Remember the saga of the pregnant woman not offered a seat on the bus? This morning, we have the tale of the baby-wearing dad who couldn’t get one either.
Our reader writes:
I’ve seen a few posts concerning the conduct of West Seattle bus riders. The ones that really stood out to me were the stories about very obviously pregnant women riding on the bus and having to stand in the aisle as no one offered up a place to sit. Discouraging to say the least.
I’m a guy, so I can’t specifically identify with what those women must have felt. But (Thursday) I may have come pretty close.
I recently began taking my 4-month-old daughter downtown (where I work) to daycare 2 days a week. The first few times I drove, but parking in my building is $20 a day. So, I decided to give the bus a try. I usually ride the bus to work, but it’s typically just me and my backpack…easy. But on our maiden voyage together I had my daughter strapped to the front of me in a sling, a backpack on my back and her big diaper bag over one shoulder. I felt like a pack mule.
Getting to work was easy. My wife drove me in on the way to her job. But getting home … oy. The traffic was terrible on 1st Ave. I climbed aboard a bus just before the Hwy. 99 on ramp at Columbia Street. The bus was hot and full of people. I shuffled down the aisle trying not to disturb riders with my plethora of baggage and found a place to stand. And that’s where I stayed for the duration of the painfully slow crawl home.
Had someone offered me a place to sit and unload some baggage, I most likely would have insisted that they keep their seat. But I was really assuming that I’d at least have to say “no, thanks”. My faith in humanity was dashed a little. I’m not the slightest bit angry, just disappointed.
Maybe once she’s a little older, I’ll try getting my daughter home with me on the bus again. But, for now, it’s worth every bit of $20 in parking to not go through that again.
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