Adventures in bus riding

This morning when I was on the bus we pulled up to a stop and a woman was talking on her cell phone. She got on, stopped, and continued her conversation without showing a pass or putting in the money. When the bus driver asked her to pay, she said he was copping an attitude with her and argued with him. He then had to ask her to step aside to let someone else on. She finally fished out a dollar and put it in the receptacle, saying she had a pass but left it at home. She asked his name and said she'd report him for giving her attitude.

The driver did nothing wrong. She was the one with attitude, and her dallying kept us waiting for about 3 minutes. She could have easily had her dollar ready for the bus and then just dropped it in, continuing with her cell phone conversation. I mean, really.

I said something to her when she continued to talk about him being rude about how I just wanted to get to my destination and didn't appreciate being held up. She tried to blame the driver for the delay. She honestly had no clue that she was the one who was to blame, and there was obviously no reasoning with her.

When I got off the bus, I handed the driver my business card (I rarely get to use them, but I had a portfolio and happened to have some with me) and told him that if she got him into trouble, then have LexTran call me. I don't know if she just gave an empty threat, but her rudeness set off my righteous indignation button. If they do call, I'll set them straight.

I rode over to a friend's without incident, but catching the bus back was an adventure all its own. The bus was about 12 minutes late and most of the other buses had come and gone. It was the last half-hour trip; it looked like I'd have to wait for an hour before transferring to the bus home. But it turns out it was late, too, by about 20 minutes, so I was good to go. Apparently there was a UK basketball game that was playing havoc with traffic, especially the closer one got to downtown. The trick then was to get the bus on track. We rode as far as Wal-Mart and those who were going to Kroger or St Joseph East got into a van for the rest of the outbound route, allowing the bus to head back up Richmond Road and get back on track. I got off at Kroger, got some money for laundry, and then walked the rest of the way home. Although it was inconvenient to be later getting home than I would have been, at least 1) I wasn't going to work or anywhere important and 2) they did what they could to get us where we were going and get everything back on track. I appreciate it. I know the drivers take a lot of abuse for LexTran's shortcomings, or things beyond their control like construction or traffic. And some people are just plain rude, like the woman this morning. But the majority of bus riders seem pleasant enough, and most of the drivers are friendly and do a good job. Anyway, that was my fun riding the buses today.