Can a bus driver throw away my daughter because her pass didn’t work? DEAN DUNHAM answers
I pay for my 13 year old daughter’s bus pass to travel to and from school.
When she boarded the bus last week, it didn’t work and the driver refused to let her on the bus.
I called the bus company, who said there was a fault with the machine.
My daughter was angry because she was standing outside in the snow, and I was late for work because I had to take her to school. I’m furious.
What are my rights?
CS, via email.
Frozen: Reader’s 13-year-old daughter left standing in the snow after a bus ticket machine failed to recognize her valid pass (file photo)
Dean Dunham replies: The starting point is the school – whether the bus service is operated by the school itself or by a private bus company – will have a set of rules or policies relating to the school bus service and this will form the basis of the contract.
It is almost certain that as part of these rules or policies, students will be required to present a valid bus pass upon boarding or they may be denied admission.
But there is more to this. The operator of the bus service also has a ‘duty of care’ to your child.
This includes ensuring the safety and well-being of children, carrying out risk assessments in relation to all elements of the bus service, checking the suitability of drivers and the condition of vehicles, having appropriate safety measures in place and, what here what is important is the use of discretion. when you are approached by a child or vulnerable person without a valid bus pass and do not leave them stranded.
In your daughter’s case, it appears that the problem is not with her bus pass, but with the operator’s equipment.
There was another aggravating circumstance that the driver not only refused her access to the bus, but also left her stranded in adverse weather conditions.
My view is that this action broke the contract between the company and you, and was therefore a clear breach of their duty of care. You must now file a formal complaint with both the bus company and the school.
I see no reason why you cannot ask for both an apology and reasonable compensation for the distress and inconvenience – the compensation will not be that high – but it will hopefully be some form of recognition for the distress caused and a lesson for the operator.
The municipality has not given me a bill for land rent for 45 years
I have been renting a small piece of land next to my garden from the municipality since 1975, but I have not received an invoice for 45 years. What are my rights over the land? Do I own it?
BE, via email.
Dean Dunham replies: You may be able to claim ownership, but there is a process you must go through to exercise this right, which involves claiming what is known as ‘adverse possession’.
To make a successful claim, you must prove that your possession of the land in the first place has been ‘actual’, meaning that you have physically used the land as an owner would. Second, that the land has been ‘open and notorious’, meaning that your use of the land has been visible and obvious – in other words, the true owner is clear.
Then you must prove that you have been ‘exclusive’, i.e. that you have used the land without sharing ownership with others, including the actual owner.
You have to be ‘hostile’; meaning that your use of the land is without the consent of the actual owner; and ‘continuous’ – here you must have used the land continuously for the statutory period, which is usually ten years if the land is not registered and twelve years if it is registered.
The initial potential problem here is the ‘hostile’ element, as the council has given you permission to use the land.
However, if this has been withdrawn at some point in the last 45 years, or if you have continued to use the land without any recognition of council ownership and the council did not know you were doing so (which may be the case here), this would still can claim adverse possession.
There is of course a chance that the council will not oppose an adverse possession application and for this reason it is worth making the application.
If the municipality disputes your application, it will do so on the grounds that it still owns the land as no formal transfer of ownership has taken place. To submit an objection for possession, you must contact the Land Registry.
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