Broward County Transit - Black Friday 2012

It's been a long while since I've written.  It's not because nothing has happened but because I get home so late and decide not to go to bed in a rage over the &#%* that Broward County Transit dishes out on any given day.  I keep track, though, so that when I write a scathing condemnation to the Broward County Commission, there will be no doubt that serious action must be taken in order to consider this bus system a "service".

Highlights of the last six weeks include:

Monday, October29, 2012 was the first commuting morning after Tropical Storm Sandy blew past South Florida.  It's understood that A1A was closed due to the amount of sand left from the storm, so buses had to be detoured.  These detours started over the weekend.  Knowing that this was going to be a problem, what was Broward County Transit's strategy to make sure their customers were "served"?  As far as any of us are concerned...NOTHING.  No strategy.  On the 29th, the morning 11 bus was 25 minutes late, and that was the first or second bus of the day.  Three 36 buses, that used the exact same detour drove by, but not the 11.  Why?  Well, I asked the driver, and he yelled at me that A1A was closed.  I countered that A1A had been closed for days and that three 36 buses came by before him.  He told me to sit down or get off the bus.  He then went on to say that the dispatcher sent him out to A1A not to the detour causing him to have to back up, turn around, and then proceed.  So what was the strategy??? Make a bad situation worse through total INCOMPETENCE??  What morons.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 - The bus was closer to schedule, but when I got on, the same driver took off like a shot, before I was even done sliding my pass through, sending me flying.  Was that my punishment for asking a civilized, relevant, critical  question the day before?  Makes you wonder, right?  He already knows by my pass that I'm disabled. Is this the "service" BCT talks about??  Don't ask any questions of this tyrannical organization or you'll be punished.  Hmmm..

Thursday, November 1, 2012 - The buses are still running VERY late.  Why?  No strategy after an entire week??  If any other "service" carried on like this, they'd be out of business in a hurry.  The 11 bus due to arrive at Copans and Federal at 5:20pm arrives at 5:47pm.  Why??  Someone asked the bus driver of the 0136 bus, but the driver had turned belligerent, refusing to acknowledge that anyone spoke to him.

Thursday, November 8, 2012 - On the 83 route,  bus number 0216 had no operational lift for the people in wheelchairs.  A woman in a wheelchair, who rides the bus routinely was told she couldn't board.  Life isn't hard enough for the woman.  Broward County Transit, in their complete incompetence, sends out buses without essential equipment being operational.  What if that woman had been mugged or beaten as she waited at her somewhat unsavory stop because bus 0216 left the depot without an operational wheelchair lift.  I hope that woman complained to someone.

Tuesday, November  20, 2012 - (Morning commute) The 11 bus due to arrive at Copans and Federal at 6:50am was running late which threatened the clients needing to transfer to the 7:00am westbound 83 bus. , Desperate not to miss the bus entirely,  people got off at an earlier stop and ran down Copans Road to catch the bus.  It was threatening rain, so no one was happy about this.  These are commuters.  People hoping to get to work.  To work!!!

 Every morning a lady boards with her baby, and recently she's been talking about the probability that she will lose her job because of day care issues.  On that morning, it became obvious that the 83 was not coming so I called Broward County Transit customer "service".  The bus was not on its way; it broke down.  I asked what contingency plan was in place for situations like that.  He told me I could file a complaint and someone would call me back.  Don't make me laugh.  They NEVER have called, why would they start?  Anyway, the woman, already distraught about her job,  started running in the rain  to get her baby to day care so that she could be on the next bus which she normally caught.   The next bus arrived and picked up all the disgruntled, passengers.  She didn't make it.  Some of us worried about her job being lost that day.  Did anyone at Broward County Transit care??  Suffice to say that all of us were late to work that day by at least a half hour.

(Evening commute) - After arriving back to Copans and Federal at the appropriate time, the 11 bus due at the stop at 5:20pm, was nowhere to be found.  At about 5:40pm, I called...that's right...customer "service".  I asked where the bus was.  After a few moments went by, the agent came back and told me that he couldn't find any buses on the tracking system.  Really?!?  I was offered the option to file a complaint.... yeah, okay.   So, the next 11 bus was due at 5:50pm.  At 6:00pm, I called customer "service" again to find out where this bus was.   This guy said there is no tracking system.  I asked him how come other customer "service" agents access the tracking information.  He told me he was new.  New?...untrained?...lying?...who knows for sure. At 6:15 the bus finally arrived.  Fifty-five minutes late.  Who is responsible for buses being 55 minutes late?  Can anyone explain how or why buses are untrackable?  Can anyone explain why there are no contingency plans for anything?  50% of my buses did not show up that day.

