Broward County Transit September 25, 2012

Because my son's school bus is scheduled to arrive at 5:24am which is RIDICULOUS, we take the same bus, the 6:03 up to the home of a friend of his whose mom drives them both to school.  There is a small area that seems kind of dicey to me, and it's pitch black at that hour, so I go with him and then wait for the next bus on the same route.

The 6:03 is supposed to get to its last stop (destination) at 6:25am and then leave that location (origination)  for the return route at exactly 6:30am.  At 6:42am, it's due to arrive at the connection spot I discussed in last night's blog.  (BCT September 24, 2012).  I was waiting for my bus right across the street when that original bus arrived back at 6:33am!  Did it fly?!?!?  I wasn't waiting for that bus, but what about the commuters who showed up by 6:30am expecting to be taken to their jobs?  (Jobs that are very hard to come by these days.  Jobs where, if you are late too often, you can be easily replaced with someone who will be there on time. )  That driver left that origination point ten minutes early!!  Why?  He then sat in the bus at the connection spot from 6:33 until 6:39 before he drove away, still early.  Couldn't he have done that at his origination point and kept people/citizens/riders condemned to Broward County Transit on their schedules??

Again, a driver who had the power to ruin someone's day, took the opportunity to do just that.  Any consequence to the driver?  Doubtful.

Continuing to my office on a different bus route, a lady came aboard at the same time as three or four other people.  Her ticket was invalid, but the machine says that all the time even when tickets are valid.  It turns out this lady's ticket really was invalid.  Why?  When her dollar bills didn't go into the machine right away, the driver on her previous route, told her to give him the money and he miraculously pulled a ticket out of his pocket for her.  It had no date or time stamp, but she didn't realize it, so she paid three or four dollars for a ticket that was no good.  These people transferred either from the 14 or the 18; with all the yelling from everyone who saw the lady pay the driver, it was hard to focus on where exactly we were.

I believe this is a scam.  One day,  a driver from another bus hopped on to my bus which was waiting to leave.  He clicked some code into this thing drivers use to keep track of fares, and then took somewhere between five to ten tickets out and left the bus.  I didn't know what to make of it at the time, but it was the first thing I thought of this morning listening to the hullabaloo going on.

So, again, a couple of drivers making Broward County Transit proud.

One last interesting observation about my final bus ride of the day.  The driver of bus number 9918,  the same driver as last night, chose to drive across 14th Street completely in the left lane.  I'm scratching my head wondering how you can pick up citizens/riders/fares speeding down the left lane since the curb is to the right of the right lane. It's a head scratcher alright.  Could it be he doesn't want to pick up riders?  Could it be that he enjoys seeing people chasing after the bus as he leaves them high and dry just so he can get down to that connection spot five minutes early again?  Is there a reward for getting to that particular spot early??  Really, is there?  A bonus, perhaps??

The employees of Broward County Transit are supposed to be civil servants not uncivil sadists.

Still no reply from the central supervisor.

That's it for now.  Sadly, there will be more to come.  Until then, I remain...

Condemned to Broward County Transit

Broward County Transportation September 24, 2012

Why does Broward County Transit breed so much ill-will?  Well, this evening, the bus I was on (bus #0129) pulled up five minutes early to the corner where a transfer of passengers takes place; the connecting bus wasn't there yet.  It pulled up at 5:41pm, less than a minute before my bus was supposed to leave.  My bus driver took off as soon as the on-board clock clicked over to 5:42.  Passengers from the connecting bus were making their way over, one guy had a walker, and it was threatening to rain, but the driver didn't care.  I even asked, "Why not wait a second?"  The guy is a deaf mute or, at least, he pretends to be. (He doesn't hear anybody asking for assistance either.)

 What was that?!?  Was he mocking those people.  He waited five minutes just to take off when they arrive and try to catch the bus???  Really?!  To me that says, "In your faces, stupid passengers!" Is this guy on some kind of power trip?  I guess he had the power to ruin evenings, and he used it to do just that.  I was always taught that you represent the company you work for.  Broward County Transit, this is one of your representatives.  You all must be so proud.

I still haven't heard back from the supervisor of drivers regarding my complaint.  I guess I'll ramp it up and start copying in my Broward County Commissioner.

More to come...

Until then, I remain Condemned to Broward County Transit.

 Broward County Transit  September 17, 2012

This morning's bus arrived five minutes late.  It doesn't sound like much, but in order to transfer to other bus routes, buses need to be on time.  With only five scheduled minutes to spare for my connection,  my commute to work was in jeopardy.  In order to make the connection, three of us had to jump off the bus prematurely and run to an alternate location to pick up the next bus.  For those in sneakers, it might be okay, but those of us who are dressed to work in offices find the situation more difficult.  As much as the self-important attitude displayed by so of many of the drivers honks off the riders, it's not always their fault.  

It seems like those people in charge of the schedules are also responsible for the miserable service doled out by Broward County Transit.   

The evening bus driver on one of my routes drives like a madman.   I appreciate that he is an "on time" driver, but in order for him to be on time, he bullies all sorts of vehicles if they are going too slowly.  He honks the horn repeatedly while he rides up so close to the backs of cars, I doubt the drivers can even tell what type of behemoth vehicle is looming in their rear-view mirrors. This is not safe for the people in the cars.  Buses don't stop that quickly, and the car's occupants could be injured, maimed, or even killed before anyone on the bus even had to brace themselves.  (On some buses there are cameras focused on the road in front of the bus.  Is anyone watching?)

