york region transit

Transit rider freaks out after being denied a bus ride over scooter near Toronto

Commuters in the GTA appear to be a little confused about some of the region's public tranportation rules lately, with one person successfully sneaking a motorbike on board a subway train one day and another denied entry onto a bus because of an e-scooter the next.

In the former case, those around the passenger (and also reacting to the video of the incident online) seemed pretty shocked, knowing that motorized vehicles are not something you should — or can, according to TTC bylaws — bring onto a transit vehicle or into a station.

But in the latter case, people seem a little more divided about what they think the regulation permits — and the rider who was refused service and is downright pissed, as evidenced by the clip he posted online.

"So you're saying I can't put that scooter in the bus, right?" the man asked while filming a York Region Transit bus driver, who ends up closing the door in his face. "Since when, what's the rule?"

The short video, which has been viewed a whopping 348.4k times, has garnered a ton of comments on both sides, with guesses that the conveyance's potentially-dangerous lithium battery might be the issue, or the fact that the vehicle was not folded up.

The individual wrote in a caption, though, that he has been driving e-scooters for more than a year now and has yet to have this happen to him.

@ziolek20roofer Bus#life#driver#costumer#pepole#education#traning#shitday#help#york#yorktransit#late#to#work#scandal ♬ dźwięk oryginalny - Mateusz Ziolkowsk880

Much like the TTC, York Region Transit's bicycle policies do not permit motorized bikes on board. It is recommended that pedal bikes be placed on the bus rack outside the vehicle if there is room, though they can be brought on board in certain circumstances: during non-peak hours, if the vehicle has room, if there is no emergency and if the driver allows it.

The same set of criteria apply in the case of any large objects, such as sleds and skis, with the ultimate decision in the hands of the driver based on whether the vehicle and the person bringing it can be safely accommodated without harming or inconveniencing others on board.

York Region Transit confirmed to blogTO that this large object policy "includes kick scooters, e-scooters and similar objects."

In the end, it is up to the discretion of the driver, but if it is rush hour and/or the bus is full, you will more than likely be denied. Similarly, if you can fold an item up to make it smaller and hold it as you board, you may have a better chance.

Of course, the rules vary between regional transit authories, as some such as the TTC do not permit motor-assisted conveyences of any kind on board or on a vehicle's exterior bike rack.

In this case, many people piped up in the 767-strong comments section to suggest that the would-be transitgoer should have simply used his scooter to get to wherever he was going.

Lead photo by

@ziolek20roofer


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