I need to send in a complaint to DART... it'll be the first in a long time. The past two Wednesday nights when I left work late (around 8:30 p.m.) the driver who picked me up was talking on the phone. Yakity-yak, no greetings for boarding passengers, just yakity-yak in a loud piercing Spanish mixed with fluent, unaccented English.
Last week she went on and on about a complaint she'd gotten (what a shock) and how unfair it was, getting sympathy from the male speaker who she had on the speaker phone at a volume that was close to hers. I was sitting a little ahead of the rear door, not at the front, and I could not concentrate on my audiobook... ended up turning it off. Even with earbuds in, her loud voice penetrated. Then there was another call, something about a kid taking a bath. Then back to the first caller, and when that ended she had another, equally loud call, with a girlfriend. When we got to Rodney Square, a half hour later, she was still talking.
I know drivers are not supposed to do this stuff. The DART guidelines clearly say no loud phone calls, no speaker phones. Why would she think a driver, being paid to transport passengers with all due care, should be paid to talk on her phone? Talking on the phone, even hands-free, has been shown to be a distraction to drivers. I don't like this at all. I felt so annoyed, and I could tell other riders were equally aghast. Just what you want on your ride home after a 12-hour day.
