It was a rainy day on the street I was waiting for the bus on. I left school very early so I wouldn't miss it. Just me alone this time, no one to guide me or correct me when I made a mistake. My first independent trip was about to turn very scary. Here is my experience about the worst bus ride I ever took.
Thinking it was going to be a sunny, grateful trip unlike the last, I planned a trip to go from my school to my home. It was the same route as last time, and I thought it was fairly easy to understand. I even printed out a copy of my map to make sure everything was correct. Even the times were the same as before. But obviously, as you can tell by the title of this blog post, my plans took a shocking turn.
I had to stand in the rain and wait for the bus to come pick me up. The cold rain left me frozen sitting out on the street. I had to wait around 15 minutes to get on a bus. There was not even a bench nor a seat to sit out. I had to deal with the torture from the sounds of the cars. I didn’t even know whether I was going on the right bus when Bus 3X pulled up.
I asked the bus driver whether the bus was going in the right direction that I needed to go when I was met by a sign of ignorance. He did not even know the bus route other than the one that he had to go on. Yet it is expected that all bus drivers know the bus routes so that way they can assist riders to the best of their ability.
Trapping me on the bus, I had to pay the only $2 I had in hopes that I would get to the right destination, in which I didn’t. After being discriminated for having a disability, I finally got myself dropped off at a Dunkin Donuts without even a pass where I could call my mother and explain the situation. I was pretty pissed off not to mention being anxious about what was going on. Thankfully, my mom was able to pick me up down the street and we went to go shopping together.
Some would say that I should’ve been more wary about getting on the right bus to get to my destination. However, I feel that the community should have respected me for who I was and helped me out with the situation. I believe the bus driver’s duty is to help a person reach their destination, especially when they are disabled. Leaving a disabled person deserted without even helping them is disrespectful and untruthful.
