She is unable to reach the buzzer!
Boston police officer, on construction detail, responds to MBTA Bus #2224, route 66 on Harvard St at Brighton. The bus driver ordered the police officer to arrest a passenger for taking a photo inside the bus. When the Boston police officer declined to do so, I heard the bus driver tell the police officer, "But is's against the law! You have to arrest her." The police officer walked away shaking his head.
Previously this year, during a meeting/hearing of the Transportation Committee Chaired by Craig Kelley, to discuss with MBTA officials MBTA policies and transportation issues in Cambridge Ma, T officials responded to a question about their policies regarding taking photos. The response was that the T's policy for inside "train/trolly" stations, and tunnels, if they see a passenger taking a photo, they ask the person to stop taking photos. One can apply for a permit if they have a video project. The T official continued to state that the T has no policy regarding taking photos at bus stops nor on busses. The police inform me that it is not against any law to take photos. It is common to see folks on busses take photos inside the bus, sometimes of the scenery as they drive by, and sometimes of people inside the bus. many use their cell phone cameras for this. Many folks have taken photos to document continued violations of the ADA regarding access for persons with disabilities who want to use the T.
Then After the Boston Police Officer left and went back to his "detail" duty, the bus driver called for MBTA police, but failed to tell his supervisor what this was all about. What had happened is an old lady called out to the driver to stop the bus, (so she could get off) and the driver yelled at her "I am not going to stop if you don't press the buzzer!!" She called out again, urgently, "stop the bus, stop the bus!" The bus driver screamed at her that she had to press the buzzer, or he wasn't going to stop. Another passenger called out to the driver "She is unable to reach the buzzer." The bus driver then directed a liteny of abuse at the passenger that tried to help the old lady. The passenger then took a photo of the sign inside the bus, identifying the bus number. When the T Police arrived, did the bus driver tell them what happened? Or did the bus driver describe a half-crazed disruptive terrorist suspect? The T police arrived with a "police wagon" to arrest the passenger, and the passenger called the office of the Attorny General, informing the T Police she was doing so. The T Police became angry, grabbed the cell phone and the two hands of the passenger together in his hands, dragged her down the isle of the bus to the rear door, and pitched her out to the sidewalk, where she landed on her hip. Exiting the bus, the T Police said, "Nice fall you had there!" and walked back and got into the "Police wagon." The photo above shows the Boston Police and the T police in conversation while the passenger lies on the sidewalk. Everyone drives away, and the Boston Police Officer returns to "duty" in the intersection. Passenger lies on sidewalk for over a half hour, calls 911 for help, and pedestrians come to her aid, until ambulence finally comes.
posted by Kathy Podgers @ Saturday, November 18, 2006
7 Comments:
Disgusting, and they have the nerve to raise our fares, too...
Sorry, which passenger was physically tossed off the bus, the one who couldn't reach the buzzer or the one who tried to help?
It sounds as if the MBTA could be facing a major lawsuit.
You should be able to get spaces between paragraphs by holding down shift and then hitting a return. Have both keys down at the same time. Do this at the beginning of the sentence you want in a separate para.
@gary, the passenger thrown to the sidewalk was the one who tried to help the old lady.
@rhea, thanks for the paragraphing tip, I will try it!
More nightmarish service from MBTA bus drivers. I hope you reported it to the MBTA. I would also suggest mentioning the story to Starts and Stops in the Globe.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/startsandstops/
"Passenger lies on sidewalk for over a half hour, calls 911 for help, and pedestrians come to her aid, until ambulence finally comes."
So no one helped this lady for half an hour? Includeing passengers and who ever took these photos?
Nasty story. Any MSM coverage? Any photos of the woman lying in the gutter?
What kind of buses have their bells that can't be reached?
I remember when it used to be a cable, but every bus I've been on
lately has yellow tapes by most seats and on buttons at the rear doors.
Too bad nobody else on the bus thought to just ring the darn bell for the little old lady, or write down the four-digit bus number with pen and paper.
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