UU Note: We wonder how many of those 508 ADA-related complaints come from the many disabled citizens of Uptown who are forced to use our non-ADA compliant L stations?Chicago Talks
By Danielle Desjardins and Kaitlyn McAvoy
May 12, 2009 - One morning in November 2004, a CTA bus stopped at Catalpa and Broadway in Uptown for a woman and her daughter, who was using a motorized wheelchair because she had torn a ligament in her foot.
As the daughter wheeled up to the bus lift, she got stuck and couldn’t move her scooter.
“The operator kept saying f-ing this and f-ing that,” the unidentified rider stated in a complaint filed with the CTA.
This was one of 508 ADA-related complaints reported by the CTA that year.
When the woman tried to explain it was her daughter’s first time using the wheelchair, the unidentified driver replied, “She shouldn’t be on the f-ing bus if she doesn’t know how to use the scooter.” The woman, who was crying as she reported the incident to the Chicago Transit Authority, said she didn’t understand how the driver could be so rude to her and her daughter. Continue Reading
I see many rude CTA drivers swearing and calling riders and other drivers names time and time again. If they hate there job so much they should quit as many would love their job specially with the good pay and benifits. I write down their number and bus number and make reports as fast as I can everytime I see it happen. You cannot treat paying customers the way they are being treated by alot of CTA workers......
ReplyDeleteThe driver using the f-bomb at the woman in the scooter sounds like she would fit in well working in our 46th Ward alderman's office.
ReplyDeleteI've seen instances at clinics where healthcare professionals have had to call the CTA and police due to behavior of drivers towards disabled patrons. One poor woman had to wait in the rain for 30 minutes, since buses refused to stop at the stop where she was waiting. For many of these individuals, public transportation is the only way to get around. All the more reason that the northside red line stops need to be upgraded and made ADA compliant.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who uses a wheelchair and works in Uptown, I can say that most bus drivers are good people who treat customers with respect. One bus driver in particular is very rude and disrespectful. He swears under his breath the whole time I board, will not assist me in putting in my money, and starts and stops extremely quickly, throwing me around in my seat. I have continuously voiced complaints about him, badge # 39197. Nothing has been done and he keeps driving my routes. I will no longer get on the bus when he is driving.
ReplyDeleteI hope many people who read that article drop those numbers into their cell phones. I would like to think that most CTA drivers would understand the importance of not dropping F bombs towards paying customers. But for those that do not I will be happy to place a call and keep following it up if I ever see that happen especially to someone who has enough going on to care for themselves. I am just floored that a driver would blow by someone in a wheelchair at a stop after cursing at them. But as someone already mentioned,all you have to do is drop in at our 46 ward service office to get a taste of how some city employees treat their bosses.
ReplyDeleteIt's upsetting to hear these stories, but what else can we expect from the CTA? Their inaction and indifference are legendary.
ReplyDeleteDavid...sorry to hear about your trouble with the one driver; thank the union for that. There's no way in hell they'll let one of theirs be disciplined. I remember once the bus (#36 I think) stopped to let a wheelchair passenger on and the angle, or something, was such that the passenger couldn't make it onto the bus. The driver just sat there. I got up, got off the bus and pushed the passeger on. It wasn't a big deal. The driver certainly wasn't going to lift a finger to help.
ReplyDeleteThe driver is most likely instructed not to help because you know who will be sued if the driver hurts himself or the passenger in the process of helping.
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