To the whining woman who refused to get off the already packed to capacity bus: Somehow, I fail to see how the fact that you’ve “had a bad day” or that you’re “only going to the next stop” entitles you, yes, lucky you, to be that one extra person over the yellow line at the front of the bus. Yes, it’s a snowstorm, yes, we’ve all been waiting outside for that bus, and hey, some of us have considerably further to go than that walk up the hill, but when the driver says “No more people,” it’s not because he’s trying to piss on your day, it’s because it’s a legitimate safety issue. So grow up, stop pitching a fit and making a scene, and go stand and wait for the next bus like the rest of us. —Westphal or Bust
This article appears in Jan 13-19, 2011.
Maybe Metro Transit should adopt India’s method of transportation and the number of people permitted on board. http://media.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFiles/pi…
…or Mexico’s (Freak Brothers Reference Alert)
everyone was in the mood to complain yesterday…
10-20 minute delays on the website… though the trip home was 91 minutes longer than usual.
torture,
but c’est la vie.
at least I didn’t have to pee like the girl across from me so eagerly divulged.
In Japan, they have transit employees whose sole job is to try and fit as many people on the train/bus/etc. as possible.
Oddly enough, my bus was on time and didn’t take any longer than usual.
be thankful you’re not that unfortunate fellow who was trapped under a streetcar in toronto but i digress http://images.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/0…
I have sympathy for the lady, I’m sure she was whining and annoying but if you’ve got somewhere to be and the bus is full and you can’t get on and have to wait for the next time, that is pretty frustrating.
And yet if the driver let her on and had to make an emergency stop throwing her through a window, she’d be the first to sue.
Has anyone watched Ice Road Truckers: Dangeroous Roads. If you have, you will never complain about the driving anywhere in Canada at all. They be fucking nuts in India.
Usually there is room for more if the people in the back would just create a little more space (not to mention taking off their backpacks) or the driver would actually get up and ask people to move back. That being said, if your defence is that you just have a block to go – walk a block!
Unfortunately, the one negative thing about metro transit drivers is that they’re inconsistent. Some drivers don’t care who stands where while others strictly enforce the “behind the yellow line” policy. Perhaps said woman is used to seeing people stand where they want, and combined with the stress of the snowstorm I suppose I can see how she’d be set off. I, personally, spent over 100 minutes going from Scotia Square to Fairview after work…… believe me, i was ready to murder some of those standing around me.
@arrows not everybody *can* just “walk a block”, especially in poor weather conditions.
Only going to the next stop? Did she have mobility issues? I’d’ve walked it, and I have mobility issues. I’ve seen seemingly able-bodied people get on a bus, only to ride 2 or 3 stops along the route before exiting.
oceanchickpeasis, i have zee book, it’s yours whenever you want. i have been on roads like that bro, on a very hilly caribbean isle. i think i sucked my uterus into my head^^^what a rush
OC – there’s been some major league eagle action this week. Between 2 & 4 in the afternoon (our time) seems to be good. I think mama’s working on refurbishing the nest because I see fresh evergreen boughs in it.
Screeeeeeeeeeee!
Yeah, but jgoreham, there are FAR too many lazy asses in this city who hop on a bus to go from one stop to the next. And stops in this city are ridiculously close together. Perhaps if they forced people to, oh, I dunno, walk more than 5 feet from one stop to the next, we wouldn’t be a city of lard arses. And perhaps the busses would run more on schedule because we wouldn’t have the mass of people getting on the bus when they’re perfectly capable of walking from one block to the next. It takes time for the bus to stop and let people on…I mean why’d metro transit make the 30 series “express” busses and cut a bunch of stops?
I’m not saying there aren’t people with mobility issues (my mom, for example, looks perfectly able, but tore her achilles tendon twice since november and is in constant pain from walking — she can’t walk from one stop to the other — she can barely make it to the stop in front of her building), but I see far too many people getting on the bus to go a block they’re perfectly able to walk themselves.
wow… I shudder to think of anyone incurring damage enough to slay a demi-god….
let alone twice in succession.
I’m not sure of the rational for the 30 series… but I’m glad they did.
the stops seem more appropriately spaced on those runs.
