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San Francisco Bus Driver Trouble


gon2fast

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Earlier today, after many bus/train rides to and from SF, I was initially denied access on a GGT bus because I had my commute wheel with me. At first I did not realize the driver was yelling at me because the person in front of me was barely on the bus. I was met with comments about the batteries burning down the bus and how much trouble I would be in. It was rather silly, but I was in the middle of my work day and had to catch this particular bus to get to the train home.  

The stance that I took was that I rode GGT into the SF with wheel and I was riding out with it.  I also stated that I would no longer ride GGT moving forward once I got to my destination. He let me on and the comments went on as I paid my fair. He ended with a statement about his supervisor, but at that point in time I was re-focused on work.

After getting to San Rafael where I catch the train I noticed a gentlemen in an odd uniform talking to another person who had come off of the bus that had a high end scooter with him. At that point I realized that the driver had said that he was calling his supervisor.

My train did not leave for another 20+ minutes so I stuck around to see what the supervisor had to say about the situation. The Driver of the bus had now switched with another driver and was standing around basically watching/guarding as if I was a potential fugitive. I found it amusing.

The scooter guy was pretty worked up. Not sure what his interaction was like, but driver was being rather rude to me so I can only imagine his reaction to the big scooter. I overheard some of the comments from the supervisor during their exchange and the scooter guy never seemed to calm down. No disrespect to scooter guys.

So when it came my turn to get scolded for my wicked device, the supervisor did not even realize there was an issue with my wheel. The driver had to come up and point out the fact that he was a total nimbus by trying to block me from riding the bus. The supervisor then got excited that I was actually handling a vehicle via trolley handle and was very interested in how it functioned. 

The supervisor and I did go over policy though. He had a document that stated only medical PEV are permitted on GGT buses. On the upside he did state that the policy was 25 years old and that he is engaged with his leadership to update the policy to allow modern PEVs.

The bus driver approached me after my conversation with the supervisor. He thanked me for sticking around and talking to his supervisor. I shook his hand. He is not a nimbus, maybe a guy having a hard day, I have been there too... as recently as today.

I think that this will always be a risk with mass transit until vendors come come up with or abide by a general safety rating of some sort.

 

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One person has been killed by a hoverboard fire.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hoverboard-injuries-26000-children-hurt-in-first-2-years-of-sale/

However, 37,133 people were killed in traffic accidents.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/slideshows/states-with-the-most-car-crash-fatalities

Which of these is considered to be more dangerous?

Also, simply get a medical PED prescription to avoid this silliness in the future.

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We have California state legislation supporting use of green vehicles including EUCs but with a clause that gives local authorities conjuring up their own regulations. That's very problematic. We all know how bureaucrats are. They like to get pay for doing nothing. Coming up laws regulating EUCs--what are they, how many kinds are there, pissing off pedestrians and bike riders..etc.--are too much work. There is a document http://bit.ly/2LrE2le one can use to ride anywhere according to Eddie Moy, a fervent rider. We should put it to the test. One just has to mention ADA Title III and no further info needs to be given to the cop or anyone says to you that you can't ride the EUC.

 

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1 hour ago, scubadragosan said:

We have California state legislation supporting use of green vehicles including EUCs but with a clause that gives local authorities conjuring up their own regulations. That's very problematic. We all know how bureaucrats are. They like to get pay for doing nothing. Coming up laws regulating EUCs--what are they, how many kinds are there, pissing off pedestrians and bike riders..etc.--are too much work. There is a document http://bit.ly/2LrE2le one can use to ride anywhere according to Eddie Moy, a fervent rider. We should put it to the test. One just has to mention ADA Title III and no further info needs to be given to the cop or anyone says to you that you can't ride the EUC.

