[nagdu] Dirty Busses

Fri Nov 5 16:56:01 UTC 2010

You have got to love the MBTA. You can eat on the trains, but, they are far 
cleaner than some other places I have been. It really depends on which line 
you are on. Some are dingier than others. It just feels dirty to eat on the 
train. The only thing I have ever eaten on the train is a candy bar, 
something I don't have to touch with my hands that have been touching the 
grab bars with. And, holding on is a must on the T. They perform frequent 
testing of the brakes and the passenger's reflexes by starting and stopping 
quite quickly.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lyn Gwizdak" <linda.gwizdak at cox.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, November 05, 2010 12:14 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Dirty Busses

> Hey Elizabeth,
> Ahhhh, the ahem - joys of bus riding! LOL!!  I have to say this was quite 
> the experience of riding Boston transit where they don't care if you eat 
> and drink on the bus.  Here in San Diego, our transit company does not 
> allow eating and drinking on the buses or trolleys.  People are pretty 
> good at following this rule as it has been in effect for many, many years. 
> But, you do get the few who think the rules are for someone else and not 
> them.
>
> When I ride the bus and sit in the aisle facing seats, I scoot Landon's 
> butt under the seat with his head between my feet.  that way, he can't 
> snarf anything under the seat.
>
> What is a "pencil skirt"?  Is it a miniskirt the girls wore in the 1960s? 
> Most women I know who like skirts don't wear that kind - they wear a 
> longer, loose type of skirt or the just wear pants when they have to ride 
> public transit.
>
> Lyn and Landon
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Elizabeth Rene" <emrene at earthlink.net>
> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2010 12:22 PM
> Subject: [nagdu] Dirty Busses
>
>
>> Has anyone encountered this situation?:
>>
>> You board the bus and sit on the isle-facing, pull-down bench designated 
>> for passengers with wheelchairs, guide dogs, strollers, etc.  Your guide 
>> dog kennels under the bench per your direction, keeping his paws and tail 
>> out of the path of passengers' feet.
>>
>> Then you hear him chomping away at some trashy goody tossed there by the 
>> last passenger.  Or he dives under the seat, rump to the world, with his 
>> nose wildly sniffing unknown substances under the bench, with his collar 
>> and leash at an angle   no leash correction can counteract without drama. 
>> Or your nicely groomed dog emerges from the bus with something gross 
>> stuck to his haunch.  Or someone at work asks you if your dog has cut 
>> himself, and you discover a wad of stickiness the shape of a slash along 
>> his leg that cleans off with no underlying wound.  Or your dog's jaws are 
>> working eagerly when you check on him under that bus bench and you 
>> correct him, reach in, and pull out something ghastly.  Or you rise from 
>> that bus bench to disembark only to realize that the back thigh of one 
>> of your pant legs where you've sat has become, er, moist!
>>
>> All of this has happened to Alvin and me during the past few months, on a 
>> busline that originates in my very nice neighborhood, then goes across 
>> town and back.
>>
>> Never before in Seattle or in other cities have I encountered such dirty 
>> busses.  Never have I had to worry about my dog getting into trouble, or 
>> my being grossed out, because passengers threw their garbage under the 
>> seats or the busses weren't cleaned .
>>
>> I keep Alvin under the bus seat because Seattle's  electrified busses 
>> lurch all the time, go up and down steep hills, and are hazardous for a 
>> sitting guide not clamped firmly between his handler's knees (hard to do 
>> in a pencil skirt!).  Alvin's too big to squeeze into the space between 
>> the front-facing seats, or I'd have him sit there with me, next to the 
>> window.
>>
>> I shudder to think about having to sweep the bus seat with my hand before 
>> sitting to make sure it's dry!
>>
>> I'm about to write to Metro Transit about this situation, but don't 
>> expect much more than sympathy, owing to budget cuts county-wide that 
>> have probably caused Metro to cut corners on cleaning.
>>
>> Anyone have the same beef?
>>
>> Taxi, please,
>>
>> Elizabeth
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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