i get a kick of seattle's passive-aggressiveness. this guy gets angry because she's being impolite, so he takes it to a whole new level of impoliteness and threatens to attack her. classic seattle.

what someone in seattle was being selfish and self centered finding that hard to believe.

Route #3 does not run in the tunnel. Is this story reliable?

Abusive cell phone users aren't limited to the bus. Just look at the people that hang out at the Online Coffee Company at 14th and Pine. There are people that live there and use it as their own private office ... actually they go outside and talk loud on their cellphones (being rude to their neighbors) and smoke (not only rude, but also illegal). Its not the Online Coffee cafe itself that is a problem (although their employees have actually told their customers to talk and smoke outside and have themselves done both). It is the people that hang out there. They are a bunch of wired-out (both caffeine and internet addicts) weidos who have nothing else in their life except to hang out there. They are arrogant rude self serving wackos. They should all be locked up in an asylum.

Bernard Choi's blog doesn't say what bus route it was, but did say it was in the tunnel.

I'm sorry the Seattle Metro bus system can't difuse violence on their busses. I also think they need to not allow so many people on the busses that it's standing room only. I don't know about the violence for myself except to say, I know a 78 yr. old man, who, last week got beat up on one of the busses by a man. The man shoved this 78 yr. old and when he was told to stop, he beat up the guy. I think Metro should be completely responsible for all damages to the person injured. The other guy got away. I'm sorry to say it - but a cell phone issue is no big deal compared to a man being beat up BECAUSE THE BUS HAD STANDING ROOM ONLY!!! I don't believe it should get to that point!

I ride the metro bus every day and have come across a few angry people. I have a scary metro bus story as well. I'm an 18 year old girl who rides the metro bus every day. I stand by myself waiting for the bus and that's generally not a good Idea. this one guy just couldn't stop staring at me which made me feel super uncomfterble. as I got onto the bus he got on too and asked me for my number which I said no. he asked my age and I said 18 and just continued listening to my music trying to ignore him. guess he didn't like being ignored. he got mad and said some stuff not worth repeating. it really scared me. but he finally got off his stop and left me alone. in this case with the cell phone if he had a problem with it he should have just moved not threaten to hit her that's ridiculous.

Hey, I've heard straight from the horse's mouth (well, a Metro driver herself) that the drivers can't even defend themselves if they are targeted for violence. I heard a driver talk to a passenger about how she got beat up by three women who refused to pay their fare and the driver could not defend herself. Probably the union is powerless to help. We need the police to go back to doing plainclothes patrols on buses. Or at least bring back those signs that tell us SPD is patrolling. Maybe folks would think twice about breaking the law.

That and something needs to be done about cellphone users. Someone said they are the "smokers" of the 21st century in that they really don't care whose space they pollute with their habits. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people talking about orgies and personal stuff on the phone on the bus. And we're supposed to tune this out and not listen?

Me, I've staged a personal protest. If someone is starting to get on my nerves, I put on my iPod and start SINGING ALONG OUT LOUD. It calms my nerves at least. Hey, if people can talk about things I'd rather not hear about on the bus, then they can listen to me sing Simon and Garfunkel!

I have not wanted my teenager to ride the bus after his brother was assaulted on the bus near Bellevue Square. Over-crowding and loud cell phone usage are triggers for violence in many places. I myself have felt like assaulting a woman in a p.t. office for constant loud cell phone blather. Next time I will just start singing out loud. Really good idea. :)

All of these bus horror stories make me wonder about the King5 article I read the other day about passing a law to make all major highways in the Pacific NW become toll roads to encourage people to use public transportation.

I hope that such a law will never pass, because I have two children under the age of 2 years, and it's hard enough to keep them quiet in our own car, where they can play with toys and listen to their favorite music, let alone in a bus full of people. I'd fear for someone to get angry at the noise level and do something terrible to my children.

Going a bit too far but talking on cellphones should be banned on publi transportation...

Talking on cell phones is bad enough, but I am running into people talking on the walkie talkie cell phones so you are stuck hearing two people talking with the volume way too loud. I was just in the bank today and not one person could hear their teller talking to them over this guys dang phone. Very frustrating.

Well, I think cell phones should be illegal all together and banned from all existence. I was on a bus once and had to use my cell phone to fend off a bunch of crazy ninja's fighting everyone. I than drank some OJ and felt better.

IM A BUS OPERATOR IN SCHENECTADY NY A LAW NEEDS TO BE PASSRD ABOUT RUDE CELLPHONE USE ON PUBLIC TRANSIT ITS I HUGE POOBLEM
TO GIVE US SOME HELP TO STOP THIS MENNASE.PLEASE LIFT THE JAMMER LAW IN THE USA.JAMMERS WILL STOP IT COLD.