Something has to be done about getting the commutation buses up to snuff.  Politicians want to brag about bringing jobs back all the while ignoring a situation that could help people keep jobs they already have.

The 10 and 11 buses have been consistently late for weeks.  Why?  Apparently, the drivers were given new, faulty schedules.  Knowing this, why not  make adjustments?  Have a meeting; make some copies of the unflawed schedule; distribute the unflawed schedules to drivers.  Who at Broward County Transit can't figure out what to do???  I guess no one there can figure it out since none of that's been done.   It's shocking how incompetent this organization is.

Broward County Transit October 2, 2012

This evening, there was yet another new driver on my last ride home for the evening.  She wasn't hostile, rude, or aggressive as a driver.  The bus, however, stank of something important burning.  The windows apparently couldn't be opened so that we could have some fresh air!! ??? It was a very toxic smell.

  All of a sudden, about two miles from my final destination, an alarm rang; the bus came to a screeching halt,  and the driver started yelling for everybody to exit the bus immediately!!!  The engine was apparently on fire.  Yup.  Nice driver, timely ride, waited at the junction appropriately...and then...fire in the engine.  Well, I enjoyed it while it lasted...twenty minutes.

I remain...

Condemned to Broward County Transit

Broward County Transit October 3, 2012

I've been too busy to write, but that does not mean things are fabulous  on the buses. I won't go too far back, just two days.  On October 1, it was pouring rain most of the day which makes commuting of all kinds its own brand of misery, but waiting in the rain for the bus that may or may not arrive to pick you up on time or otherwise is uniquely miserable. I had been pretty fortunate with my connections that stormy day. My bus from work to the connection stop pulled in a couple of minutes early.  This happens on rainy days because people who don't have to be out are not out which means fewer stops.  Anyway, at the connection site, it was raining in torrents, and the connecting buses weren't there yet.  At this point, my fellow riders got off the bus. I was flabbergasted.  The bus we were on wasn't scheduled to depart for ten minutes or so and, optimistically, the connecting buses were not due for about five minutes.  Oh yes, it must be the wonderful new shelters that were built with the best interest of riders.  Well, no - not actually.  The new shelters are about one-third the size of the old ones; no one can be sheltered from anything in those.  The driver was out of his seat for a break from sitting making it obvious that he wasn't leaving imminently. Still, I was the only one left.  I had no intention of stepping out there until I absolutely had to.  When my bus arrived a couple of minutes later, I hopped out and ran the thirty feet to the bus and got drenched even with my rain gear.  Drenched.  That's how hard it was raining.  You can only imagine the others.
To my surprise, we had a new bus driver on my last bus home (bus number0741) .  In literature, lots of water is usually interpreted as a renewal, a rebirth, a new beginning.  Could it be that that ride would be a gentler, but still effective ride home?  I get crazy sometimes.  A cockeyed optimist, I guess.  The woman was so rude, I almost missed the old driver who pretends to be a deaf mute.  She yelled at a passenger for accidentally indicating a stop prematurely.  Hey, it's hard enough for us passengers to see out the bus windows with all the advertising wraps on the buses, not to mention the white muck (to be discussed in the future) that never gets cleaned, then add pouring rain in the dark.  Really, she scolded loudly a grown man who had already apologized for his error!  She was every bit as aggressive in her driving as the last guy, muttering to the drivers in front of her as if they could hear her barrage of complaints.  She arrived at the special junction, discussed in previous posts, six minutes early.  Again, the rain makes that easier...fewer stops...  The twist here is she didn't wait until her scheduled departure time.  She left six minutes early.  The joining bus wasn't even in yet??!!!!!  So, in torrential rain, the passengers expecting to transfer to my bus got to wait out in that pouring rain in an ineffective shelter for more than thirty minutes.  I can only hope they called often to complain about that situation.  The riders need to call in, clog the lines, but they also need to write to their Broward County Commissioners.  The county treats the riders of Broward County Transit without regard for service or wellbeing.  Maybe I'll start handing out addressed envelopes with letters of discontent addressed to the commissioners.  Hmmmm.  I'm percolating.

Until next time...

I remain Condemned to Broward County Transit

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