All week the a city bus going up and down Washington St. has been backfiring aggressively every time it slows down (which typically means every time it’s outside the store) – and it’s loud, more akin to a shotgun blast than a normal car backfire. People are visibly shaken when unprepared – children cry, women swoon, men grit their teeth or howl at the heavens. It’s not pretty. What’s shocking is that this has been going on all week and either no one has complained (impossible) or no one is interested.
It was the 50 Bus last time I saw, but they change at Forest Hills. Maybe they can’t keep track of which one is backfiring so they can’t fix it. Seems like a Kafka or Gogol story with some beleaguered bus inspector always one step behind, feverishly trying to do his job which seems increasingly impossible and pointless. Poor guy.
Next time you see this, try to get the bus number (not the same as the route number), and call it into the T.