Good Afternoon;
A Tale of Two Bus Drivers:
Driver # 1
So I leave the library and go stand on the bus stop to wait for the #59 bus to take me to the subway station to get a connection to get over here to Starbucks. The bus come barreling down Reisterstown Rd. through the middle of the Pikesville shopping district at least 15 miles over the 25 mph posted speed limit, way too fast for the conditions...which includes a construction zone where the broken water main of the earlier post was being fixed. With horn blowing and weaving in and out of traffic it almost does not stop for us at the legitimate stop across from the library. When it did stop, it opened the doors in the middle of the intersection, in the fast lane, blocking traffic. The woman driving refused to make eye contact or acknowledge any greetings. Because today is the 1st of June and I do not yet have a monthly bus pass I put the $1.20 in coin I had set aside for a daypass in the fare box, holding up my disability ID in advance for the driver to see. She looked at the card and watched me put all these coins in the box, and when I waited for her to press the button on the fare box to print out my daypass, she turned her head away and proceeded to ignore me, all the while speeding in and out of traffic at 40 to 50 mph., (no guesstimating here I SAW! the speedometer. When I asked for my pass she just said 'that's no good' and turned away, when I asked what she just looked at me and turned away, when I asked again she said the ID. After 5 minutes and 2 miles I finally was told that the ID had expired, (which it had, but I had not noticed), and I needed to put more money in the box.
Okay...now I had been using the ID almost every day for the past 3 months since it had expired, and no one ever said a thing...including this driver who I rode with yesterday, (and who drove at the same excessive speeds). She watched me put my money in while she looked at my card and saw it was expired and should and could have told me it was no good BEFORE I put my money in, (and I apologized for having so many pennies, saying it was all the money I had left as I began to put it in...so she knew it was all I had). I asked her if she could please help me out and just give me the pass for today, and she copped an attitude and became rude. When I asked why she didn't say something when I first showed her the pass, before I began to put money in...she would not answer, when the rest of the people in earshot in the front of the bus began to comment and ask also, she pulled the bus over and said to get off or she was calling the police.
Well...after having had previous bad experience with the MTA police, and reading about their predilection to make up rules, regulations, & laws on the spot, (see link to Baltimore Sun story, ), I got off. When I tried to get her badge number she covered it with her sweater. Now I understand that the ID had expired, okay....but I should have been notified before I put my money in....that cannot be refunded! I would have gotten off and tried to scrounge up the $2.30 difference. Now I was out of pocket with no transportation.
I was set up. This woman did this on purpose.
I walked down and over to Prologue and asked to see anyone from the homeless outreach department because I knew my caseworker was out of the office today. I was waiting in the lobby for someone to come down when she happened to walk in the door. I asked her for some bus tokens for today and tomorrow until I get my little bit of cash for the month, and she happened to have some with her. I walked back out side after we finished confirming the date of our next meeting and saw a bus coming up Milford Mill Rd.
Driver # 2
As I got on the bus I put a token in the fare box and showed the driver the ID and told him I just realized it had expired, (and he looked at it and said "oh yeah, so it has, we usually don't notice or worry about that too much), and could he please let me get by today and I'd with it ASAP. He said no problem, just deal with it soon. (Just to be clear I was doing this as a test, I had another token and just enough pennies that I found in the bottom of my bag to get a full fare pass if denied.....but I had a "Permanent Disability ID",.....not a Temporary one that is given for a broken leg or similar ailment that will mend in x amount of time.......things don't automatically go away just because a number on an ID card is passed). As I got off at the subway I stopped and thanked him for his courtesy and consideration.
I got on and off the subway which has automatic turnstiles, and then the Light Rail where the Fare Inspector looked at both Daypass and ID and just said thank you when I showed them to him.
I am tired of the attitudes and behavior of the significant portion of MTA drivers and station attendants who go out of their way to be rude, ignorant, obstructive, and in many cases racist.
Last night on 2 different occasions on 2 different systems, light rail and the bus, with 2 different sets of passengers and drivers I saw a homeless, (both disabled, one physically, one mentally), person hassled and berated while trying to get their belongings up the stairs of the train on the light rail, and past the person standing in the narrowest part of the bus, (who...surprise surprise happened to be another MTA employee in uniform), talking to the driver. The light rail operator made nasty comments over the intercom and closed the doors on the woman, (luckily they are equipped with a safety mechanism. (that worked this time...there is a lawsuit going on right now against the MTA from a man whose coat was caught in the door, which did not open, and who was dragged along). The other incident occurred when the guy tried to maneuver past the standee who did not move out of the way even a bit, and who was the subject of mocking comments and derogatory remarks. And just for the record, all the players in both little dramas were black, and I was an observer and not a participant in any manner.
I've composed and am about to send letters to both TV and newspapers asking them to do investigations and articles on the attitudes and behaviors of drivers and cops and attendants of the MTA, and also to look into why MTA buses are immune to traffic laws and regulations.
YOU tell me....when was the last time you saw a bus breaking a traffic or safety law or using it's sheer size to monopolize a lane or a whole street?
And when have you seen a bus pulled over by a city or county cop, much less an MTA cop?
OKAY, I'm done venting my spleen...lol.
Later...........Dave
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