Tristán White wrote:
snip


I am gobsmacked how I have never seen any of the young men challenged ONCE
over their card, which is blatantly in it's orange "Freedom Pass" wallet,
and which shows "F'DOM PASS" or something like that on the display when
swiped on the bus. I've been watching.

When all the old ladies get on the bus in front of me it says
"Travelcard Z1-6D" not "F'DOM PASS". Are you sure you have been
looking at the display?

The only pass that seems to make a funny noise is the kids travel free
pass.

Seen as everyone you are moaning about is a "young man", could you
possibly have confused their correctly owned kids travel free pass with
a freedom pass?

Or could the pass be the one given to all people who live with a bus
driver?


Just yesterday, a fit athletic-looking young man jumped onto the bus, did
not appear to have any learning difficulties

How do you know he didn't have learning difficulties? Not everyone
with learning difficulties is short, wears glasses, dribbles and is
confused! Dsylexia (spelt wrong, I am sure) counts as a learning
difficulty but has no visible signs

and certainly no physical
difficulties. He was listening to his iPod (so not deaf) and certainly
didn't appear to be blind - although his trousers were half-way down his
bum and his shoelaces were undone but that is apparently fashionable and
not a sign of being mentally challenged, or blind for that matter, although
it should be.

Another young athletic man in his late teens came on the bus a couple of
days ago.... Again, he was physically fit and appeared to be in all his
senses, although admittedly he was wearing a Manchester Utd baseball cap,
which may just have been a cunning disguise to make the bus driver think
that he was indeed possibly retarded. In which case, it worked.

What I want to know is, how come these things don't appear to be
challenged, but other things (eg showing out-of-date travelcard, PAYG out
of credit, 15 year old not having photocard, etc) do get checked.

Checking a freedom pass would be exaclty the same as checking someone
with an annual travelcard is the one using it (so making people touch
their pass on the reader, then show the photo to the driver). If the
drivers check these all the time it slows boarding and oyster was a
complete waste of time and money. So thats my theory why they don't
check freedom pass photos.

snip

"Chris!" wrote in
oups.com:

When all the old ladies get on the bus in front of me it says
"Travelcard Z1-6D" not "F'DOM PASS". Are you sure you have been
looking at the display?

Yes. I swear that on Thursday it said F'DOM PASS" or something like
that. It stuck in my mind because I was surprised that the word FREEDOM
in full wouldn't have fitted.

The only pass that seems to make a funny noise is the kids travel
free
pass.

Seen as everyone you are moaning about is a "young man", could you
possibly have confused their correctly owned kids travel free pass
with a freedom pass?

No, this didn't make a funny noise, I was in the queue behind him on
Thursday, saw the Freedom Pass wallet and read the display.


Or could the pass be the one given to all people who live with a bus
driver?

No idea!



How do you know he didn't have learning difficulties? Not everyone
with learning difficulties is short, wears glasses, dribbles and is
confused! Dsylexia (spelt wrong, I am sure) counts as a learning
difficulty but has no visible signs

Oh, true. But surely having dyslexia is not enough to qualify you for
free travel on tubes and buses?

I mean, surely you have to have a disability that will impair your
ability to travel? Now I've got 11 years' experience working in a
charity that has involvement with learning and communication
difficulties, including dyslexia. I wouldn't have thought that dyslexia
would qualify.

I mean, if I sprained my ankle and had to be in crutches for the next
week, would I get a freedom pass for a week? No. But I would probably
deserve one (for that time, until my mobility is improved). Why should
someone with dyslexia qualify or drug addiction qualify for free tube
and bus travel. That would be crazy... the world upside-down.....

Checking a freedom pass would be exaclty the same as checking someone
with an annual travelcard is the one using it (so making people touch
their pass on the reader, then show the photo to the driver). If the
drivers check these all the time it slows boarding and oyster was a
complete waste of time and money. So thats my theory why they don't
check freedom pass photos.


I guess that's a good theory. Saving time. It's what every sector of the
community appears to be doing these days. My best mate's wife is
pregnant at the moment. He wanted to know the sex of his child but they
wouldn't tell him. He asked whether it had anything to do with something
he read about people from a certain ethnic group who favour male progeny
and may bring about an abortion if the child is found to be female (he
reads the Mail... he probably got that story from there).

In fact, the reason is nothing to do with that. It's because checking
the sex of the foetus takes an extra 15 minutes, so certain NHS trusts
no longer do these checks - even if there is time - because if they did
it for one, they'd do it for everyone, and 15 minutes for every scan
means there's not enough time in the day.

So as you see, it's happening in all walks of life these days.....

On Fri, 28 Apr 2006 18:56:06 -0500, Tristán White wrote in
45, seen in
uk.transport.buses:

I mean, surely you have to have a disability that will impair your
ability to travel?

Why not ask TfL what counts instead of assuming that only what you
believe should count actually does?
--
Ross, in Lincoln, most likely being cynical or sarcastic, as ever.
Reply-to will bounce. Replace the junk-trap with my name to e-mail me.

Demonstration of poor photography: http://www.rosspix.me.uk - updated with Czech photos
AD: http://www.merciacharters.co.uk for European charters occasionally gripped by me

Ross typed


On Fri, 28 Apr 2006 18:56:06 -0500, Tristán White wrote in
45, seen in
uk.transport.buses:

I mean, surely you have to have a disability that will impair your
ability to travel?

Why not ask TfL what counts instead of assuming that only what you
believe should count actually does?

or even look at the Freedom Pass website??

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

In message 45,
Tristán White writes

Oh, true. But surely having dyslexia is not enough to qualify you for
free travel on tubes and buses?

I don't think anyone is suggesting that it is. The information on the
Freedom Pass website (and its link to the dft website) indicate that the
learning disability needs to be quite seve "difficulty in learning
new skills ... may be unable to cope independently" etc.

--
Paul Terry

When a friend of mine was a conductor for London Northern/MTL London
Northern at HT in the late 90s, he said it seemed half the 30/40-plus
male population of Camden was travelling on Freedom passes, allegedly
for being being HIV+. At that time the condition was deemed to lead to
death within around 10 years, so simply being diagonised HIV+ warranted
being issued a Freedom Pass, regardless of whether the person had
developed full-blown Aids or ever would do.

I would assume any stolen Freedom passes would be used on the
Underground, where there is next to no chance of any ID card inspection.

wrote:
When a friend of mine was a conductor for London Northern/MTL London
Northern at HT in the late 90s, he said it seemed half the
30/40-plus male population of Camden was travelling on Freedom
passes, allegedly for being being HIV+. At that time the condition
was deemed to lead to death within around 10 years, so simply being
diagonised HIV+ warranted being issued a Freedom Pass, regardless
of whether the person had developed full-blown Aids or ever would
do.

I would assume any stolen Freedom passes would be used on the
Underground, where there is next to no chance of any ID card
inspection.

Now that Freedom Passes use Oyster technology, they can be blocked by
TfL if they are stolen. I think that means they wouldn't open any Tube
station gates; not sure about buses, though.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)