[nagdu] Sun Tran Bus Co.

Sat Mar 7 11:03:45 UTC 2009

Hi Mardi,

I googled "Sun Tran" and there are several across the U.S.  I saw Florida 
(which is where I live and haven't seen you at any state convention, so I am 
assuming you don't live here.  I also so St. George, UT and Tucson, AZ. 
Which state to you live?  Also, does your state have any criminal laws 
regarding access and/or attacks on your dog be it human or canine?

Marion and I are going to be at a children's festival all day celebrating 
braille and educating, but I will make sure that he knows of your issue and 
contacts you.  You can email him at blind411 at verizon with your phone number 
and I am sure he will want to speak with you.  He is a great advocate.

Merry

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mardi Hadfield" <wolfsinger.lakota at gmail.com>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 07, 2009 5:04 AM
Subject: [nagdu] Sun Tran Bus Co.

> Hi every one,    The day before my meeting with the bus company, I had a 
> run
> in with a bus driver who refused to let me get on the bus and a passenger
> who was urged by said driver to remove my dog from the bus.  I was waiting
> at the bus stop, alone and them a woman came up just before the bus pulled
> up.  The driver opened the door and proceeded to tell me there was no room
> for me,as the woman got on the bus. She was not turned away.I asked him 
> how
> many wheelchairs he had on and he said there were none. Nala jumped up on
> the bus and sat down. I should have moved her off, but I did not. This was 
> a
> mistake. The bus driver refused to let me on even though there were 2 
> wheel
> chair bays unoccupied. He refused to ask the people to move from those
> seats. Those seats have a sign saying that they are reserved for the
> handicapped. If there was no room for me, there was no room for the woman
> who got on the bus,but the driver allowed her to get on. This driver was
> very nasty to me and told me he was already running late. I surmise this 
> is
> the reason he refused me as he did not want to take the time to board a
> wheelchair. I told him that I knew there was room for a wheelchair and I 
> did
> not want to be late for my appointment. There was a woman who offered to
> move so he could put me on the bus, but he kept refusing me. He said I was
> holding him up. I told him that he was the one holding up the bus by not
> allowing me to get on. He could have let me on and been on his way, but he
> continued to argue with me. He proceeded to tell the passengers that, 
> while
> he could not touch my dog, if any one wanted to remove my dog from the bus
> to go ahead and do it. I decided to move Nala off the bus as the driver
> closed the door on the leash and my cane. A passenger came forward and
> ripped the leash out of my hand and the driver opened the door and the
> passenger kicked Nala and pushed her off the bus.Luckily, she just came 
> and
> sat next to me. As the passenger was doing this I hit him with my cane,
> trying to protect my dog. If the driver had not closed the door on her I
> would have removed her but he did not give me a chance to. I am sure he 
> did
> that on purpose so he could have the passenger forcefully remove her, to
> teach me a lesson. I did not put my dog on the bus intentionally, she just
> thought we were getting on so she automatically jumped on. I should have
> gotten her off but the driver and I were arguing and I did not think about
> it at the time. I will not make that mistake again. Poor Nala was kicked 
> and
> pushed off the bus. If that had been a young trainee, the dog might have
> been scared and run into traffic and been killed. The driver could have 
> left
> , but he didn't. He threatened to call the police and I told him to go
> ahead. Instead he called his supervisor.  The supervisor arrived and spoke
> to us both. The driver lied and told him that he did not have to take me,
> but the supervisor told him that there was room for a wheel chair and if 
> he
> felt that the bus was too crowded, he should not have allowed the other
> woman on either. The driver said he had dealt with me in the pass and that 
> I
> have a bad attitude and should be barred from riding the bus. By this time
> another bus pulled up and the Supervisor told me to get on that bus and he
> would handle the problem. I proceeded to go to the other bus and it was a
> short lift. I can not fit on that lift with my dog, so I asked if the 
> driver
> would take the dog up first.She grumbled that the dog could jump up. This
> was a much higher bus that the other one and I tried to explain that my 
> dog
> could not jump that high due to her age and slight arthritis. The 
> supervisor
> asked if he could take her on the back steps. He picked up the harness
> handle and pulled Nala away from me. I was getting very angry by this time
> and told him to not touch the handle. He said how am I going to lead her 
> up
> the steps. He was already holding the leash,and I told him ,by the leash
> like you would any other dog, and under my breath I added ,you moron, 
> which
> he did not hear. I finally got on the bus and was 1hour late for my
> appointment.   The next day I had my meeting with company CEO. He just 
> kept
> telling me that the driver did not have to let me on the bus if he felt 
> that
> it was too crowded. I asked about the woman he let on. Well she could 
> stand
> so she could ride if she wanted. He told me that the driver can't make
> people move out of the seat in the wheelchair bay. I asked him why then do
> the have a sign saying that those seat are reserved for the handicapped, 
> if
> indeed they can't ride there? If that were the case, the wheelchair users
> would never get to ride the bus. I also informed him that the new buses 
> only
> have 2 wheelchair bays, and the old buses have 3. Not only have they cut
> down on how many wheelchairs can get on the bus , they don't give them the
> chance to ride if they don't feel like dealing with the chair. I told him 
> I
> thought it was discrimination and that driver had no right to invite a
> passenger to remove my dog the way he did. I told him I was not given the
> chance to take her off my self. He just said that he would have to review
> the tape. They have cameras in all the buses, but every time I have a
> confrontation,the cameras don't seem to be working. I also asked about the
> braille and raised letters and numbers being removed and he said he knew
> nothing about that. he said he would look in to it. I also told him I was
> holding him and his driver responsible for removing my dog like that from
> the bus and that I was going to file a complaint with the DOJ. I left the
> meeting more frustrated then when I went in. I do feel that I should not
> have let my dog stay on the bus and should have gotten her off right away.
> But I never thought that the driver would have asked the passengers to
> remove her. I will not make that mistake again.I do not think he had a 
> right
> to touch my dog, and he closed the door so I could not get her off my
> self.   I think I need some help with this bus company. I have been trying
> to do it my self for years now and I am getting no where. It just keeps
> getting worse. I just want to be able to ride the bus and get where I need
> to go, just like every one else, and I am always late for my appointments,
> no matter how early I leave the house.  Please , if some one has any 
> ideas,
> let me know.       Mardi
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