[nfbwatlk] Discrimination on Metro bus

[Marci Carpenter]

BREAKING NEWS - SEATTLE: Today around 1:25 pm Mike Mello and Cindy Bennett were denied entrance onto a Metro bus. As they began to board the driver said, loudly, "My ADA section is full". They stated that they did not require seats in the front to the bus. The driver kept repeating his statement louder each time until he was yelling at them. they asked if his entire bus was full. He eventually said that it was, but they know this wasn't true since Cindy was already inside and could tell there were no people standing near the front. They eventually left and caught another bus home. It was a disturbing encounter and a clear case of discrimination. The law does not require that blind people sit near the front. It simply says that they are allowed to do so. These 2 blind people are in their 20's and 30's and are perfectly capable of finding other seats or standing; they are frequent transit riders and have never experienced anything so harsh and degrading. They have filed complaints with Metro. I have also done so as the President of the National Federation of the Blind of Washington. We want the public to know about this. I have also contacted local media to educate the public about this issue. We will not allow this to go on. If you would like to discuss this with me please feel free to call or email me.
Marci Carpenter, President
National Federation of the Blind
of Washington
mjc59 at comcast.net
206-604-5507