Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Road Roage on the T
I had a rather harrowing experience Monday on my commute home. I was a few minutes late and missed my normal 121 bus. I thought I was fortunate to be catching the 5:10 120 bus that was sitting there. Oddly, the equipment number on the bus was also 120.
When I got on the bus, the driver was chatting away on his cell phone, but we were sitting at Maverick Square, so I didn’t give it too much thought. Once we left Maverick, he continued chatting on his phone. I didn’t think the T allowed this.
As we were pulling out from Havre Street, a minivan cut off the bus, pulling in between the bus and the 116 we were following. It was pretty obvious that the driver was not happy, angrily honking the bus’ horn at the driver of the minivan. As we continued down the street, the bus tailgated the minivan, continuing to honk at the driver. The worst part was when we reached the stop light before Central Square. The driver kept pumping the brakes in order to lurch up closer to the minivan, WHILE HE WAS STILL ON HIS CELL PHONE! Passengers on the bus were physically being shaken during this maneuver.
Now I understand that Boston drivers are idiots and have earned the reputation of Massholes. Road rage is common here. But when the road rage manifests itself in the drivers of public transportation, something is seriously wrong.
When the bus reached Central Square several people got off, yelling at the driver to get off his phone.