So, it seems that those of us who are condemned to Broward County Transit are victims of  irrelevant, unachievable bus schedules which cause ill-will, frustration, and hostility. They also put the lives of the occupants of other vehicles at risk.  

Regarding ill-will, this afternoon, a woman got on the bus complaining about the 14 Route.   She is certain that the driver is late on purpose so that she and several others consistently cannot make their connecting bus.  She was serious.  This is how people who ride the buses feel.  There is a LOT of ill-will out there.  Asked by a fellow passenger (not me) why she doesn't call to complain.  Oh....let's think....why doesn't she call?....Hmmmm....  could it be that nothing gets done about it and no one ever calls as promised by all of the "customer service" representatives recording the information??

 Anyway, who creates the schedule?  Who approves it?   I would bet that the people in charge of scheduling have never taken the bus.  If they have, they've only take a token ride; they've never had to rely on the buses to get to work on time or to get home to the kids.

A lot of problems could be solved with schedules that are achievable.  I challenge everyone in the Broward County Transit offices and every County Commissioner take the buses for an entire month, never driving in their convenient cars during that entire time.  They should experience what it's really like.  

I continue to be,

Condemned to Broward County Transit

Broward County Transit 9/12/12

Today was frustrating day on Broward County Transit.

I believe in getting to the stops early so there's no chance of missing the buses I'm condemned to ride.  This morning the 6:03am bus sped by me at 5:50am.  I was steps away from the stop, and the driver blew right by 13 minutes early.  I chased the bus to the next stop, which fortunately can be measured in yards rather than miles as I was dressed for work, and yelled to the boarding passengers as I got into earshot.  No matter.  The driver sped away.  Not for nothing, but riders can be helpful telling drivers about someone running to catch up so they'll wait a few seconds.  Not this driver.

So I was left to my own devices to take a different bus and then another bus on a convoluted route to my destination, which was another bus stop.  I asked the bus driver the name of the supervisor of drivers.  The guy looked at me like he had no idea what I was talking about.  I said to him, "You know the name of your supervisor, don't you?"

He rudely replied, "Yeah, but I'm not telling you."  Nice. Apparently, the supervisors at BCT do not want anyone to know they work there. What are they afraid of?

I know that this is my first post about problems I've experienced with Broward County Transit, but it is not the first problem or frustration I've experienced.  This incident was the most recent  straw that broke the camel's back.  During normal business hours, I called "customer service" (don't get me started) and spoke to a gentleman who gave me his first name, but I question whether it's his real name.  Anyway, I asked for the name of the supervisor of the drivers.  He told me that that particular information was not available.  I politely informed him that my next call was going to be to my County Commissioner, Chip La Marca.  (I'm condemned to Broward County Transit because of a physical disability not because I'm an idiot and uninformed.)  He asked me to hold for a moment.  Miraculously, when he returned, he had the information.  Funny how that is.

Just another funny thing about calling that "customer service" number... there was a new addition to amuse those of us willing to hang on long enough to speak to a human being.  A voice would periodically come on informing me of how long a wait I would have until a "customer service" representative would be with me.  The funny part was that the first time the recording came on, it said something like, "Your wait time is two minutes and seventeen seconds."  The second time it informed me that my wait time had increased to three minutes and five seconds.  The third time my wait time had increased to three minutes and fifty-two seconds.  The last two times I got the original message both said that my wait time was back down to two minutes and seventeen seconds.  About five seconds later, someone came on the line.  This was about seven or eight minutes after the first message.  Broward County Transit shines. It did actually make me laugh even though I was pretty pissed off at the time.

So now I have the name and address of the supervisor and will mail him a letter asking him about how he's going to handle my complaints.  Just so you know, I've gone to this extreme because every time I call "customer service", I'm told that someone will call me back to discuss the issues.  I know it's shocking, but no one ever calls me.  Hard to believe, right?

Why don't more frustrated riders complain loudly and often?  What happened to all of the other riders affected by the driver who sped by thirteen minutes early?  I can't have been the only one.

I issued a challenge in my letter to the supervisor, but since it won't be mailed until tomorrow, I'll give the guy a chance to see it before I post it.

More as it happens.

Broward County Transit September 2, 2012

I moved back to Broward County in 2002.  At that time I was getting divorced and moving into a condo by the ocean with my two sons.

During the spring of 2003 I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  I worked and took care of my kids throughout the chemo and radiation.  When all was said and done, it was the end of February 2004.

In September 2004, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  My cancer had spread.  Not good, but with plenty of support,  I marched on through the surgery and whole-brain radiation.

In December 2005, I was diagnosed with a second brain tumor.  During the surgery, the doctor found that one section of my brain was riddled with cancer, so she removed that section.  This left me with a condition called Homonymous Hemianopsia.  Fifty percent of my visual field is gone.  I am now legally blind.

At the beginning of December, before the diagnosis, my oldest son (fifteen years old) received his driving permit.  I hadn’t had time to teach him to drive before the holidays.  I was teaching; he was playing on the school basketball team, etc.  I had the surgery during the first week of January 2006 and was devastated about my loss of sight.  I didn’t know how I would be able to get to school to teach and earn a living.  My brother suggested signing my son  up for driving lessons, which I immediately did.  So, before my sick leave was up, I had my son driving his brother and me around.  He eventually got his license and things were okay until he left for college.

At that point, my youngest son and I became Condemned to Broward County Transit.