February 14, 2008
Metro To Test New Bus Driver Safety Shields
Yesterday we briefly mentioned some new figures from Metro showing a big increase in assaults on Metrobus drivers. The number of assaults has risen from 36 in 2002 to 84 in 2007. Of the assaults last year, 56 were in the District, 21 were in Maryland and seven were in Virginia.
"The assaults range from being spit on, to hit with sticks, bricks, poles, open hands, guns and knives to fondling and attempting to undress an operator,” said Milo
Victoria, Metro Assistant General Manager of Bus Operations, in a statement. “Often times, customers are angry about something, and they take it out on the driver."
So Metro has just released this photo of a clear plastic shield they will begin testing on six buses later this month. The shields will be installed between where the operator sits and the fare boxes. Other transit agencies in Los Angeles and Chicago are also testing the separation devices.
What do you think? We're certainly all for bus drivers being safer, but it's kind of sad that it might come to liquor store-style plexiglass partitions. A Metro Transit Police spokesperson also said they are deploying more undercover and uniformed officers to patrol Metrobuses.
|
what, do they have to get in and out through the window, dukes of hazzard-style?
Some, safer cities in Europe like Vienna have real booths for their bus drivers... Floor to ceiling. And all we put in is a piece of plastic. Wow.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure they have booths for drivers on buses in Dublin and London, too. I don't think it's sad. I do think it's weird. It makes them sort of like zoo animals.
When do they install the safety shields for the pedestrians and cyclists these drivers try to run down on a daily basis?
What about safety shields for the riders? I've seen one fistfight on a metro bus and one loud argument that probably would have escalated into one if one of the passengers hadn't gotten off.
Ah, how I love you, DC.
"Ah, how I love you, DC."
...because fistfights and arguments on buses never happen in any other city in the world.
I could totally hock a loogie over that partition, as well as stick a gun just above the change machine. Just enclose the driver behind a foot of plexiglass like they do the cashiers at Yum's. While they're at it, rig up some kind of spray mechanism to release a hail of mambo sauce on the assailant. That stuff kills.
Perhaps if the buses ran on time, the customers would be less angry.
Anyone else reminded of a corner liquor store?
Something needs to be done to make Metrobus and Rail safer, period. There are too many hoodlums running rampant, and it's frustrating. I had a run-in yesterday with rowdy teens on my morning commute to work. No one stepped in to my aid, even when asked. Anywhere I can, I'm spreading my story around. Something seriously needs to be done about these punks who get their thrills off terrorizing others.
maybe they could just put the bus drivers into some sort of dealing with aggression training? have you ever tried to say hello to a bus driver? they give you a "back off bitch I'm going to slice your throat" look. I'm sure that attitude doesn't do good things for people that are already... unhinged.
Man, Metro's always looking for another way to spend money that they don't have. Just like the new flat panel TVs they plan on installing on trains and throughout Metro stations and the renaming of stations every other month. I hear they're thinking of renaming the Foggy Bottom stop to Foggy Bottom/GWU/Georgetown/West End/Trader Joe's...
These shields certainly don't address the problem and their effect will be marginal at best. Can't wait for the fare hike discussions that will inevitably follow...
Will this keep the drivers from hopping out and grabbing a latte while we passengers are trying to get to work?
Why don't they just keep the drivers in that secret mountain where they stash the VP??
Oh great. How much time will this add to the mid-route driver switcharoo on the 42 line??? I can see some about-to-go-off-shift driver getting stuck in that little booth.
Sure makes me want to use public transportation Not!
Hey Golden Silence - Why didn't you just sit a listen to them cursing
It sounds like you find THIER cursing offensive, but when provoked, you curse back, prompting a totally unnecessary and avoidable confrontation.
I really am sorry to hear about your experience, which I'm sure had you rattled, but the best move is just to block them out, ignore eye contact and avoid interacting with them.
I grew up riding public transport - my parents never owned a car and nor have I. I went to private school and can assure you that riding the bus or train in school uniform as a teenage makes you a guaranteed target for kids from the public schools.
So maybe I have lower standards or expectations.
Also, teenagers will always do the opposite of what you tell them. They are clearly trying to provoke a response and they care a lot more about "losing face" than you do, guaranteed.
I really don't mean this as an insult, but your street harassment workshop sounds spectacularly lame. Maybe this makes me a bad citizen, but my thoughts in the same situation would be "don't be a hero and don't be a statistic."
I anxiously await the first report of a Metro bus driver needing to be rescued from his/her bus b/c they were locked in behind the safety partition and could not escape.
Golden Silence
Your anecdote reads like a "what NOT to do on public transportation" primer. I hate dealing with obnoxious kids just as much as the next person and I'm quite sorry you were involved in a physical altercation, but you 100% brought it upon yourself. You had no reason nor excuse to even get involved with your moralizing, and you negated your high ground the instant you started cursing up a storm yourself.
And you might want to get your money back on your "street smarts" class; saying "but I take tae kwan do!" is a sure-fire way to get laughed at. You may as well tell them you're the knights who say, "ni!"
If Clint Eastwood movies have taught me anything, it's that bareknuckle boxing and orangutan sidekicks are a driver's best friends.
This will be good for the drivers who have their "buddies" - you know what I mean. The crazy or senile people who sit in that front-most seat behind the right-side hump, and jabber nonsense on and on at the poor driver who can only politely muster up an occasional "uh-huh..."
Maybe they can get a big "STFU" decal and apply it to the shield...
what do the bus drivers think?
Interesting. But I'm sure this will just add 10 minutes to my wait time for the already late 2B/C buses at Ballston because the driver will get stuck as he tries to get off his shift. I always get the bus that changes drivers. Or they just change drivers a lot during rush hour.
This world is going down the tubes.
But, if I were a bus driver, I would want the shield. I would want the booth, zoo-like or not.
Idiots ride the bus, idiots ride the metro, idiots drive and idiots walk.
It's safe to say we are surrounded by idiots.
Golden Silence:
your description of those kids was pretty vague (except for the girl with the 'perpetually stupid look') and likely not to be helpful to anyone. next time you are getting harassed on the bus, why don't you whip out a cell phone and take their picture so you can show it to the police? telling the cops that 3 black kids with braids harassed you on a DC bus is not likely to get you very far.
and DCfist is right, the 'I take Tae kwon do' comment would have made me laugh at you if I was sitting on the bus next to thihs scenario. it sounds like a really bad After School Special. better luck next time.
Actually, "but I take tae kwon do" sounds like something I would submit to Overheard in DC.
I'm a retired Metrobus operator. Drivers are of mixed opinions about the shield for many of the reasons already outlined in this blog. There are five of these shields that will be tested over a period of six months or so before a decision is made to modify, abandon or equip more buses. The union advocated testing the shields to determine their effectiveness.
I'm a retired Metrobus operator. Drivers are of mixed opinions about the shield for many of the reasons already outlined in this blog. There are five of these shields that will be tested over a period of six months or so before a decision is made to modify, abandon or equip more buses. The union advocated testing the shields to determine their effectiveness.