Travel Options

The physically disabled have limited transportation options. Depending on the severity of the situation, limited could be putting it lightly.
I am fortunate enough to be one of the few who can get herself around for the most part.  Of course, it has taken some time before I was able to do it as I am now.

Before I got to this point, I was forced to depend on government  programs that were as far from reliable as you could get. They had caused me work related write ups, and everything else.  The options in Maryland for the diffferently abled and elder seems to be sorely lacking, and honestly, there is not a whole lot one person can do. Many would say we should be grateful for what we have, and in some aspects, they would be right, but it needs to be greatly improved.

As a whole the Maryland Transit Administration could do with a facelift in many different areas. One of those being having on time buses. Their penchant for being late or not showing up at all is not only inconvenient to those who rely on it, it can cause health issues for those who are not quite disabled enough to qualify for the above mentioned transit program.

Some of us need certain things, and need them not all the time, but regularly. For me, that is the restroom, and let me tell you something, after Wednesday's fiasco with a certain restaurant I will keep anonymous, I am even more serious about timely bus arrivals, and a more informational bus system.

I have a very weak bladder, and i also have to drink a lot of water/drinks because of a mouth drying out due to my medications, so I have to go to the bathroom regularly. There are some restaurants that do not openly offer public restrooms, and this particular restaurant, I am a regular customer when I take the bus.

When the bus was 3 hours late, I had to go to the bathroom. Now, there was no sign on the door anywhere that says "No Public Restrooms". If there had been, I wouldn't have bothered, but I did, and this guy was SO rude. Why would I bring this up? Well, I would have been fine to go to the bathroom once I got to destination. But it was late, and I had to go.

People do have bad days, and I'm guessing this must have been one of his, but geez,  was it really necessary to say, "I don't know why it's my problem, but go ahead, like it's your house"? While I'm standing there with my walker very obviously in pain? Give me a break!

It's Friday now,  and this happened on Wednesday. I'm still angry about it. It must be because I've been in Cutomer Service so much of my life, that I know better than to treat customers with disrespect. And even if that WAS the regulation, there should be some sort of tolerance for those with a very obvious disability. It's not like this guy didn't know me. He did. And he knew the walker, too, cause I had used it only two weeks before.

So while I do think the state programs such as Mobility are nice, there needs to be some vast improvements. Otherwise adults with disabilities are going to end up relying on someone else for the rest of their lives, and I don't know about the rest of you? But this is most definitely not my intention!