Thursday, January 29, 2009

No smoking means NO smoking - A note from a rider

This rant came from a rider. Another example of how some passengers have complete disregard for rules. Good for her for confronting the smoker!

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I'm a regular BART rider getting on at the Concord Station. Waiting in the queue for the next SF train, I suddenly smelled cigarette smoke. Now, how many signs are there posted in and around the BART station that there is No Smoking, Eating or Drinking anywhere within the gates, platform and of course trains? Well I looked to my right and here’s a guy just puffing away. He seems to be a regular, that is, he seemed very comfortable with the routine and looked like a regular business commuter, not a traveler. There were already several people in my line, but none in his yet, but no one said anything. I finally yelled over that there is no smoking on the platform and that he should put it out. He sort of glanced at me, then approached the edge of the platform but didn’t say anything and I could still see the cigarette in his hand and smoke emanating from his mouth. I repeated myself and then said that I would call the station agent if he didn’t put it out. He quickly stated he was putting it out and, to give him some credit, he did dispose of the doused cigarette into a proper receptacle, and didn’t just smash it underfoot.



I mean, it seemed he thought it was perfectly fine to do so – probably has and no one ever says anything. Now if I can only get the guy who smokes near the end of the parking garage at Concord to stop or move into the open area – the smoke just collects and wafts throughout the entire first level of the structure – yuck!

5 comments:

SongMonk said...

What *is* the proper receptacle? There wouldn't be an ash tray in the no smoking area, would there be?

Anonymous said...

From my experience, the few remaining people that actually smoke anymore tend to be as courteous as possible about it. It is a shame that an inconsiderate jerk like that guy still hasn't gotten the message that nobody else wants to breathe that crap.

Anonymous said...

I still see people smoking cigarettes and/or marijuana on the actual trains at least once every other week or so. I've also seen a recent increase in people aggressively trying to trade unused tickets for money around the stations. I'm guessing this is some kind of scam because I've never had a problem getting a refund when I legitimately had extra money on my ticket I couldn't use.

I'm not sure where the Bart police congregate or spend most of their days but the rare times I do see them, it's outside of the BART facility and never in the underground stations or on the actual trains. I understand they can't be everywhere at once but like I said, I really don't know where they spend most of their day.

Anonymous said...

That's not quite as bad as the elevator at the Concord Station garage. The day before yesterday someone smoked 8 cigarettes in the elevator (and this is only a 4 level garage) and smashed them all on the floor. The entire elevator still reeks of cigarette smoke. That night the cigarette buts were already removed but the damage was done.

Anonymous said...

Wow get laid. I hate annoying bored people like you. Get a life go get a boyfriend.