, I had been in the same seated position for approximately two and a half hours. Most drivers stop at either Crianlarich or Tyndrum, to enable the smokers to have a quick cigarette or the other passengers to stretch their legs. This did not happen. I was in two minds whether or not to call for an Ambulance to assist me from my seat, as my legs had seized up due to the lack of consideration on the parts of the staring German and the miserable driver.
Needless to say, the coach managed to get to Fort William. In one piece. As I got off the bus, the driver was saying Good Evening and/or Goodbye to all his passengers, except me. When I approached the front of the bus to disembark, all the driver could do was stare blankly. Why? Was it because I hadn't pre-booked a seat? Please tell me.
I would like to know what action will be taken to prevent such an instance occurring in the future, to some other passenger. Also I would like to be reimbursed for the pain I had to endure on this agonising three-hour epic journey.
I will be travelling by car now, as I have noticed that I have never seen a Citylink driver similar to the one featured in your television advert, technically this comes under the I.T.C. code on advertising. This could also be classified under the Trades Descriptions Act 1968.
I await your reply.
Sent on behalf of a friend.
I can only apologise for writing again so soon after my recent complaint, which to date remains unresolved. This letter is to lodge a further complaint about the standard of service which I received on a Citylink Coach.
I had to drop my car off at a local garage yesterday, to have an engine problem sorted. I thought that I would have my car back by today, unfortunately I didn't. So, with a very important meeting which I had to attend in Glasgow, I decided to board the 07:45 service from Fort William to Glasgow. The bus was fairly empty and the journey to Glasgow was fairly enjoyable. I can only compliment you on this factor, as the return journey was entirely different.
I arrived fresh from my meeting at Buchanan Street Bus Station at exactly 14:37, and the Glasgow to Uig bus was waiting in Stance 56. It was not in the Citylink livery, but a very nondescript blue. Which made me assume that it was a Rapson's Coach. The giveaway being, it was a fairly old jalopy with a private registration to hide the true fact of the age of the vehicle. The driver in question, not wearing a name badge, was a miserable middle-aged male. I had purchased a "day return" ticket from the ante meridiem driver, and right until 14:59; the driver was only accepting pre-booked tickets. This is acceptable in most cases, but as there is no provision for purchasing a pre-booked ticket in Fort William, that I am aware of, I had to wait with the several other passengers who had similar tickets. When we were permitted to board the bus, I had to make do with a seat at the rear. I normally like to partake of some sleep on this three-hour journey, but due to the fact that I was sitting in front of a teenage mother and her ever screaming child, I knew from the outset that this was going to be a long journey.
As the driver reversed away from the stand, incidentally I was under the impression that reversing a bus/coach laden with passengers was classed as an illegal manoeuvre, although this was inevitable, the driver managed to perform this same manoeuvre on no less than three occasions, one being on Loch Lomondside. After reversing the coach, the driver managed to stall the engine, very difficult on a diesel engine I'll have to say, before we had left the confines of the bus station. This was definitely going to be a long journey.
As this service goes via Glasgow Airport, I didn't realise I would have to sit next to a staring German woman for the majority of the journey. Most disconcerting. I was relieved, however, that at Glencoe a passenger disembarked and I had some more space. Bearing in mind, I had been in the same seated position for approximately two and a half hours. Most drivers stop at either Crianlarich or Tyndrum, to enable the smokers to have a quick cigarette or the other passengers to stretch their legs. This did not happen. I was in two minds whether or not to call for an Ambulance to assist me from my seat, as my legs had seized up due to the lack of consideration on the parts of the staring German and the miserable driver.
Needless to say, the coach managed to get to Fort William. In one piece. As I got off the bus, the driver was saying Good Evening and/or Goodbye to all his passengers, except me. When I approached the front of the bus to disembark, all the driver could do was stare blankly. Why? Was it because I hadn't pre-booked a seat? Please tell me.
I would like to know what action will be taken to prevent such an instance occurring in the future, to some other passenger. Also I would like to be reimbursed for the pain I had to endure on this agonising three-hour epic journey.
I will be travelling by car now, as I have noticed that I have never seen a Citylink driver similar to the one featured in your television advert, technically this comes under the I.T.C. code on advertising. This could also be classified under the Trades Descriptions Act 1968.
I await your reply.
Sent on behalf of a friend.
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Rapsons Response
Dear Sir,
In reply to your letter of 30th June 2005, I am sorry you did not enjoy your journey from Glasgow to Fort William.
You are correct in saying that the vehicle did belong to Rapsons Coaches, however the driver concerned works for West Coast Motors as they operate this journey at 1500 hours. The ticketing - reservation - booking system is the sole responsibility of Scottish Citylink Limited which are in no way a part of the Rapsons Group, so I suggest you contact them with any complaints or concerns you may have, although I believe you can pre book at the Internet Cafe in the High Street in Fort William.
