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Old 03-23-2010, 06:30 PM
 
18,921 posts, read 11,515,116 times
Reputation: 69872

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The OP is an engineer - which explains a lot about his approach to the original situation and why he posted in such excruciating detail.

OP - during the initial exchange the driver was just doing his job - didn't seem either rude or particularly pleasant. You were on the bus with your bike - which is what you wanted. Many buses have bike racks and the ones that don't "probably" would have let you on with no comment or with an explanation like your driver gave you. No harm, no foul. If you were worried about it you could always call or check the web site later for "the rules". Also, you are an adult and shouldn't have to be told that engaging the driver in a heated conversation is a distraction. The driver does sound like he was getting a bit testy with you but it also sounds like you were being a nuisance.
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Old 03-23-2010, 06:57 PM
 
Location: Yeah
3,164 posts, read 6,668,656 times
Reputation: 911
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squeamish View Post
The driver sternly told me that folding bikes were prohibited on buses and that I was to use the bike rack, however he’d let me on this one time but not in the future.
I can atest to the lamebrain mentality of a lot of Port Authority employees, but what struck me is what I quoted above. It says he let you ride that time, and if I read correctly, you continued to discuss the whole thing. Why didn't you just sit down after him stating this and be done with it?
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Old 03-23-2010, 08:39 PM
 
Location: North Pittsburgh
353 posts, read 1,722,386 times
Reputation: 156
Why do people insist in creating problems when none exist.
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Old 03-23-2010, 09:19 PM
 
Location: South Oakland, Pittsburgh, PA
875 posts, read 1,481,847 times
Reputation: 285
Squeamish, I also agree that after debating it with the guy for longer than 2 minutes or so, you should have probably let it go. I'm not knocking what you did, and you made a reasonable argument, but these types of debates won't have an effect on most bus driver types. By pursuing it as long as you did, you did actually generate a bit of distraction for the driver, not to mention a small spectacle for the rest of the passengers on the bus at the time. You did the right thing calling him out on it, but there was no point in debating it as long as you did simply because, even if he is in the absolute wrong, it's essentially his bus and he has the final say.

As per the bike issue, I own a mountain bike myself, but not a folding bike. I can imagine it probably takes some time to actually fold it up. The bus policy does state that if a bus has an open bike rack slot (two on each bus with a rack) you have to place the folding bike on the rack. I think slowly and surely PAT is adding more and more bike racks to buses. You should consider yourself lucky because you can still utilize ANY bus with your folding bike. For me, it's a crap-shoot. I know there's a listing of bus routes that should ALWAYS have bike racks on the Port Authority's website (54C and 500 are examples, but note they don't 100% have them and this is very frustrating) However, other bus routes will occasionally will have them too.

If I were you and you tried this in the future, I would leave your bike in whatever position its easiest and fastest to revert from. Then, if you get a look at the incoming bus, you can anticipate and start to fold/unfold accordingly. If you're still not done, the bus driver would then be required to wait for you to finish, whether they're impatient or not.
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Old 03-23-2010, 09:27 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
1,519 posts, read 2,660,549 times
Reputation: 1167
I seriously couldn't finish your story. People get irritated by people who are irritating. There is a time to drop it. Sounds like you went way past that. Sorry. You asked.
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Old 03-24-2010, 08:34 AM
 
296 posts, read 557,712 times
Reputation: 126
Pick your battles in life. If arguing with a PAT driver over bike rules on buses is the most serious thing you have to worry about, then enjoy your great life. If it isn't that important in the grand scheme of things, get on the bus, shut up, and get out of the way.
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Old 03-24-2010, 08:45 AM
 
20,273 posts, read 32,857,468 times
Reputation: 2910
Quote:
The driver sternly told me that folding bikes were prohibited on buses and that I was to use the bike rack, however he’d let me on this one time but not in the future.
"OK, thanks."

End of story.
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Old 03-24-2010, 09:46 AM
 
91 posts, read 236,848 times
Reputation: 46
Most of the drivers I deal with on the HP line are courteous and very friendly. There have been a few times I have had issues, but the only time I had an issue was when a driver would not let me off at a designated bus stop from a filled bus. I guess he thought I was a wimp for "not wanting to stand for 30 minutes" (which was true on my bad knees). So I said "Sorry", shut up, he finally opened the door, I got off, and reported him. I think it went through because he later stated to me "see, you got to sit on my bus this time" (or something similar) as I was disembarking from his bus a week or so later. Either way, no biggie, guy's just a pr!ck.

However, I've also used their "Gold Star" system on a few occasions to give praise to good drivers who go above the job, and also sent in a comment praising their service in the recent snow storms for my area.
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Old 03-24-2010, 10:51 AM
 
1,146 posts, read 1,404,014 times
Reputation: 896
Sorry, but I agree with the majority of posters here.

Since he let you on, you should have accepted that and then filed your complaint with PAT after you got to your destination.

I'm glad a passenger told you were distracting the driver. The other passengers were lucky they were on the busway and not a side street or a street heavy with pedestrians, hills, and curves which require even more extra attention by the driver. That was very dangerous what you did.

This reminds me of the time on a bus during an afternoon rush hour snow storm in January. The roads were bad and a lady was up front arguing with the driver about routes and asking him questions and eventually the driver told her to sit back down as he couldn't concentrate driving with the bad roads. Where is the common sense?
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Old 03-24-2010, 11:00 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
29,624 posts, read 34,077,569 times
Reputation: 76586
Quote:
Well, we boarded the train and sat down for a few minutes until the driver came up to us and my cousin politely told him if we were on the right train to go to South Hills Village, and the driver rudely told her "you aren't getting there on this train."
I've never seen a T driver get out of the box and talk to passengers.
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