This was an awful, strange, scary (RACIST, SEXIST, CURSING bus driver) experience I had with this bus line. I felt unsafe.
I'm a solo female traveller that was flying standby from the Redmond airport for a flight scheduled to board around 5pm (departing at 5:30pm, so standby is usually accepted 30 min prior to boarding). I arrived to the Hawthorne station to take a bus to the airport at around 2pm and the very kind attendant told me that there is one that departs at 3pm everyday, but he has to call and check if he can sell a ticket (since their route is usually determined from pre-sold tickets). He got off the phone and confirmed he could sell it to me, and to be waiting at the stop 10 minutes early so "the bus driver could see me" -- I was outside and waiting promptly.
After 45 min, I was scratching my head (as was the Hawthorne attendant) as to where this bus was (it was getting close to 4pm and the drive is 25-35 min). Apparently, despite our efforts to call at 2pm and getting explicit confirmation, the bus driver had no idea I had bought a ticket and was still in Redmond!
Finally, he arrived and as I boarded, gave ME a hard time about buying the ticket... I told him I never would have bought this ticket if it wasn't an option! I had done my due diligence with the Hawthorne station attendant by checking if we could buy this ticket and I suggested he connect with his coordinator because this was out of my power.. There are free buses to Redmond and I would have gladly taken as I had hours at my disposal when I first arrived at Hawthorne.
Honestly, though, all of this is par of the course with buses. I understand there are delays and poor internal communication -- sure I missed my initial chance for standby on the flight I was planning on, but I got a flight and it all worked out. What was UNACCEPTABLE was the bus driver's behavior.
Our conversation started innocently and friendly and suddenly he started making racist comments and trying to discuss politics of which we don't agree. I tried to kindly defend myself and counter his racist commentary, and then it turned to a woman's right to her body... not exactly the kind of convo you want to have with a stranger, let alone a male bus driver that's getting increasingly aggressive when you're a woman traveling alone.
I started to get scared and asked if we could please stop speaking and he kept going... cursing at me and finally, when I kept asking him to stop, we stopped talking. The remainder of the ride, I was literally tracking my location on Google maps because I was so uncomfortable and scared.
I immediately called to report him when I got to the airport and the woman I spoke with (Connie?) must know him because she was also standoffish and implied she didn't believe me. She said she would check the video footage on the bus. I was relieved it was recorded because I knew his comments and foul language and rude remarks to me would be captured on their end.
Today, I called to follow-up and got the same woman on the line. She first accused me of not having a flight out at 5pm (which was never the case, nor why I was reporting the bus driver) and said when they reviewed the video, they saw nothing out of sort... Is this how they expect people to be treated in general?
The driver very clearly cursed and refused to stop talking, made blatant racist remarks against black people, told me I had no right to my own body, and made me feel extremely unsafe, even asked if we could please no longer speak -- all of this is apparently recorded on their bus surveillance and Pacific Crest Bus Lines deemed it acceptable. In fact, the woman I spoke with further shamed me...
Please save yourself the mental well-being and choose another bus line. No one deserves to be verbally accosted like that. Regardless of politic beliefs, it is extremely inappropriate for a bus driver to initiate an argument while working and making a paying customer feel scared and unsafe. read more
