annoyedMy husband and I had a date outing today, and we wanted to catch the 51B to the Berkeley Marina. We got to the stop on time, and the bus was 20 minutes late. Once we were on, the bus driver drove like a maniac, braking sharply and not even waiting for people to sit down before taking off. We got to the marina, had fun, and walked to the nearest bus stop to come home. We got there right on schedule to catch a 51B back to Berkeley. There were no seats, shelter or anything at this bus stop. We waited an hour for a bus to come. I got sunburned from the lack of shelter (we didn't want to leave the stop as hey, a bus was meant to be coming any minute). They were meant to come every half an hour. Once we got on, we swiped our Clipper cards (automated payment cards) to pay for the fare, and then the driver started yelling at everyone to keep walking, keep walking. People kept trying to pay and he yelled "You're not listening, keep walking, pay on the next bus!" And we're all thinking what are you talking about, what next bus? Then he says he's only taking us to the next stop, and then his bus is out of service. Wtf?
So he drops us all off at the next stop, saying another bus is right behind him. Well, we waited 20 minutes, no bus, so we started walking home. After we'd been walking for another 25 minutes, the bus in question went past us. So we paid a full fare for a 1 minute bus ride, and were expected to wait 45 minutes for another bus, when at least 3 were scheduled to have arrived during that time. I have no idea what the fuck was going on with AC Transit today, but I am so not impressed right now. Not having a car, we don't have a choice but to catch the bus :(