As for the driver refusing to stop, you would need to contact West Coast Motors for the drivers comments.
Yours sincerely
David Beaton
Area Manager
In reply to your letter of 30th June 2005, I am sorry you did not enjoy your journey from Glasgow to Fort William.
You are correct in saying that the vehicle did belong to Rapsons Coaches, however the driver concerned works for West Coast Motors as they operate this journey at 1500 hours. The ticketing - reservation - booking system is the sole responsibility of Scottish Citylink Limited which are in no way a part of the Rapsons Group, so I suggest you contact them with any complaints or concerns you may have, although I believe you can pre book at the Internet Cafe in the High Street in Fort William.
As for the driver refusing to stop, you would need to contact West Coast Motors for the drivers comments.
Yours sincerely
David Beaton
Area Manager
Citylink Response
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your recent letter to our office regarding the coach service between Glasgow and Fort William.
I would like to apologise on behalf of Scottish Citylink for any inconvenience caused. Customers with seat reservations are allowed to board first. All other customers, cash paying, pre purchased open tickets and concession card customers alike are then boarded on a first come first served basis, subject to seat availability. This is a legal requirement because we have a contract with those people who have pre booked or who have pre purchased tickets.
There are also several choices for how a customer can receive tickets - we can post them to you, you can collect them personally at key locations, you can print your own e-ticket or have a txt ticket reference sent to your mobile phone as a text message to show directly to the driver of your coach. We do in fact have an agent in Fort William where tickets can be bought or collected from.
With regards to the following statement you have made in your complaint "Reversing a bus/coach laden with passengers was classed as an illegal manoeuvre" We have investigated this thoroughly and have found this to be untrue. When leaving Buchanan Bus Station it is necessary to reverse the coach off the stance, under the control of SPT regulators.
It is the Company's respnsibility to carry the passengers, with the minimum of discomfort and inconvenience to the destination on the ticket. However sometimes, due to circumstances beyond the Company's control, this is not always possible. Passengers with only one valid ticket for the service are expected to only take up one seat on the coach therefore the passenger boardng at Glasgow Airport was entitled to sit anywhere on the coach that there was a free seat.
Crianlarich and Tyndrum are not designated rest areas therefore the coach driver only has to stop to pick up passengers wishing to travel on the service as these are designated pick up and drop off points.
The coach driver has been interviewed with regard to the matter of him failing to say Good Evening and/or Goodbye and apologises if his attitude appeared to be rude but this was certainly not his intention.
Once again I would like to offer our apologies for the inconvenience which this matter caused to you. We strive to provide the best service possible for our passengers and I hope to welcome you on board Scottish Citylink in the near future.
Yours sincerely
Ashleigh MacDonald
p.p. Joyce Simpson
Customer Services Officer
Thank you for your recent letter to our office regarding the coach service between Glasgow and Fort William.
I would like to apologise on behalf of Scottish Citylink for any inconvenience caused. Customers with seat reservations are allowed to board first. All other customers, cash paying, pre purchased open tickets and concession card customers alike are then boarded on a first come first served basis, subject to seat availability. This is a legal requirement because we have a contract with those people who have pre booked or who have pre purchased tickets.
There are also several choices for how a customer can receive tickets - we can post them to you, you can collect them personally at key locations, you can print your own e-ticket or have a txt ticket reference sent to your mobile phone as a text message to show directly to the driver of your coach. We do in fact have an agent in Fort William where tickets can be bought or collected from.
With regards to the following statement you have made in your complaint "Reversing a bus/coach laden with passengers was classed as an illegal manoeuvre" We have investigated this thoroughly and have found this to be untrue. When leaving Buchanan Bus Station it is necessary to reverse the coach off the stance, under the control of SPT regulators.
It is the Company's respnsibility to carry the passengers, with the minimum of discomfort and inconvenience to the destination on the ticket. However sometimes, due to circumstances beyond the Company's control, this is not always possible. Passengers with only one valid ticket for the service are expected to only take up one seat on the coach therefore the passenger boardng at Glasgow Airport was entitled to sit anywhere on the coach that there was a free seat.
Crianlarich and Tyndrum are not designated rest areas therefore the coach driver only has to stop to pick up passengers wishing to travel on the service as these are designated pick up and drop off points.
The coach driver has been interviewed with regard to the matter of him failing to say Good Evening and/or Goodbye and apologises if his attitude appeared to be rude but this was certainly not his intention.
Once again I would like to offer our apologies for the inconvenience which this matter caused to you. We strive to provide the best service possible for our passengers and I hope to welcome you on board Scottish Citylink in the near future.
Yours sincerely
Ashleigh MacDonald
p.p. Joyce Simpson
Customer Services Officer
Our Response
Dear Ms.
Simpson,
Many thanks for taking the time to reply to my original complaint. I am still slightly angered by the situation, and there are a few points in your letter dated 11th August 2005 which caused great confusion to myself.
