Sitting on Newspapers

I guess I am just as guilty as the next person, when as an employee I don’t speak up to a patron who is in violation of a rule on the train. I boarded the train today at North Concord for my 42 minutes trip, off boarding at 12th Street. As I posted on May 01, a female BART employee wearing a station agent’s uniform boarded at Pleasant Hill. Sitting with my back to the cab, she unfolded her newspapers and began to fill her seat with them. Yup, she’s back! It took her almost the entire ride to Walnut Creek before she had the entire seat covered in newspaper before lowering her girth.

The more I watched this, the more I thought how odd it looks for a BART employee to be doing this. All eyes were on her, especially being in uniform. As the train filled, no one took a seat next to her on her “homeless bedding.” Wonder why? Hell I don’t want to sit on newsprint.

As the doors opened at Orinda a guy boarded the lead car with his bicycle. She was real quick to point to him and tell him he had to board another car and that his bicycle was not allowed in the lead car.

As we got to Rockridge another female patron boarded and took a seat, facing me. No sooner did the doors close and she opened up her yogurt and began spooning it into her mouth. The station agent did NOTHING! No comment, no nothing. This is why I started out with maybe I am just as guilty for letting this happen too.

At MacArthur I gave up my seat to an older couple and stood just near the disabled seating. As I took my position holding on to the railing, the woman eating the yogurt had finished and started deep throating a banana! Still no comment from the station agent, who, as I mentioned WAS in full uniform, badge showing.

I then looked to my left and here is another young, female eating a muffin. Although I think she stopped, because I saw her eye the ‘No Eating’ sign followed by my employee badge I was holding in my hand. Correlation? Maybe.

As we got to 12th Street I moved forward to off board. The station agent did not move, as she did before. But I guarantee when she finally got off the train she did not take her newspapers with her, based on her previous practice.

I think this is in very poor taste, especially being in uniform to not clean up when off boarding. I almost said something, but decided against it. Maybe it is not my place too. But then again it should have been my responsibility to tell the two women eating they was no food allowed to be consumed on the train.

So who was the worse offender?