[nagdu] Sun Tran Bus Co.

Sat Mar 7 13:26:35 UTC 2009

Mardi,

Do you know what your state laws are concerning service dogs?  I'd read over 
those carefully to see what use they might be.  If there is any bits in 
there about interference with a disabled person, service dog or refusal of 
access I would use that law as a basis for calling the police.  It might be 
helpful if you talk to the police outside of any incident to make sure at 
least some of them, especially the supervisors, are aware of the state laws 
and will enforce them if called upon to do so.

If your state laws don't seem to be very helpful I would suggest working to 
get them changed and/or enlisting the assistance of the media. 
Embarrassment works wonders in getting people to do what is right.

HTH
Julie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mardi Hadfield" <wolfsinger.lakota at gmail.com>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 07, 2009 4:04 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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