By Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall
The January 20th trip to Washington D.C. to “see and experience” the inauguration of President Trump was one that I will never forget.
Here is a short video documenting the trip:
I sent the following email to the bus company:
Mr. Will Brown:
I was part of a contingent of Lake County, Ohio citizens that boarded your bus at midnight on January 19th from the Lake County Republican Headquarters.
I have NEVER been on a bus excursion that was so uncomfortable, unsafe, and violated several safety standards:
1. There were two drivers assigned to our bus – one female and one male.|
2. They obviously either failed to do an inspection of the bus before picking up the passengers, or chose to ignore the obvious safety issues.
3. The right headlight was not operational when the bus picked us up at the Republican Headquarters in Lake County.
4. The bus did not have an operational heater, so the bus was frigid the entire seven hours going to Washington. Several passengers purchased blankets at our first rest stop. The heater worked for a short time leaving Washington, because a mechanic was called. However, it only worked for a short time.
5.The windshield wipers should have been replaced because when the driver tried to use the wipers, they could not properly clean the windows; therefore, the driver did not have a clear view of the road.
6. The windshield was also cracked on the driver’s side, although not in his line of sight.
7. The male driver stopped for fuel and most of the passengers were still on board. This was a serious safety risk for the passengers, and we were told by the female driver that they should not have fueled up with passengers on board, and the driver could have been fined for putting the passengers at risk.
(i.e. a potential fire hazard)
8. During the refueling stop, I asked if the drivers were going to wash the salt off the windshields. I was told if I wanted to clean the windshields I could. I proceeded to clean the salt of the windshields, as best I could. (I did not realize that was a job description of a passenger.)
9. The drivers chose the backroads from the Republican Headquarters rather than drive on the many freeways and turnpike out of Ohio. The male driver chose the same route on our return trip. This unnecessarily put passengers at risk in the middle of the night, and in a blinding snowstorm.
10. The male driver several times could not turn the bus, and caused the female driver to get out of the bus one time to help him navigate out of the predicament he got himself into.
11. We were very surprised to see the drivers passing up a snowplow on the right side of a winding road in a snowstorm.
We believe in the statement, “If we see something that could cause future harm to people, we should say something.” I cannot, in good conscience, remain silent on this matter.
We are asking that you return each paid passenger their fare for their bus fare. I paid $150.00 for the trip.
Your mission statement says: “CharterUp’s mission is to provide a group transportation experience that’s transparent, safe, and good for the planet”.
You missed the mark by a mile on this trip.
I await your response to this very serious matter.
Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall
Truth Conquers All
Lobbyists for Citizens
a 501 (c) (4) Non-Profit
We will report to our readers when we get a response from the bus company.
Categories: Community Activism