While I don’t like how the guy was being pushy and taking it out on the driver, I understand the other patrons’ sympathy. They probably recognise the gross inconvenience of buses not giving change. Now, before you start talking about how long it would take to give riders change, recognise that this apparently isn’t a problem anywhere else in the world: I’ve used buses in dozens of countries on six continents and the U.S. is the only place where I’ve not been able to receive change.

Actually, a lot of the world’s buses don’t sell tickets at the door at all; you’re expected to buy your ticket beforehand, and unlike change, retailers are happy to provide them. It’s a good system, and one that wouldn’t be difficult to implement here. And Muni’s talked about having ticket vending machines at popular bus stops for a long time; I wish they’d make it actually happen. But unless they give change or accept cards, and until we finally ditch those archaic paper dollar bills that are so prone to jamming (another national embarrassment), we’ll still have people like that guy.

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With the new fareboxes on GGT, if there’s over $1.00 in change, a change card will be given that’s only redeemable on GGT… Maybe MUNI should switch to those boxes as well.

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If the guy had a $5 bill, he could have changed it before going out to the bus stop or getting on the bus. I don’t have sympathy for him at all. Too bad for all you riders, though! It sucks that people had to pay this guys fare in order to get moving.
The driver probably should have put him off the bus.
It’s harsh, I know, but I really don’t see why anyone should have to subsidize anyone else’s ride (any more than we already do).

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I wish Muni would take a firm stance on such behavior, instead of silently condoning it, which only invites more of the same. If the driver feels intimidated or is yelled / cursed at, he should immediately stop the bus and call central command and/or the police. Would I be a passenger on that bus, I would fully support him in this and not be pissed because we’re not moving. I have zero tolerance for this bullshit, and some people simply need a lesson in how to get along lest they think they can bully us and our buses around. Fixing Muni also means to fix the ridership, ie. do a little weeding. We all would be better off without that guy on the bus…

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You can put ticket machines at every stop, have farebox issue coin cards and you’ll still have that guy to deal with. He never intended to pay the fare and I’d be shocked as hell if it was the first time (or last, for that matter) he’s done that. Scammers never succumb, they only adapt.

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The guy may of been in a rush and didn’t have time to get the $5 broke into change. He gets on the bus and first asks the other patrons for change (not a free ride) of which no one has or no one wants to help. So then he asks for a free ride of which people are willing to chip in. Hmm sounds like a guy who just needed simple help (braking a 5), but people are more concerned with themselves instead of tring to help the man. The author “Jenny” and probally some of the other passengers only seems concerned about their interupted/delayed day rather than trying to help a fellow man out. I am glad to hear that some folks were willing to stand up and show some humanity and chip in some quarters for the man. I think the economy is the way it is today because of people like Jenny who are so concerned with themselves and their schedule that they are not willing to help anyone but them selves out. The guy had the money all he needed was change just a little help that wasn’t even going to cost anyone anything other than maybe 1 min. of their time. Instead we have this article about about how rude this guy was for asking for help.

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@Harold: Well, I agree it is nice for the fellow passengers to help him out, and I would have appreciated the help if I were in the same situation, but he could have also gotten off of this particular bus to go get change somewhere and got on the next bus, instead of holding up the whole bus and cussing out the driver. To me, it’s all in the attitude.

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Harold, I’m thinking about a busload of people, not just myself. He held up many individuals on the morning commute because he was too lazy to break a $5 ahead of time or just wanted to skirt the fare. The fact that he got on the bus and apologized exemplifies that he knew what he was doing. Plus, he didn’t seem too apologetic about the incident when he realized he wasn’t getting a free ride. We as individuals need to be conscientious to the society at large. That’s the only way services like public transportation, waste management, and education can ever work.

I agree with many of the previous comments — we need more fare boxes outside Muni vehicles. Aside from that, we just need to respect each other a little more.

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Concerning the comments about the ticket vending machines – they are a good idea, but extremely expensive – costing at least $50,000 a piece. Some customers use the intimidation issue to avoid paying and the operator should have told the passenger that he had two choices, choice one was to get off the bus and catch the next bus after he gets change or choice two was insert the $5 and pay for his ride – yes, it would have been too much – but at times you have to make the decision, do I want to miss the bus and maybe my appointment for $3.50. And depending on where he was going, it could have cost him much more than the additional money. For instance if he missed his doctor’s appt – they would still charge him a no-show fee, if he missed a job interview, that one is obvious, or if he was late to work, his pay may have been docked and his job in jeopardy.

If the passenger refused to comply with either of these choices, then the operator should have called dispatch to report the situation and get a road supervisor out to assist. Continual problems from a particular passenger can result in the passengers privileges to ride the bus being revoked. If the passenger states that he was unaware of the exact fare policy, ignorance is not acceptable. You can’t ride the plane without paying your fare or following the rules, the public bus system is the same way.

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At the transit agency I work at, our policy is to inform, but not enforce–especially when it involves a potentially threatening situation. Inform the passenger that you do not make change and what the fare is. Give the individual a courtesy ride, but let him know that next time, you will be expecting that he have correct fare and change ready. Don’t hold up the bus and other passengers.

Drivers should report these situations. If the guy is threatening, belligerent, or suspected of “scamming”, he will generally repeat the behavior. He may get away with it a few times, but word about “problem passengers” always gets around the driver ranks. Place field supervisors, dispatchers, transit security, and fare inspectors on the alert and prepared to make contact with this individual and take appropriate action as necessary.