I can appreciate the fact that customers who have seat reservations are allowed to board the vehicle first. The ticket which I purchased was a day return, which I thought meant that Citylink knew from the moment I purchased that ticket, I was returning that same day. The driver knows in advance how many reserved tickets have been sold for that journey and therefore can allow other passengers, such as myself to board. Instead he waited around, when presumably, he knew there were no other pre-booked passengers arriving.
I am now aware of the recent opening of the Citylink Ticket agency in the town's High Street. I will ultimately use this facility, should I require the services of your company in the near future. Although the townspeople were given no warning when you decided to close the agency at the Tourist Information, so I am currently unaware as to how long this facility will be available.
I know several bus and coach drivers who all assure me that to reverse a fully laden coach is classed as an illegal manouevre. I can accept that in Buchanan Street Bus Station, there are SPT regulators who assist the driver with this somewhat dangerous manouevre. You never explained why the driver carried out this incident on several occasions on a particularly narrow and winding stretch of road at Loch Lomondside.
As my fellow passenger, the staring German woman, had little to no English and I have zero German. I was unable to communicate to her my extreme discomfort for the majority of the journey. The only way I could have alerted her to this fact, would have been to resort to actual violence. I wasn't prepared to do this, mainly because I couldn't move.
I would like to question the statement of "Passengers with only one valid ticket for the service are expected to only take up one seat on the coach..." Does this mean that I can purchase two return tickets from the outlet in Fort William and take up both seats myself. If the coach was particularly busy, and I had those two seats all to myself and someone got left behind, or I was forced to give up one of my pre-booked seats. Would I then be entitled to a full refund on that seat?
I can appreciate that Crianlarich and Tyndrum are not designated rest areas, but the majority of drivers tend to stop there. I have observed them on many occasions. A few years ago, a woman got off at Tyndrum to use the lavatory. Only to return to the bus stop to find the coach had left, with all her bags on it.
Perhaps you could tell me which company the driver in question works for, as I would like to validate the fact that he has apologised for his arrogance towards myself.
I can only presume that you will not be offering me any form of compensation for my severe discomfort on this occasion. This would make me feel sad, the reason being I used to use Citylink for many years. I'm now unsure as to whether the standards have dropped lately, or I may have slept through most of my earlier journeys.
I await your reply.
Sent on behalf of a friend.
So far, they haven't replied to this...
Many thanks for taking the time to reply to my original complaint. I am still slightly angered by the situation, and there are a few points in your letter dated 11th August 2005 which caused great confusion to myself.
I can appreciate the fact that customers who have seat reservations are allowed to board the vehicle first. The ticket which I purchased was a day return, which I thought meant that Citylink knew from the moment I purchased that ticket, I was returning that same day. The driver knows in advance how many reserved tickets have been sold for that journey and therefore can allow other passengers, such as myself to board. Instead he waited around, when presumably, he knew there were no other pre-booked passengers arriving.
I am now aware of the recent opening of the Citylink Ticket agency in the town's High Street. I will ultimately use this facility, should I require the services of your company in the near future. Although the townspeople were given no warning when you decided to close the agency at the Tourist Information, so I am currently unaware as to how long this facility will be available.
I know several bus and coach drivers who all assure me that to reverse a fully laden coach is classed as an illegal manouevre. I can accept that in Buchanan Street Bus Station, there are SPT regulators who assist the driver with this somewhat dangerous manouevre. You never explained why the driver carried out this incident on several occasions on a particularly narrow and winding stretch of road at Loch Lomondside.
As my fellow passenger, the staring German woman, had little to no English and I have zero German. I was unable to communicate to her my extreme discomfort for the majority of the journey. The only way I could have alerted her to this fact, would have been to resort to actual violence. I wasn't prepared to do this, mainly because I couldn't move.
I would like to question the statement of "Passengers with only one valid ticket for the service are expected to only take up one seat on the coach..." Does this mean that I can purchase two return tickets from the outlet in Fort William and take up both seats myself. If the coach was particularly busy, and I had those two seats all to myself and someone got left behind, or I was forced to give up one of my pre-booked seats. Would I then be entitled to a full refund on that seat?
I can appreciate that Crianlarich and Tyndrum are not designated rest areas, but the majority of drivers tend to stop there. I have observed them on many occasions. A few years ago, a woman got off at Tyndrum to use the lavatory. Only to return to the bus stop to find the coach had left, with all her bags on it.
Perhaps you could tell me which company the driver in question works for, as I would like to validate the fact that he has apologised for his arrogance towards myself.
I can only presume that you will not be offering me any form of compensation for my severe discomfort on this occasion. This would make me feel sad, the reason being I used to use Citylink for many years. I'm now unsure as to whether the standards have dropped lately, or I may have slept through most of my earlier journeys.
I await your reply.
Sent on behalf of a friend.
So far, they haven't replied to this...
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