While RIOC has gotten more buses fixed up and running on Main Street, long waiting gaps continue. Worse though is the mind-boggling, high risk behavior that goes on, unaddressed, day after day.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
RIOC Communications Director Bryant Daniels offered an optimistic Red Bus report at a CB8 online meetup. But the complaints started at 10:35 the next morning.
“Could not get on southbound bus just now because driver wouldn’t/couldn’t ask/tell stroller users and others to move back from front.”
The frustrated resident followed up. “The same driver, at 11:05, southbound at 10 River Road — didn’t seem too upset with my little tirade about what happened at 10:35. One of the passengers who got on with me thought I was more annoyed with the driver — which I was — but I explained to them, ‘It’s some of the passengers who don’t think vs some of the passengers who are thoughtless.'”
By 6:15 that evening, we got this: “Been waiting 15 minutes for the bus and the app says it was here 3 minutes ago…” The Red Bus finally arrived at 6:24. “I waited 26 minutes at rush hour. At subway now and too crowded for people to get in. Driver is screaming he’s not moving until people get away from the doors.”
The aisle was clogged with two open strollers.
The Unaddressed Danger
I shot the photo above a couple of weeks ago because it illustrates the extreme conditions Red Bus riders endure. At first glance, it’s sorta benign, but look again.
A man with a walker can’t board past the Red Bus driver. A stroller is anchored square in the middle of the aisle. The impassive mom has blocked access to all four reserved seats on the right side. Across the aisle, a chatty clan of tourists occupies all four reserved seats.
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Unaddressed…
- The physically challenged man with the walker is at high risk. He could be slammed into the dashboard or window with any sudden stop. How much more in liability claims and insurance can this carelessness cost us?
- Tourists are given no insight into what’s expected, especially those who are not English-speaking. You’d hope they’d be more thoughtful, but then, you’d have to be as oblivious to tourist behavior as RIOC is.
- Strollers, instead of being a convenience, have become a menace on Red Buses. Moms, dads, and other caregivers demand preference over everyone else. They clog the aisles with impunity, often taking up multiple seats reserved for others.
- The RIOC driver takes zero responsibility for high risks on his bus, let alone the ignoring of common courtesy. This is rampant with RIOC. It’s on the Tram. It’s everywhere.
Finally…
As RIOC struggles with keeping Red Buses running on Main Street, failures will occur. It’s inevitable with its aging fleet. They should be handled with more grace as residents, especially on the north end, suffer. Advisories would help, but most often, hopeful riders manage in the dark.
Even at that, the unaddressed issues of strollers denying everyone else fair access is profoundly unkind and probably illegal. People with disabilities are supposed to have equal access. RIOC honors that right only for tourists. It allows unfettered selfishness.
Worse yet, it risks health and safety everyday. RIOC has a Public Safety Department, but where is it? These hazards are obvious. Enforcement should be too.
The Emergency Was Always Underground
The steam plant and the steam tunnel were never two problems. They were one system. They were only separated later, when separating them made development easier and responsibility harder to pin down.