Don’t automatically assume this is a scam. It may be a guy whose car broke down, is stranded and trying to get somewhere, and is unfamiliar with how to ride the bus. Also, most transit systems have policies about drivers making their own decisions about refusing service. Consider the circumstances, especially when a denial of service would result in a vulnerable adult or a minor being stranded.

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Why didn’t he just get on through the back door and skip the fare like everyone else?

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How sick and tired am I of apologies made for people who are rude, threatening, and feel entitled to do whatever they want. I absolutely agree that it should be up to the driver’s discretion to let people ride for free, but the original post stated: “Change guy starting yelling at the bus driver that he was an asshole for not moving.” This is acceptable behavior under what circumstances? Oh, he was in a rush and that makes it OK? Most of the rest of the bus was probably in a hurry as well. Yet they didn’t hold up the ride and they didn’t cuss out the driver.

Yeah sure, let’s have a liberal culture in this city, but also let’s call a duck a duck. This bully had his way and got a free ride, and here we are, apologizing for him and trying to prove that it’s not his fault, but instead it’s the fault of *everybody else* for refusing to help him? Please. I ride Muni every day, and I think that if we’d eliminate the <2% of the ridership that is responsible for the the most rude, annoying and disgusting behavior, it would be a much better experience. Riding on a bus, as far as I know, is NOT a right. People should learn how to be civilized or they should be taken off the buses.

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DanB had it exactly right. The guy never intended to pay. I’m sure he wasn’t counting on the driver actually holding him up.

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I’m an infrequent muni rider, and last time I rode I didn’t have quarters. I started putting my second dollar bill in and the driver tried to wave me on, I put it in and told him it was my donation to muni. He laughed so hard…I must have been the first person to knowingly overpay all week.

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Do these buses have cameras? I hope so. This was a reportable incident.
When the passenger began to verbally abuse the operator, the operator could have started driving the bus, thus molifying the passenger, and notify dispatch to have a supervisor or police meet the bus at a stop further along the route to remove the passenger from the bus.

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He shoulda had TransLink.

Problem solved!

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um. this is sort of not the reply i’d want to be giving to this. but i’ve been on these busess when this is going down.. and yea.. so ya’ll think the passengers would have ponied up if the guy had been a different race and making a fuss?

cause i’m i’m a 6 foot white guy and no one has ever paid my fare when i’ve only had a five, or been a little short and the bus driver said tough, took what i had and made me walk.

a bunch of scared of conflict white folks.

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Each of those five people felt it was worth 25 cents to get the hell on with it and thereby got value for their money by moving their day along. Is it right for the guy to hold up other people’s day? No. Is his misplaced sense of entitlement wrong? Yes. But who freaking cares? Kicking the guy off the bus wouldn’t have made him change his ways and he would have just held the the bus up longer. Call me jaded, but I stopped feeding pigeons a long time ago, and there are still pigeons.

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He could have always paid $5 for the ride. I’ve done that before.

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I’ve been on both sides of this. I was running late for a flight at the Oakland airport and I didn’t have the exact change for the airbart, or the bus that takes you from the oakland BART station to the Oakland airport. The bus driver would not wait for me to run into the BART station to use one of their change machines and so I calmly said, “oh what a drag” and began to pay him the money I had, I believe a five dollar bill. This was back when the airbart tickets weren’t as expensive as they are now. Before I could insert the bill about five people jumped up and offered me exact change.

Is it because I’m a 25 year old white female? Maybe. Is it because I was willing to sacrifice all of the money? Is it because I was polite? I’d like to think so.

When I used to live in Chicago a man, who appeared homeless or close to it, pulled the same thing on the bus except he didn’t have any money and wanted the passengers to support his entire fare. After about 15 agonizing minutes of a silent standoff a few of us gave quarters just so we could get on our way. The man in the picture above had money, is well dressed enough to obviously not be a street person. He just was hoping he could scam out of this one.

It’s so weird that people will just give things to other people. We feel like we have to or something. I get asked all the time by people on the street rudely, “do you have another cigarette I could have” No “please” just basically, “I want to have what is yours”. I always reach for my purse without thinking until something snaps and I think, “wait a minute I paid for these…he can do the same”

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First of all, the driver can’t resort to physical force to throw the guy off the bus. He has to wait for his supervisor or security. Second, “I felt totally defiled” WHAT??? A guy asks to break a $5 and refuses to get off the bus. That defiled you? I think that’s a bizarre hyperbole for such a small incident. And I hate to bring up race, but the photo shows a black guy and I hope you’re not assuming it’s a scam just because he’s black. Sounds like he’s just an obnoxious dude who wasn’t thinking ahead or perhaps a first time transit user. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt before you judge them. It’s sad to say though, most people would give 25 cents to an obnoxious dude than teach him a much needed lesson. Loads of people give change to homeless instead of donating to a homeless shelter. It’s easier to throw change at our problems than really address them. If enough people on the bus told him to get off and get change, he would have backed down and left the bus. Scared cowards. Too often bus drivers don’t want to delay the bus so they let people ride free or at discounts, but those are the very people who cause most of the problems, so instead of rewarding them, stop them the first time. It’s a small inconvenience up front for a lot of convenience down the road. Bullies prey on the weak.

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It is a scam. I could’ve waved a $20 bill and requested change and someone or a bunch of people might bail me out. Through all this, I would’ve gotten a free ride because it’s so much hassle for the passenger(s) to break up the change.

If this guy needed to get somewhere, he could just walk. It’s so much faster than having the bus not go anywhere and be selfish by taking everyone else on the bus hostage. For example, last night, the 6 ParnASSus would arrive 20 minutes at 9th and Judah so I walked all the way to 14th and Quintara and not a single bus came by in either direction.

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