A Call from Broward County (Transit??)

This morning I got a call which my caller ID identified as Broward County EOC which I believe is the Emergency Operations Center that deals with public emergencies and FEMA etc.

The call was pertaining to a complaint I made on October 31 to Broward County Transit!!  Big questions: why is the EOC calling me about that?  Second, she had absolutely no information about the complaint, so why did she call me in the first place?  To issue platitudes to keep me happy?…as if that were possible on Broward County Transit.  Third, really?  It takes over a month to get called about an issue??  If Broward County Transit was privately owned, that would NEVER happen.

I told the young woman that I am waiting for replies on several different complaints to BCT, that I write a blog about this very subject, and that I would certainly be writing about this issue.  As I couldn't access my information about complaints when she called, I asked her to give me her name, which she failed to do, and that she should call me back when she was informed about the complaint and what will be done about it.  I shake my head even now wondering why she even bothered to call me.    She took my contact information and said her supervisor…what, at EOC??…would call me back in nine or ten days.  Of course, common sense forces me to wonder why she needed my information again; she called me and asked for me by name.   How ridiculous are these people and these organizations?  Taxpayers pay for this ineptitude.  What a waste of money!  How many ineffective calls do these people make each day?  What problems are they part of solving?  It's hard to imagine that they help solve any problems when they don't even know why they are calling.

I finally received a reply from Timothy Garling that answered none of my questions directly.  It was all government-ese and frankly, I intend to compare what he wrote to what I actually asked him on this site.  That's a bigger job than I have time for right now.

Until then, I remain

Condemned to Broward County Transit

Updates on Broward County Transit Response,

Here's a vague email I received recently from Dwann Jackson at Broward County Transit.

From: CService <cservice@broward.org>
To: '--------aol.com>
Subject: RE: Broward County Transit Comment

Good Afternoon. Thank you for contacting Broward County Transit. I apologize for the issues that you have encountered. I will forward your complaint to the appropriate office so they can address your issue. If you need further assistance you can contact our customer service department at 954-357-8400.

Dwann Jackson, Transit Operations Senior Agent
Customer Relations and Communications
Broward County Transit Division
1 North University Drive
Plantation, Fl. 33324
Office: 954-357-8400  Fax: 954-357-8446

Trip Planning: www.google.com/transit
Website: www.broward.org/bct

Hey, Dwann, which complaint??  Could this be more cookie-cutter?  There's no mention of the nature of the complaint, what will be done, or to which department my complaint was sent.   I'm guessing that's because he/she does not intend to do ANYTHING about ANYTHING and my complaint was sent to the circular file.   

So, I tried to reach Dwann by telephone today; he did say in his email to call.  I was actually transferred to Operations of which he is a Senior Agent, but the rude dude who answered said there is no one by that name in that department just before he pretended to transfer me but actually hung up on me.  The second time I called the person who answered told me Dwann was out of the office and would "try" to transfer me to his voicemail.  At least this guy thought he'd heard of Dwann.  He was eventually successful at transferring the call..WooHoo!  I left a message and am looking forward to the speediest of replies.  Yeah, right...

I've also written to Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca regarding his lack of advocacy.  Here's that email:

Commissioner,

What is the status of my response from Timothy Garling to my letter dated September 22?  That was over two months ago!!  What has your office done to get me the answers I requested from him?  If  you've done anything, why hasn't he responded?  Is this level of disrespect for the Broward County Commission acceptable?  Or is this just disrespect for the riders of Broward County Transit by both Broward County Transit and the office of Chip LaMarca?  

Condemned to Broward County Transit

In addition, I resubmitted the original letter which was posted on this site in September  It would nice to hear back from LaMarca or someone from his staff, but judging by what's been done or not done, I'm not too hopeful.  

I remain,

Condemned to Broward County Transit

Broward County Transit's Thorough Disregard for Schedules

Yesterday, I had a meeting which required me to take the incredibly horrible route 10.  I left early to make sure that connections were not an issue and that I might have a chance to arrive at the meeting without being furious or stressed from having to deal with Broward County Buses.  The 10 bus was due at the stop at 1:47.  At 1:57 customer "service," after telling me the north bound 10 bus was across the street…ya know…heading south …(duh!)" hung up on me while trying to locate the north bound bus.  I spotted the replacement driver and asked what she knew.  She said, "The bus is only 10 minutes late."  ONLY???  REALLY???  What blatant disregard for getting people where they need to be WHEN they need to be there!

  The attitude with regard to the respect for riders' schedules is appalling and is a strong part of the culture at Broward County Transit which is under the supervision of the Broward County Commission which is apparently helpless to get control over the behemoth beast that is Broward County Transit.  (To give the replacement driver credit, she did make up time on the route.)

I remain,


Condemned to Broward County Transit

Bus 55 Unhelpful Driver

A Broward County Transit driver has again demonstrated Broward County Transit's  dedication to good "service".  A war vet and firefighter of 29 years tried to ask the driver of the departing 12:35 55 bus  at NE 41st a simple question, but the driver refused even to acknowledge him. Nice!

