StageCoach - Thiefs (Stagecoach)

Member Name: cdonkin

Product:	Stagecoach
Date:	22/04/09 (23 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gets me from A-B albeit slowly, cheaper than other forms of transport

Disadvantages: Kids, mess, price,drivers

Where I work is 8 miles away from my home. I do have a car but no parking at my town centre work. To park in a Council car park will cost about £6 a day. To get the metrolink (tram) will cost over £800 per year in fares + over £520 a year in bus fares to get to the tram unless I walk the 2 miles. Therefore at just over £520 a year the bus is the only economically viable option. Unfortunately the bus provider is Stagecoach...

The bus I get on is an early one so the stench of the previous nights booze, piss, tobacco and weed is still very strong (particularly towards the back), in the morning the bus isn't the cleanest with sticky floors from spilt drinks, though there is rarely any litter. The return bus is just after the school kid rush and the bus is always trashed. The school kids obviously think it is fun to rip the metro newspaper into as many pieces as they can, to throw their litter around and cover the seats in their chocolate.

The drivers on the whole are unpleasant, arrogant, obnoxious cretins. I have had many arguments with the drivers not stopping at stops I've requested they are mostly rude and sarcastic, argue with you over change and some don't speak English. I would estimate at least half of the drivers i have experienced don't know their routes.

There are some though that redeem stagecoach marginally. I did have one regular driver who did care about the ride he was giving his passengers, was knowledgeable about the route and was friendly. He would greet me every morning with a hello how are you and when leaving the bus would wish me a good day. It's a real shame they aren't all like this guy.

Stagecoach don't seem to care about their customers, just their profits. Since getting the bus they upped their mega rider ticket to the ridiculous £11. It was at £10 which was good, id stop by the cash point in the morning and draw out a crisp £10 note and exchange it for my pass. Now I have to get £20 out, buy something i don't really want or hand the driver a £20 note. This causes all sorts of bother with change, and often the driver doesn't have enough to give me. I don't mind paying more if the service is better but the service has never improved.

Another example of stage coach not caring about customers, twice now on my journey back the bus has been stuck in traffic. To rectify this and make up time the driver has kicked us all off and driven on to his start destination alone. This has left me standing cold waiting for the next bus (Who picks us up for free thankfully).

It's a shame I'm tied to using stagecoach for work because they really are a horrible company.

Summary: I wish you could give no stars