[Yasmeen]

Thanks! I didn’t realize this eventually posted. I got frustrated, checking for days only to not see my post (I own the Chicago bike forum and I let people post right away and keep my eye out for spam which doesn’t happen all that often).

Ok, so back to the important issue. Yes, on a regular basis, I get hassled/yelled at by a station manager. My last one was Friday at DuPont. I’ve been told off at DuPont, Woodley, and Rockville. Sometimes they block the entrance, sometimes they pound on the glass and yell at me (last Friday in DuPont when it was completely empty due to the holiday and shutdown), and sometimes they come out to tell me off. So to answer the question about rolling: yes, mostly I roll it even though it is awkward with the tile floors. I had bad asthma in the summer so it became a physical problem for me to carry it because rolling it with those little wheels could easily tip and hard to control. Easier to put the seat on my shoulder unfolded to carry it with my whole body. Hard to carry with one hand. Luckily, with winter, my asthma got much better but it was a daily cause of stress at the station. Waiting to get yelled at, telling them I have asthma, and having them tell me they don’t care and I have to carry it “in the system”.

My main issues: there’s no logical benefit to carrying through a station, the language “system” could be the trains so is this just a bad interpretation? Clearly they don’t trust us to fold it on the platform which is ridiculous. I am an adult, not a child. And let’s compare sizes to a double-wide stroller or a huge piece of luggage. It’s just illogical. I realize this continues because there are barely any folding bikes and I am the only woman I have seen using one. This rule is built for men and seems to be written to discourage, not encourage use of the bike. I am reverse commute so my bike isn’t bothering anyone on a nearly empty train car. Ok, this is a bit of a rant but when I get into the argument, asking them for a logical reason I have to fold it BEFORE going through the fare gate, the consistent response I get back is that bikes aren’t allowed. When I say, yes they are, folding bikes are allowed, it’s just not reasonable to expect us to carry it to the platform. Always met with, just fold it (and basically, shut up).

And yes, I did join WABA when I first got to D.C.

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