I am disabled and when I could still take public transportation I would ask people to move. Passive aggression is a plague on the west coast! ASK PEOPLE TO MOVE. IF THEY DON'T MOVE, TELL THEM TO MOVE. FFS. People are selfish assholes and they need to be told to move. I once traveled on the LIRR (east coast, Long Island Rail Road) and when my traveling companion (my friend's 4'11', 83 year old mother) saw people nothing but able bodied adults and kids sitting in the disabled seating area she said loudly OH YOU PEOPLE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO MOVE!!!! so that I, her disabled travel companion, could sit down. It's called USING YOUR WORDS. OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND SPEAK. The only way things happen in this world is when people are called out on their behavior. Being passive will not get people to move nor will it even make them feel badly about their selfish, stupid, hateful behavior. SPEAK UP. SPEAK UP LOUDLY. SPEAK UP OFTEN.

One thing I can guarantee you is writing this BS in IA isn't going to change a damn thing.

I'm disabled, and I still get harassed by other people on the bus or streetcar. But more to the point, outside of the vehicles, I'm often asked to move by slightly older people than me because they think they have customary superiority. And they don't. There are no rules for giving up a seat on the benches waiting for streetcar or train. This is still PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION and I have fare tickets and passes I paid for.

Likewise, a slightly elderly couple made a big stink when they walked to the only seat available on my side of a vehicle and the wife sat down. This was non priority seating, and a younger girl made a big show of superiority by offering the gentleman her seat. On public transportation.

Once again, I'm disabled too, and have specific problems which nobody wants to know about.

Portland has a huge problem with class and entitlement.

I find it FASCINATING watching all the able-bodied adults sit as disabled elderly people shuffle past looking for a seat on the busses in Portland.

It's almost as fascinating as how often I witness fellow white people just start saying racist shit on the busses. I didn't know people who were not clearly distressed actually did that until I moved to Portland.