You would think any transportation business would realize that in the event of a massive delay, a steady flow of information to the passengers is crucial.

Still, places like Kunming Changshui International Airport in China and more recently Keihan Electric Railway in Japan continue to leave their customers stranded without a clue about what’s happening with disastrous results.

On 24 March, Keihan Electric Railway experienced a massive loss of power along the entire Main Line running between Osaka and Kyoto. The hour-and-a-half delay ruined many people’s days and resulted in a tongue lashing for one blind lady.

When the power went down, one train was travelling between Owada Station and Kayashima Station in Osaka Prefecture.

Due to the power outage the ventilation systems of the train were shut down as well. Under the midday sun the temperature steadily rose in the crowded train.

With no clue as to when the service would resume one man thought, “I should probably have a cigarette in this stuffy train full of people.” In what little defense one could muster for him, the man did take the precaution of stepping into the space between cars.

The first to notice the burning tobacco fumes was a 50-year-old visually impaired woman. She certainly wasn’t intestinally impaired because she quickly called the guy out on his A-holery.

Already acknowledged as “the jerk” on this stranded train, the man decided to run with it and went right back at the lady with intimidating shouts of, “You’re handicapped; you can’t talk to me like that!”

Awkwardness ensued for roughly another half an hour when the another passenger finally helped her escape the train and walked her back to Owada Station…

…where the taxi stand was flooded with even more delayed passengers resulting in a further one hour wait to catch a cab.

Reporters who interviewed the worn down blind woman quoted her as saying; “After the stop, there was an announcement on the train but no details about what was happening. Everyone was starting to get irritated. It was very nerve-wracking.”

The moral of the story is that while public transportation has a variety of benefits, poor maintenance or an over dependence on it can result in highly douchey behavior and conflict among your patrons.

Source: MSN News (Japanese)