My complaint:
At 9:00 pm, Wednesday May 17, 2023, my wife MW and I, DW were waiting on 16th Ave at 152nd St, for westbound 350 to Ocean Park. There were approximately a dozen others waiting with us. The bus is scheduled to leave at the top and bottom of every hour. The bus drivers are usually courteous and professional, but not this time. We arrived at the stop to find that our bus was empty with closed doors. At around 9:05 the driver returned, entered the bus without a single word, then closed the doors and sat at the drivers seat. Several minutes passed with no explanation as to when we would be allowed to board the bus, and it was already behind schedule. A nurse in our crowd who had just finished a 14-hour shift approached us and said that she was tired of this particular bus driver. She said that he is often late and has a belligerent attitude toward passengers.
I knocked on the door of the bus and asked the driver if we were going to be leaving soon, as there were several agitated people waiting after a long day’s work. The driver smiled sarcastically and said, No, the bus is broken. You’ll have to wait for the next one in half an hour.
At this point several people took out their cell phones and captured pictures /or videos of the driver. It wasn’t until about 9:20 that the bus’s engine magically started up. At this point my wife and I chose to walk home, concerned that the driver would not let us off at or near our stop. We had been walking for 2 or 3 minutes when the bus passed by us.
One of our main concerns is that this particular driver shows no respect to the public, and clearly enjoyed creating agitation. We feel that this driver is a poor example of an otherwise professional company.
Suggested solution:
We want this complaint to be added to any and all other complaints against this driver.
We expect that he needs more training in customer relations AND social skills.
As for the STAR rating that you are requesting...
in general we rate the transit system about 4/5, but in connection with this particular driver, we rate him 0/5.