I will grant that the man was loud and a bit repetitive, but a "service" organization should be all about providing "service". Drivers of Broward County Transit should have an adequate knowledge of routes and connections to provide all riders and potential riders with the information they require. However, that's not really the point; the driver wouldn't even ACKNOWLEDGE the gentleman.  Was he deaf?  If so, are deaf people allowed to drive public buses?  I suspect he was just an arrogant, SOB who couldn't be bothered.

Drivers are the on-the-ground representatives of Broward County Transit, but many of them act like they're doing the riders a favor just for showing up. I guess the culture at Broward County Transit is less about "A job worth doing is worth doing well" and more about, "Hey, I'm just here for a paycheck so leave me alone."  

Well, any year now, I may actually hear back from Timmy or Chip with some answers, but I'm not putting any money on it.

I remain,

Condemned to Broward Transit. 

Broward County Transit's Bus 55

This morning I needed to catch the normally reliable 55 bus in order to make a connection. The bus was late and nowhere in sight. When the 11 pulled up, I made the scary decision to take the 11 and hoped I would get my connection on that route and at the right time. It was a good decision.  On the way two people at the back of the bus were going back and forth about how unreliable the 55 has been. The man stated that he was stuck waiting for his bus for over an hour and a half. The woman said she was at her stop for the 5:25 the previous evening, but a bus didn't arrive until 6:40.

The man went on to say that he's going to have to get up at 4;00am just to get to his job on time. The woman said that she had worked two shifts yesterday and just wanted to get home. She suggested that Broward County Transit was changing drivers on the routes. 

Why would that be a problem?  Is this the first time drivers have changed routes?  Is there no procedure in place to assure buses will be on time to get people to and from work or school even with different drivers???!!

This is not the first year this "service" has been in operation.  How are these routine changes able to bring so much pain to the people it supposedly "serves"???  It's disgusting.

Broward County Transit and everyone who works in any sort of management position should be shamefaced when discussing this "service" or even admitting that they work there.

Also, where's the "advocacy" of Chip LaMarca??  So far, I'm not seeing it as I have not heard from him nor his office staff, AND I still have not received a response  from Timothy Garling regarding my letters that I sent to him well over a month ago.

Until next time,  I remain,

Condemned to Broward County Transit

The Poorly Run Broward County Transit

Yesterday, I got to Bayview and Sunrise at 2:45 which left plenty of time before the 2:58 was due to arrive.  In fact, that bus never arrived.  It turns out that someone on that bus relieved him/herself inside the bus.  That's not Broward County Transit's fault.  Patiently I waited for the 3:18 which never showed up which is the fault of Broward County Transit and its lack of sufficient contingency planning.    The 3:31 arrived at 3:35.  I filed a complaint with a call-back request for the driver of the 3:18, but the complaint I wanted to file for the supervisor of operations had to be done online.  Why?  Anyway, I filed the complaint online and wondered if I would ever get a reply.  I did.  They sent me my complaint with no response…just my original complaint.  Amazon, Apple, and every other venue that has a comment section sends a confirmation of an order, comment, or complaint.  Not Broward County Transit, they send you your original complaint.  What is that??  Here's what they sent me:

       -----Original Message-----

       From: DoNotReply <DoNotReply@broward.org>

      Sent: Thu, Oct 31, 2013 4:27 pm

      Subject: Broward County Transit Commen

      I want to file a complaint against the Department of Operations. When there is an issue on the routes, there are no contingency plans in place to make sure people get to where they need to be. I want to be contacted about this situation!

A lot of issues do fall at the feet of  Broward County Transit's operations…even this pathetic "response."   Why wasn't there a contingency plan in place to get people picked up?  Someone peeing on a bus is not an anomaly.  Why is nothing in place when problems arise?  Why do the consumers of this "service" have to bear the brunt of common issues?  I was late for an appointment as a result of the failure of operations at Broward County Transit.

I remain,

 Condemned to Broward County Transit.

New Missive from Chip LaMarca Regarding Broward County Transit

Regarding a follow up email I sent to him, Commissioner LaMarca sent me this:  

Thank you for contacting me on this important transit issue.  I am working with my district director, (name deleted) to get some answers to your questions and find solutions to your concerns.

Best regards,

Chip LaMarca

Broward County Commissioner

115 South Andrews Avenue

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

T: 954.357.7004 | F: 954.357.7798

So I responded:  

With all due respect, perhaps you should compel Mr. Garling to respond to my letters.  I've received nothing from him.  On a separate matter, Supervisor of Operations, "Frank's" voicemail promised me a phone response to my iPhone concern, but I haven't heard from him either.  None of that would be acceptable in a privately owned operation.  Why is it accepted from a taxpayer-funded organization? 

I'll post any new information.

I remain,

Condemned to Broward County Transit