Comments on: Bad-back woman

By: atlin83

atlin83 — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:01:06 +0000

W – sorry, but if you’re sitting in the “wheelchair seats,” you actually can’t refuse to move for a passenger in a wheelchair. Or you can, but you’re likely to get thrown off the bus and/or arrested. The wheelchair seats are an ADA thing, which is a federal guideline. If the transit agency doesn’t enforce it, they’re liable in very expensive lawsuits. It’s a lot cheaper and smarter for them to make you get up (or kick you off the bus if you won’t) than to deal with lawsuits alleging discrimination against disabled people.

This doesn’t apply to the rest of the seats on the bus, but it certainly does for the ones marked for the elderly and disabled. Just FYI.

By: John

John — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:44:00 +0000

AccessForAllMN:

Bus riders are not allowed to lay down in seats because it is dangerous. Buses often must slam on the brakes because of crazy drivers cutting them off, and having someone lying down is a lawsuit waiting to happen. She would fall to the floor and then sue SW Transit for all she could get.

By: E

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:54:59 +0000

The bad back lady is a crazy old crank – she has verbally and physcially assaulted other passengers. After one of her outbursts, I told her that she was out of line. She then hit me with her bag when she left the bus.

Anyway, I filed a report and so did the bus driver, The next day, crazy lady was stopped in line by the police who prevented her from riding. She’s been banned from SW Transit for 6 months.

By: w

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 06:20:34 +0000

First off every passenger on a bus has the right to sit in a free seat regardless of who pisses and moans about it. as far as the limited mobility passengers – even the passengers in wheelchairs – we have the right to refuse to give up our seat we paid for the ride to and technically even if we are sitting in the ‘wheelchair seats’ we can refuse to move for a passenger in a wheelchair. We just look like complete a**es if we do I don’t think technically if you asked a dr that putting your feet on the seat might temporarily relieve pain but because of the motion of the buses -the bouncing and stuff- it doesn’t really help it

For the driver he could tell her it’s a safety issue if he turns or makes a sudden stop or something she could slip or something

And if we all put our feet on the seats imagine how gross it would be to sit on. between foot fungus and crap that gets on your shoes eeew!

By: Meg

Meg — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 08:21:43 +0000

What happened?? You were not out of line. I have seen the same type of thing (well not really the same) but people sleeping on buses, taking up two seats when there is standing room only. It takes all kinds…

By: dy

dy — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:12:41 +0000

Agreed. If she was such a jerk, why go back for more? When she was aggravated, get up and go stand in the front. While I’m not seeing rude and harassing behavior is OK, you subjected yourself by staying put. I suspect transit will say ‘you should have talked to the driver.’. It shouldn’t be hard for them to look in the mirror and see this woman laying across the the back of the bus every day like it’s her personal gurney.

By: botski

botski — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:52:29 +0000

As someone who suffers from excruciating back pain because of a lower disc that refuses to behave, I can understand that irrational behavior can be a result of the pain. That being said……

The last ambulance ride I took to the hospital because of my back cost me $1200 (perhaps it was the expensive morphine?). A bit more than the bus. Society is better off letting her pay $2 for a busride rather than $1200, no?

I am amazed at the amount of pissing and moaning I read on the internet. Dude, choose your battles. Even if she is scamming you, why go sit next to her AGAIN? Stand up if you need to. Jesus Christ. Cant we just let the little things slide for once?

By: Nayana Anthony

Nayana Anthony — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:01:10 +0000

I definitely want to hear the bus company’s response.

I work full time at a non-profit organization which serves people with disabilities. There are all kinds of resources available for that population; assuming you’ve presented the whole story, there is no excuse for the behavior this lady exhibited.

By: Nancy M

Nancy M — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:58:23 +0000

The American with Disabilities Act calls for a “Reasonable Accomodation”. That is all. Sounds like to me the “jerk” is the woman who takes up the seats. If her back is bad, she should take Metro Mobility. Of course, those verhicles are not as nice, but that is what Metro Mo is there for people with “disablities”.

Also, I bet it is not a “few minutes” in from the southwest metro.

By: Jay

Jay — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:17:03 +0000

accessforaii – are you seriously kidding?
If everyone thought like you, we’d all be riding in the bus alone, since sometimes I feel a but stiff or because I have an allergy to a perfume, or better yet, I was really tired and wanted a quiet bus to sleep in. Since I have kids and I was being super dad all weekend, I was tired – so you all wait for the next bus so I can get a nap.
Disabilities are one thing, but being a bitch on the bus is entirely different. Get off your soap box and get real!