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Memories of the 28th Century

Squeaky Wheels

Rating: 7 votes, 5.00 average.
Simply complaining well is not enough, especially if one is dealing with government bureaucrats. Continued application of gentle pressure will eventually wear down even the hardest and firmest bureaucrat. It appears that my attempts to get the regional transit authority to train and supervise bus drivers might be going somewhere; either that, or they’re legal action against me. I got a phone call from one of the higher ups who just wanted me to repeat what I had already put into writing. After a few minutes, she said that she would get back to me on Friday. I wonder why.

I’ve lost track of how many calls and emails I’ve sent, but it is in the range of a dozen, and I believe that I have mentioned inadequate training in all of them. I'll have to wait a little while before I find out, if that phone call even comes. But I think that y general method was appropriate. I avoided criticizing individuals except in regard to specific ways in which they may have been endangering the public. I also made it clear that I was truly upset, which I was, but I was careful to refrain from writing until I had stopped thinking of painful ways to kill the guilty parties.

This campaign is moving along; although I would rather that they just did their jobs. This morning a bus went off as I slapped on a door to get on. But my complaint elicited an apologetic comment from someone who was dismissive before, so another one is being ground down.

I find it completely appalling that bus drivers are allowed to get behind the wheels of those ten ton monsters without having learned that they have to be completely attentive to what is going on around them, but they seem to be blithely ignorant of passengers and other vehicles. Neglect to stop at stops even when signaled to stop, slamming doors in the faces of people trying to get on, ignoring traffic laws, these are what they seem to be best at. I hadn’t even imagined the possibility before, but sometimes they leave stops early, get ahead of schedule, so that there won’t be as many annoying passengers.

As a general matter, I would rather not complain. I wopuld prefer that everything ran smoothly, but I may improve the world to some small degree by complaining. We'll see. Maybe I should get on Obama's case some more.

Comments

  1. Libro's Avatar
    As a transit "bus token" I must enjoin your campaign here and make mention that public transportation is a poor excuse for hitchhiking - this antiquated "thunmbing" died at the hands of psychotics and mainacs of the road squalor and now if you have NO car you must resort to this cattle car mindset - the bus - it is akin to an overpriced trip to oblivion - irritating to the maximum and a situation where if you do not practice Zen then you are likely to commit an atrocity...
  2. PeterL's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Libro
    As a transit "bus token" I must enjoin your campaign here and make mention that public transportation is a poor excuse for hitchhiking - this antiquated "thunmbing" died at the hands of psychotics and mainacs of the road squalor and now if you have NO car you must resort to this cattle car mindset - the bus - it is akin to an overpriced trip to oblivion - irritating to the maximum and a situation where if you do not practice Zen then you are likely to commit an atrocity...
    I would rather hitchhike, and having done about a quarter million miles that way, I can testify to its safety and utility.

    On a good day taking a bus is better than driving, and the three quarters of a million miles that I have driven have shown me enough about driving to have a good idea about it.

    The problem that I have with buses is that the drivers are not well trained or supervised. They are road hazards, and they don't do their jobs well. If they had to get by on $4.00 per hour plus tips, then they might learn how to do their jobs, so that people would tip well. But I think it's more likely that I'll get money from the transit authority long before the drivers get anything from me.

    And yes they have done things that would be grounds for suit.
  3. Buh4Bee's Avatar
    It's public transportation. If you don't want to deal with the public end of life, take a cab. At least that is my recommendation.
  4. PeterL's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Buh4Bee
    It's public transportation. If you don't want to deal with the public end of life, take a cab. At least that is my recommendation.
    It is a public agency; therefore, it must operate in the public interest, and it is responsible to be responsive to public comment, and I am a citizen.