Following in Friday’s footsteps, the MTA gave me troubles getting to work this morning.

The bus I caught going into the city (bus #8877) was stuck on a hill for some time, because the transmission wouldn’t shift into forward.  (I’m not sure how long we were there, since I didn’t think to check my watch, but I missed two Light Rail trains, so it was at least half an hour.)  The driver tried a number of variations on “roll backwards and then gun the engine” but nothing seemed to work.  Eventually, something caught and the bus crept up the hill as people held their breath.

The driver said that she had called for a replacement bus several hours previously (apparently, this had happened earlier today, too), but nothing had been forthcoming.