Dec 06 2009
WTF People?
It’s always interesting riding the bus late at night.
I grabbed a late bus last night after having coffee/dinner in the city with friends & coworkers. All was fine until one stop. There were a couple guys waiting for the bus, both with bikes. The problem was that there was already one bike in the bikerack that will accommodate two. That left one of the guys without a spot for his bike. On a larger bus (the articulated ones) the driver will often let the rider bring their bike in the back door where there some open space. This was late though, and so it was a standard size bus… no room for a bike in the back.
The driver told the guy this “There isn’t room for your bike… I have to ensure the safety of my other passengers.” Instead of being reasonable, and say.. waiting for the next bus, this guy got all in the driver’s face. The driver was resolute. The guy popped his front wheel and a foot (iirc) into the stairwell of the bus, blocking the driver from closing the door.
The driver asked him to back off so he could depart. The dude wouldn’t. The driver threatened to call the cops. The dude said “Fine”.
And that’s what happened. The driver summoned assistance from the police and we waited for them to arrive. An officer arrived in a reasonably short time, calmly dealt with the situation, and we were on our way. I don’t know how the situation ended with the cop & biker, but I do hope a tazer was involved.
Throughout it all the driver was calm and professional. He deserves some sort of recognition or commendation. The guy with the bike, imo, deserves some time on a waterboard. Really.. how rude, self-centered, and inconsiderate can a person be?
Sometimes I wonder how we managed to make it to where we are.
