MyBus Blog - July 2012

A newspaper report in late 2011 suggested that in the previous three years there were more than two million NHS appointments missed in Scotland, the cost of which was reckoned to be an incredible £200m.

Whilst MyBus may not suffer missed appointments to the same levels as those reported in the article, missed appointments can and do hamper SPT’s ability to provide services as efficiently as we would like.

MyBus understand and appreciate that the age and circumstances of many MyBus services users mean that the cancellation of bookings are often likely.  For example people take can take ill, the weather can take a turn for the worse and relatives can step in to undertake journeys that service users had previously booked.

Sometimes those plans can change at very short notice too.

All of which are perfectly acceptable and of course we understand why an individual may require to cancel.

With demand for MyBus services continuing to grow it is important however that those cancellations are made known to MyBus at the first opportunity so that another service user may take advantage of the time slot

Similarly as some MyBus zones cover a wide geographical area, a timely cancellation can prevent an unnecessary journey being undertaken by a MyBus driver.

A large of number of MyBus service users are now members of our popular Group Booking scheme and it is vital that club contacts and service users themselves keep MyBus abreast of start and finish dates for their clubs and of dates that they may be going on outings and don’t require MyBus.

Sadly such information hasn’t always reached MyBus, with Group Booking members wrongly assumingly that a MyBus driver would contact the booking office on their behalf or assuming another group member had the matter in hand.

It is always better to be safe than sorry and we would far rather have several passengers tell us the same information we need to know than failing to hear it at all.

It can be frustrating to learn that a customer has failed to travel without notifying us, particularly when we know that another passenger would have been eager to take that slot.

A reminder that MyBus cancellations can be made through our dedicated MyBus Enquiry and Cancellation line on 0845 128 4025, between 0830 – 1645 Monday to Friday. 

Cancellations can also be logged by email via enquiry@spt.co.uk (marking MyBus in the header)

MyBus Web users already have the facility of cancelling their trips online, which sends their cancellation directly to the appropriate bus operator.