If you live in the Lufkin or Nacogdoches areas, I know you’ve seen them - the buses owned and operated by the Brazos Transit District (or now known as the District). The District operates several fixed and paratransit routes for able-bodied individuals, as well as many elderly and disabled individuals. In fact, the route I use primarily has a stop at the VA Clinic in Lufkin. The route I am mentioning (and the one I am most familiar with) is called the Lufkin-Nacogdoches Express and it operates three round-trip routes to get folks from either Lufkin to Nac, Nac to Lufkin, or there and back during the business week. When I lived in Lufkin, I did use one of the colored fixed routes to get to the mall and downtown once - however, the buses would rarely stop for me, so I was unable to utilize the service most of the time.
Many of you know when I am using the bus. I tend to Twitter about my adventures on the route, whether they show up to get me or not, and the people I have met while on the bus. Yesterday was quite a different experience for me, and I wanted to share it.
For those of you reading this that do not know me, I a student at SFA in Nacogdoches, TX. I have been visually impaired since birth, lost all vision in my left eye at age, 3, and then lost nearly all of the vision in my right eye last May. I travel with the assistance of my yellow lab guide dog, Larry, who was with me yesterday, while riding the bus to Lufkin. I see very little light, and that’s about it. To put it into perspective, I have to stare into the sky for a minute or so to find out where the sun is at on a cloudless day. Pretty stinkin’ blind, eh?
I needed to get into Lufkin to have lunch with my mom and brother and then, eventually, go run errands with my wife, Angela, and possibly go to the Lufkin zoo and have dinner together. I decided to catch the second route of the day, which departs from the SFA Administration building at 11:10am. I caught the bus around that time and met with the driver, who was a substitute for the regular driver. As we stopped at the Nacogdoches City Hall, The driver had a discussion with two friends that were outside of the bus while we were parked there, waiting for folks to get on the bus. The discussion was friendly, just shooting the breeze, but then they started talking about the bus and the District. The driver was asked how his bus was driving now, to which he replied - “It’s a bit better.” Then there was discussion about how they were going to replace this bus with a nice, new diesel bus with air brakes. They also talked about a station or building being constructed in Nacogdoches - which I assumed was for a bus station or facility for the buses. I didn’t think anything of this discussion in that moment.
We arrived into Jennings Station in Lufkin at around 12:10pm or so. My brother was going to meet me there. The driver pulled into the station and parked the bus, then opened the doors and said “All right. Jennings Station.” I started to get up and head forward with Larry, and all of a sudden I was flat on the ground. I heard a thud noise as the bus thrust forward. It happened really quickly. Larry even fell to the floor, poor guy. I was absolutely humiliated! There were at least two gentlemen in the back plus the driver on the bus. I hate the perception that blind individuals are clumsy and don’t pay attention (and that we fall or run into things all the time), so I was angry that I fulfilled the stereotype. However, more interesting was that the driver didn’t ask if I was “OK”, nor did he get up to assist me. Instead, he said “The brakes have been acting up today.” I started walking back towards the door, a bit agitated, and he asks if I’m going to be all right - to which I respond “I bet you were pretty scared to see a blind man laying flat on the ground in your bus.” We both laughed and I said I’d make it off all right. I was a bit disoriented because most drivers at least let me know where I am being dropped off at - so I stumbled around for a few minutes trying to get my surroundings. I called the customer service supervisor as soon as I arrived at my parent’s office. She did return my call to file an initial complaint. Suprisingly, when I spoke to her at 3pm, she was unaware that this had happened on the bus - seeing as how most of the time, the driver will file a report on an incident like that.
Reality - I am OK. I am still alive. I didn’t break any bones, but I am in a little pain and pulled a few muscles trying to catch myself on the way down. However, there are several things wrong with this situation. First off, why didn’t the bus driver get up to assist me. I was on the ground for a few seconds, and he had plenty of time to ask if I needed any help. I understand he needed to get control of the bus, but even a simple Do you need a hand up” or “Here, let me help you” would have been extremely helpful and meaningful. Secondly, the driver had made mention that the brakes had been acting up all day. Remember that I mentioned that disabled and elderly individuals ride this bus - even how one of the stops on this very route was at the Lufkin VA Clinic? Why is a bus that is having operating issues so severe as the brakes,even on the road to begin with? Imagine I had more severe mobility issues. What if I was 80 years old. I could have been injured very severely.
This is absolutely unacceptable that the District even had this bus on the road to begin with. Next, to make matters worse, the drive hadn’t even let the offices know that there had even been an accident. To give him the benefit of the doubt, he might not have had time to fill out paperwork regarding it. However, he did have enough time to place a personal cell phone call while stopped at Angelina College around noon on the stop before mine. Could he have not phoned or radioed in to let his supervisor know of the incident? There is some serious liability in that.
I will be honest - I love my independence. I love being able to fight the struggle against my disability in limiting what I can do, and getting out into the community to be productive. I utilize this route to make it to band rehearsals, see my wife and family, and take care of business that I may have. I don’t feel safe on these buses now. There is no telling what kind of breakdown could be present in the vehicles that are on the road, and it’s frightening that this bus would be allowed on the road to transport the elderly and disabled. I refuse to pay money to a service that has such little respect to its patrons that it cannot maintain its vehicles, yet it can increase its rates by a staggering amount. I encourage you - if you live in the Lufkin or Nacogdoches area and you feel this is wrong, please contact the Brazos Transit District and let them know how wrong this is. I know many folks who rely on a safe service to provide them with transportation around the cities of Lufkin and Nacogdoches - and it’s inappropriate that an incident like this has happened. You can find the District on the Internet by clicking here or you can contact their customer service personel by called (936) 639-3055 and choosing Option #3 at the voice prompt.
I will keep you updated as events unfold with this matter.
April 27th, 2009 by Romack
Category : Uncategorized 
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