DATE: LATE SUMMER 1997
ROUTE:1
BUS: N/A
This was pretty simple: some guy got on the bus along US1. Since I wasn't paying attention at first, I didn't see what sparked the incident, but when he was about to get off, he called the driver a peice of sh#t and began cussing the driver out. The driver, after a certain period, began to cuss back. The guy then spat on the driver. And then the driver spat back! They traded about 3 hockers, then the guy swung at the driver and ran off the bus.
DATE: TUESDAY AUGUST 5,1997
ROUTE: 87
BUS:7051
It was raining pretty hard all morning long, and when I got to Dadeland North there was a drizzle falling. I boarded the 87 bus, and at 11:16 AM the bus roared off. As 7051 was passing the Dadeland Mall, I was airbombed by big drops of water. That wasn't unusual- buses usually spring a leak in the rain. I moved over. But then I realized that others- many others- were also being hit. It turns out that 7051 had something like 10 leaks in the ceiling, maybe many more. As we were winding through King's Creek, the driver called in for another bus. We were going to switch at Coral Way (SW 24 St.) where the driver was going to be relieved. However, the rain stopped as we made our way up 87th Avenue. We got to Coral Way and waited 10 minutes or so until the relief driver to show up. When he arrived in 7054, we switched, and the journey continued.
SIDESTORY- an older lady boarded at Bird Road (SW 40 St.), sat down in the seat in front of me, and was promptly baptized by a big, juicy drop of water. The lady went off like an eruping volcano, ranting and raving on and on about how she'd ridden buses for 20 years and this had never happened to her before.
DATE: AUGUST 1998
ROUTE: 1
BUS: 6013 (I THINK)
One hot Saturday afternoon, this mini-bus was heading south on Franjo road in Cutler Ridge. The bus was mostly full. One passenger was a lady with a lot of packages. One of the things she had was a bottle of Clorox bleach (the original bleach- unscented.) . Franjo Road is a 2 lane residential street that is also known as S.W. 97 Av. until it curves southeast at about SW 190 St. Some sections are older and have potholes and cracks. When a minibus hits one of those it is pretty nerve-wracking. Back on the bus, 6013 hit a big pot-hole, and the hit the brakes so the bus wouldn't spin out into the grass. The lady lost her grip on the Clorox bottle and it went flying. It landed on the floor, slid fowards, bounced off the driver's seat and lodged behind the farebox. The lady wanted to get it but the lady who was driving told her to just relax, and get it when she gets off!
DATE: NOVEMBER 4, 1997
ROUTE: 1
BUS: 7005
This was a special day for me- It was my 18th birthday. Someone at school was kind enough to give me a mini- birthday cake- 2 large doughnuts covered in m&m's. I was heading home with this extra yummy treat. At 6:30 PM I boarded the number 1 at Dadeland North- the 6:35 southbound bus. I didn't notice it at the time, but the bus , which was substituting for the regular bus (at that time it was 7010) smelled like boiled baloney. The driver, a good friend of mine, told me why: on an earlier trip, he was heading up US-1. One of the passengers was a lady carrying some groceries home, including a package of raw fish. She dropped the fish. And the yummy fish juice spead all over 7005's floor. She tried to hide it from the driver, but within a minute the whole bus smelled like it got caught in the losing end of a street fight between the Gorton's fisherman and Charlie Tuna. Fortunately, the driver was on his last trip, and when he got to South Miami Heights at about 7:20 PM, he took the bus back to the garage.
DATE:JUNE 1999
ROUTE:104
BUS#:7037
For a while now 7037's front destination sign has been problematic. The entire left side would not work. This resulted in displays like " OUTH 70" (for "70 SOUTH 70"). The 104 westbound's signs are: "104 157 AV-88 ST" and then "104 via 104 ST" and it's eastbound sign is "104 DADELAND NO". The sign on this bus clearly was not going to display the route number. So the driver (I guess) took matters into his own hands. He grabbed a roll of duct tape, climbed up on a stool or something, and carefully formed the numbers 1,0 and 4 from strips of tape and stuck them on the glass over the headsign about where the "104" would be. So 7037 worked that route that afternoon with a half blank sign and the number "104" stuck on it made out of duct tape. I swear I am not making this up.
DATE: FEBRUARY 23, 1998
ROUTE: 1B; Busway Local;1
BUS#: 9348;1114;7033
It was a nice Monday evening, a nice red sunset and a chilly breeze 'cause a cold front was moving through. I was coming home on the 1B, the 5:45 PM bus. The bus was 9348, substituting for 1191. The bus picked up a small load at Dadeland South, then struck out onto the Busway going south. A passenger got off at the first station, SW 104 St. The driver closed the doors and tried to take off. But the bus apparently chose to throw a huge hissy,as it wouldn't budge. The driver threw some switches, and shut the bus off, then turned it back on again. The interlock was off, too. Still it didn't budge. So he gave up, and we all got transfers. I was now looking for a way into South Miami Heights. I jumped on Busway Local, which was the next bus behind. As I got down to thw SW 200 St. station, the bell switchtapes on the now-retired RTS petered out, and we had to call out our stops. I then walked out to the bus stop along SW 200 Street to wait for the next #1 bus to finish the trip west into the Heights. It was a bit late, and I nearly froze out there because I didn't bring a sweatshirt to keep me warm( I have asthma, so I can't be exposed to the cold. Otherwise I wouldn't mind.). Finally the bus came and I got home. Feeling like a Latino popsicle stick. Brrr!!