 

The po po have to respond when a member of the public voices a concern, even if their concern is a crock of S%$it.  I have experienced this first hand in San Antonio,  A friend and I were practicing kiting our paragliding wings (kiting: keeping the paraglider stable above you before launch)  we were in a small field in flat a residential area.  There is ZERO chance of taking off, but some Muppet thought we were terrorists about to drop a bomb on something, so in come 5-0 guns drawn (not really) but they were very aggressive, especially when I objected to showing my ID for minding my own business in a quiet field .  We had to cease and desist, our peaceful, quiet activity, on the grounds we didn't have the land owner's permission.  If we were having a picnic or throwing a ball, no one would have been concerned, but place something "foreign" in front of Ma and Pa Kettle and their tiny little brains explode. The public sucks. 

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I have no intention of commuting without my wheel(s) so we will see what next week brings. Thankfully the situation happened during a time when I do not usually travel so I most likely will not see that particular driver again. The supervisor's (dang-it, should have got his card) stance was that the company needed to change it's policy. Not to worried after the fact.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here we go again, I was fully denied entrance on the same route last Thursday with my V10 in hand. I even offered to try too secure the wheel to the bike rack and was still shut down and left behind. My response was very civil as I was in front of my place of business, but the situation infuriated me.

The irony of the situation is that I called customer service and logged a complaint and the company was very apologetic. 

 

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Can’t you just plop your wheel into a large bag and carry it covered up by the handle?  Just make sure the tire is concealed and Bob’s your uncle.  Or are baggage checks also performed prior to bus boardings?  :whistling:  Better check all the women’s handbags for explosives, knives, and guns too if that’s the case!

Path of least resistance.  :innocent1:

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The bag idea has been suggested on other threads, but not here for some reason.  Yes, bag it before your face becomes known as "that guy".  I'm pretty certain they have no right to refuse you passage for carrying a large bag of stuff (unless it's on fire or emitting volatile fumes, etc).  Once its in a bag it goes from "not allowed device" to personal belongings.

When I drove buses people got on with all sorts of stuff.  One guy was moving house COMPLETE WITH HAND HELD KITTEN !  He actually handed me the kitten to hold while he loaded his stuff.  I didn't mind, firstly because I love cats, and it was late, and why would I want to make a difficult situation worse for the guy by being an a-hole.  (ps he didn't have that much stuff)

When I worked for Continental airlines there was a certain closet on the DC-10 that all crew members referred to as "the lawnmower closet" because a passenger once got on with a lawnmower (in the box) and stored it there.  Those were the days (pre 9/11)

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  • 2 weeks later...

It may be difficult to find an appropriately sized bag for the V10. I find it even difficult for my V8, but start to reconsider the idea which I gave up on 2 years ago, because nobody ever cared until last week. I see the clouds for getting into the non-fringe zone on the horizon.

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I once took my KS14C (small, I know) into Barcelona on the train, in a shopping trolley, the type you see old ladies dragging back from the grocery store.  not because I was afraid I might get booted off (that was 2 years ago) but for ease of transportation (no trolley handle on the wheel).  Funny thing is, I can't for the life of me remember what I did with the trolley once I started riding.  Old age, is creeping up on me.

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1 hour ago, Mono said:

It may be difficult to find an appropriately sized bag for the V10. I find it even difficult for my V8, but start to reconsider the idea which I gave up on 2 years ago, because nobody ever cared until last week. I see the clouds for getting into the non-fringe zone on the horizon.

Bicycle travel cases seem perfect for this task.

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8 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

Bicycle travel cases seem perfect for this task.

I see, I thought of something compact when not in use, I would assume their aren't? A cymbal bag may also just about work for the V8, but it's also not very compressible. 

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1 minute ago, Mono said:

I see, I thought of something compact when not in use, I would assume their aren't? A cymbal bag may also work, but it's also not very compressible. 

I looked into getting one of these for a trip to SF with my single speed, and while I'd prefer a case for a bicycle, I think a backpack bicycle bag is more appropriate since they can be rolled up and stuffed into a backpack.

A cymbal bag may be the best choice; I'll check out my local music shops for those types of bags.

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