Bus passenger cursed out bus driver; *language*

[snugglegirl05]

This happened on the bus while I was going to work this morning.

The bus passenger was in a wheelchair.

I was sitting on the bus listening to my cd of relaxation music. There was a big event today. I heard a guy loudly say "I need to get off at the next bus stop."

I look up, & it's the guy in the wheelchair.

Then he flipped out & starts cursing...

"Fu** you. I need to get off at the next bus stop."
"The driver needs to do his fu**ing job."
"I need to get off at the next fu**ing bus stop."

The other bus passengers looked at him wondering what the heck happended to cause him to do this.

He finally got off the bus, but he was cursing the entire time he was exiting.

One of the passengers sitting up front mentioned that he was cleaning his glasses, & a lense fell out before he had to get off the bus. She said he acted like he wanted to blame the bus driver for the problem.

Other passengers commented on his outrageous behavior.

[LillFilly]

Didn't you know? Being differently abled gives you license to treat anyone you want like dirt, and to get away with anything.

I know it's not true of everyone, but I've seen epic suck from some who feel the world should revolve around them because of one thing or another.

Reminds me of the woman who drove her motorized ride-around through freshly-poured concrete where we were repairing a handicap ramp (funny, isn't it?), because she didn't want to go all the way down to the next ramp at the next entrance. Anyone else would have at LEAST gotten vandalism. The tire marks are still there today. What do you want to bet another disabled person trips on those same tire marks?

[fireheart]

Either the bus in question did not come equipped with buttons for people in wheelchairs, or the guy just wanted to be a douchebag.

(about 80% of buses in Adelaide are wheelchair equipped-most of them have push buttons)

[Dreamstalker]

I'd vote for douchebag; buses here also have big stop-request buttons at all the wheelchair/scooter spaces (most buses are "kneeling" buses, and when the buttons are pressed the driver will lower the right side of the bus/pull out a ramp for easier exit), and I've seen people not press the button, then bitch out the driver for not knowing they wanted to get off.

There are also a couple of the older city buses on the road that don't have scooter spaces or a lowered non-step entry door. People with a cane or walker can still board those with help from the driver/other passengers, but wheelchairs and scooters are out of luck. If there's a wheelchair-bound passenger waiting at a stop, the driver will tell the passenger to wait for the next one (most times they will call dispatch to see when the next bus on that route is due), they aren't equipped for wheelchairs. Generally the result is a screamfest citing the ADA and "that's illegal" (what do you want the driver to do then?).