| Topic: | Re:Can bus drivers legally refuse to allow a child to board without an oyster? | |
| Posted by: | Paul Cavanagh | |
| Date/Time: | 03/02/11 09:41:00 |
| Think it depends whether we are talking an unaccompanied or accompanied child. A few years ago children with adults used to seem to be able to board without showing a ticket but recently drivers seem to have stopped allowing this. This is probably for revenue reasons. If the child is under 11 then they don't need a ticket so the driver must let you on. If you are travelling with your children and they have Oyster cards make sure they swipe in even if they won't be charged. Apparently some children travelling with their parents have had their cards confiscated in these circumstances. For unaccompanied children the driver would have a duty of care. If it was felt by denying a child transport home they put them at risk they and their firm could be prosecuted. There have in recent years been a number of cases where a younger teenage girl has been denied access to a bus and then subsequently assaulted on her way home. The bus companies say they have issued guidelines to their drivers to stop this happening but I think you'll find, once again due to revenue consideration, in recent times they have become more inclined to refuse travel. You might wonder why revenue comes into it when the children travel free. The reason is that the bus companies get a payment from TfL when a child boards a bus with an Oyster card. |