Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Why is it so hard to complain in SF?

Today I accompanied Discipulus Legis on a trip to her school on MUNI Bus #5. The driver pulled over a few feet from the stop, let everyone off, and sped away, completely blowing by an older woman in a wheelchair waiting at the stop. Yes, the woman looked a little homeless-y, but if she had proper fare, she should be let on like anyone else, especially because the bus was almost empty and there was ample room for a wheelchair.

I thought what the bus driver did pretty much sucked, so I took note of the bus number and surfed over to the SF MUNI web site when I got home to look for the complaint line. Well, there is no complaint line. You have to call 311, which you can't call if you have cell service with T-Mobile. And besides, does anyone really believe that 311 operators are dutifully reporting MUNI complaints to the MUNI personnel office? Yeah, right.

Today's event followed an incident two weeks ago where a DeSoto cab driver tried to claim that he didn't have $8 in change after Discipulus Legis and I tried to pay for a cab ride from Union Square to our place with a $20 bill. Again, I took down the number and visited sfgov.org looking for the taxi complaint line. Again, there was none.

Why is it so hard to complain properly in this city? In NYC, if a cab driver is being a jerk, it has the driver's name, the cab ID number, and the 800 number to call for complaints right there, clearly visible in the back seat.

Anyway, to the driver of MUNI bus #5624 this morning at 10:17 a.m., I hope you find yourself disabled and waiting for the bus, and I hope MUNI drivers pass you by and leave you stranded. Payback's a bitch, isn't it?

1 comment:

Gina said...

Excellent post, VoxDixit! You should consider sending this over to the fine folks at Consumerist.