I definitely agree that stops are generally too close in Halifax, I’d love to see that addressed by the municipality/Metro Transit. I want our public transportation to work, we have a vast weird city and people anywhere won’t use the transit systems if they suck. I also agree that it would be great if people walked more- I only purchase a bus pass when the clocks go back and it’s too dark and spooky to cycle home in the evening from work, when they go ahead I walk and cycle 90% of my destinations and I enjoy getting myself around on foot and wish more people did too. Heck, mild winter days I’ll walk from my place in Dartmouth to downtown Halifax over the bridge if I can spare the time.
Regarding if she was able bodied or not, I really think you guys are being harsh- there’s no reason why people can’t take the bus a stop or two if it suits them. It doesn’t really matter why they’re “only” taking the bus a stop or two, and it’s none of your business if they’re able bodied or not (permanently or temporarily). It’s great they’re using transit at all, they’re either putting their money in or using their ticket or their pass that they’d already paid for so they are entitled. I don’t know where the conflict the OP describes was geographically in the city, there are many variables left unaddressed- were sidewalk conditions super dicey? We’ve had gross weird weather lately. If I thought I were safer on the bus than on rough terrain on foot, then I’d probably snarl to get the driver to take me “just one stop” too. Had the lady already been walking for ages from somewhere else to discover she had to wait for the next one (there are some areas in this city that are very poorly serviced by Metro Transit)? I’d be frustrated by that too.
Anyway, for sure it sucks that she was snarly and made the OP’s bus commute unpleasant. There’s definitely no need for that. But Metro Transit is probably the second-most frustrating public transit system I’ve ever used, and it gets so much worse when winter hits because everybody seems to forget that we live in Canada and it like snows and stuff here. The thing is that public transport systems are, well, public, so if you mind things like people being arsey to the driver then you should probably get a car or something because the general public is the worst thing public transportation! I just think that all parties involved in this bitch need to chill- yes, it sucks when people are sucky, be glad you’re not in their shoes, and do your best not to do what you saw happen the next time you *are* the one being told the bus is too full to take you your one stop that on foot would be uphill in the snow in your father’s pajamas.
Hay, if people wnat to take a bus a stop or two, all the power to them, but when it’s snowing and busses are behind schedule and there are people waiting for hours for a bus to take them long distances (like from Scotia Square to Clayton Park), well, it’s a bit unreasonable to expect priority and rules bent just for them.
And jonno’s right — drivers are inconsistent and people expect rule bending. It’s like managers who don’t stick up for the employees who follow policy and when faced with a disgruntled customer they bend the rules. There’s NOTHING more maddening and harmful to employee relations than that shit.
some people can’t count o.p, other can’t read. so it goes.
They should reduce the number of stops in Halifax. Woodland Road is one I can think of that has way too many. Unfortunately MT is looking at increasing the number on SGR
SGR? that’s idiotic… reduce them… AND the number on barringtonscotia square and parade square? they’re BESIDE each other…. WTF?
Yeah i really don’t see any benefit to putting more bus stops on SGR. I also agree that having a stop at SS and the parade square is a bit much.
It takes like 2 seconds to walk from one stop to another on SGR.
I like the idea of closing it off to traffic except busses. Sometimes it can take 20 minutes to get from south park/sgr to barrington/sgr because of all the traffic congestion. And usually when I’m driving DT SGR is avoided. You can get around quite easily without going down spring garden.
I’d love to see BOTH SGR and Barrington streets closed to vehicular traffic. Bring on the streetcar! It can go from Cogswell… across Barrington and then up SGR as far as Summer St. Hey, perhaps it even goes across Summer then down Sackville, cuts across Brunswick St and loops back down Cogswell. Would be amazing in the summer, and I believe would make the Public Gardens look even more stunning. But alas, this is only a dream of mine….
The more that I think about it, the more I fully support my own statement that drivers are inconsistent. There is one driver (female, British…. everyone should know exactly who I am talking about) who stands behind the rules 100%. I have seen her not only enforce the rules, but also dismantle potential volatile situations before they escalate. She explains the rules in a firm yet concise manner and also offers a solution when they don’t benefit the rider. At the same time, I can recall a few drivers that simply don’t give a shit. Whether it’s loudmouth, profane teens, someone with extremely loud music playing through the headphones…… and the most controversial of all- the coffee on the bus. It’s amazing how some drivers insist that no coffee be brought on the bus unless it’s in a travel mug. Other times, drivers turn a total blind eye. It makes one wonder after time just what exactly IS acceptable in the land of Metro Transit, and what is not.