Last week I took Rt 7 and Rt 19 buses to get to the airport. Arrived back today, and reversed the trip. I had the stops written down in my cell phone. I listened carefully for the stops to be announced. Had no problem until the last leg of the trip on the Rt 7 bus. My stop was announced, I immediately dinged the call bell. The driver continued on past my stop. I called to her that she had missed my stop. She told me I hadn't rung. I reiterated that I HAD. She told me I should have paid attention, WHICH I HAD BEEN, VERY CAREFULLY, since it was full dark outside and I couldn't see a thing and don't live on that street anyway so wouldn't know any landmarks. I was VERY careful to listen for my stop.
Finally after arguing with me back and forth, she stopped and let me out. I had no idea how many stops she had skipped. I asked how far back the stop I wanted (Echo @ Mt. Babcock) was and she told me she didn't know. I am disabled, I walk very poorly with a cane, the EXPECTED walk back would have been bad enough, but she dumped me somewhere I did not know where in the dark and freezing windy cold. I had to call my son to find out how far I had to walk back. My cell phone often does not work, thank god it worked this time. She kept telling me it was my fault for not paying attention, only I HAD been paying attention and I dinged the dinger as soon as my stop was announced.
SHE wasn't paying attention and then she was mean about it and dismissive and wouldn't even tell me how far I needed to walk back to get to where I was SUPPOSED to have been let off. I would like to add she was also rude to an older man for just closing his eyes for a minute, something I had done SEVERAL times during the trip myself, and she rudely told him her "rule" was that there was no sleeping on the bus. He wasn't sleeping and she didn't even address him, she kept yelling at some other guy who wasn't even sitting near him to "wake his friend up". None of us on the bus at that point knew who or what she was talking about, and in point of fact I had been glancing back that way and had seen the guy close his eyes for just a few seconds before she started yelling at people in general apparently. Finally the guy she was mad about having closed his eyes realized HE was the topic of conversation and popped his eyes open in surprise and said "I'm not even asleep!"
It was right after this that she blew right past my stop. I don't know what her problem is but maybe she shouldn't be taking her personal problems out on us old folks. I guess I am lucky I was sitting sideways so she couldn't see me close my eyes or she would have admonished me for daring to close my eyes for a few seconds too. I had no complaint about any other driver. I do not normally ride the bus at all. I used to have a disabled person card but I let it lapse because I was told I had to buy tickets 10 at a time and as I rarely go out that was not terribly useful to me. This is the first time I was going to see my grandson in another state and had to get to the airport. A cab ride is $55 so I thought to ride the bus to the airport and back and did so successfully until this woman ignored my stop request and then blamed me for her mistake. It wouldn't have made me so angry had she just said something like "I'm sorry, I didn't hear the bell", and then told me how far I would have to walk back instead of telling me she doesn't know where the stops are on her own route. There is no excuse for the way she treated me or the older man she so rudely chastised for daring to close his eyes. And btw, are HER rules different from RTC rules? Do her "rules" supersede the norms of polite society as well as RTC rules? It took me 22 minutes to make that walk, which google thinks is a 7 minute walk - that would be because I am disabled. I was prepared to walk from the Mt. Babcock and Echo stop but not the Bismark and Echo stop. I didn't even know where the stop where she finally let me out actually was, no idea how many stops she had passed after blowing past mine. I'm just lucky my phone worked this time so I could get hold of my son in another state to tell me where I was and how far I had to walk back to get to where I should have been to start with.
There are a BUNCH of complaints already here about treatment of the elderly and disabled. Clearly RTC doesn't give a crap, they just want to take in the grant money for supposedly providing support services to elderly/disabled without actually PROVIDING said services. I guess the fact that I am elderly AND disabled gave this woman free rein to treat me like something nasty stuck to the bottom of her shoe. RTC clearly agrees with her. You know, because someone for whom walking an extra block (or more since she wouldn't tell me) in the dark freezing windy cold on an unfamiliar street is a real problem, must be a subhuman who doesn't deserve air to breathe, let alone the use of her precious bus or any respect whatsoever. read more
