…this is a true story. Some of you know that Brian and I were in Columbus, Ohio, recently and saw the Ohio State Buckeyes (Go Bucks!) beat the Navy Midshipmen. What I forgot to mention was that after the game, after wading through a literal sea of red — jerseys, hats, shorts — we boarded a COTA bus to return to our hotel. A blind man got on a few stops later, complaining about the football crowd and how it messed up his bus schedule, and then threatened to shoot said crowd. Brian and I were like, “Whatever,” since passengers like him ride the CTA all the time and no one pays them any attention. Besides, the man was blind; how accurate could his aim be? Well, in Columbus, they apparently take these sorts of threats seriously because at the very next stop, the driver booted the passenger off the bus and into the waiting arms of a police officer who just happened to be at that corner directing the flow of traffic. True story.
A Blind Man Boards a Bus and…
October 1st, 2009 | Recreation
I was on a COTA bus once (the #2) and a man in a motorized wheelchair wanted to board but the wheelchair area was already taken by another disabled rider and the man wanting to board got so angry he used his wheelchair to block the front of the bus! The bus couldn’t move back into traffic so we just sat there for like 20 minutes and everyone on the street was taking cellphone pictures and generally freaking out. The other passengers were talking about picking the guy up and physically moving him out of the way, but before this happened (or the police arrived), the guy finally moved. Another true COTA story.
That’s CRAZY!!! I can’t remember anything like that ever happening on a CTA bus. I’ve seen/listened to some whacky El riders, but since they got rid of conductors, there really isn’t anything other passengers can do about it. We were on the #5 COTA, BTW, and it happened around Neil or 5th.
Wow, that’s insane!
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Yeah. I don’t know which is crazier: the incident or that Brian and I didn’t even think twice about the man’s threat.
the only time i’ve ever been on a cota bus is after red white and boom (did you ever watch that?) it was a miserable experience and i hope to never do it again.
Which was miserable — riding the bus or Red, White, and Boom?
When I lived in C-bus I never rode the bus — never had to, so this was my first time. I’ve ridden the buses here zillions of times and COTA was fine except for the incident. That was weird. But if you rode it for a big event I imagine it would’ve sucked — crowded buses always suck. By the time we got on, the game had been over for a while.
As for Red, White, and Boom, I can’t stand crowds. So you know the only crowds I can put up with are for games.
WOAH! And this is why I listen to my iPod on the subway train, so I don’t hear all the random threats people make before they are escorted off the train at the next stop.