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| - I have ridden subway and light rail systems in several large American cities, but have never experienced a freak show like this one in the Phoenix area. On our small rail car, which carried 30 passengers, three were completely passed out, one of whom rolled out of his seat onto the floor and just laid there, bottle in hand.
Another couple, sitting directly across from us, were so high they could barely sit up unassisted and could not prop their eyes open. We thought the lady might hurl on us, so we stayed ready to jump out of the way.
One fella boarded the train with the biggest fat lip I've ever seen. Apparently he had just been punched. So, he spent the next three stops speaking out loud about how he wasn't going to take that "bull stuff" anymore. To his credit, he apologized to everybody as he got off the train.
When were we riding the train to experience this freak show? Two AM on a Friday night? Midnight on Saturday? Nope, Sunday afternoon. I've never been uncomfortable on mass transit until today. The system is modern and the prices are reasonable, but I will travel by other means to avoid the intense feeling of insecurity.
As for timeliness, the train arrives every 20 minutes, give or take 20 minutes. When we arrived at the station in downtown Phoenix the time was 4:28 PM and the sign said the next train would arrive at 4:29 PM. Perfect timing! However, the sign continued to change every few minutes until the train ultimately arrived at 4:48 PM. I wonder how this unpredictability works for people trying to get to work or college students on their way to school?
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