Results tagged “metrooperator”

Amid calls for WMATA to fire a Metrorail operator who was caught texting while driving a Blue Line train, the transit agency has released a revised policy outlining a new zero tolerance approach to drivers who use their cell phones while working. Metrobus and Metrorail operators caught using a cell phone, texting or using a PDA while operating a vehicle will be fired immediately under the new policy, which takes effect Monday, July 13. Up until now, drivers were subject to a three strikes policy, where the first offense resulted in a five-day suspension without pay, then a 10-day suspension without pay, followed by termination only after a third offense. Since the policy change was announced, another YouTube video has surfaced that claims to show a Metro operator falling asleep on the job -- though it's fairly unclear just based on the video. WMATA is reviewing the tape.

First out of the gate to grandstand over the recent news that a Metro operator was suspended without pay for five days after being caught on video sending a text message while driving a Blue Line train: Kwame Brown (D-At large)! "I am shocked that an operator would be callous enough to risk the safety of passengers by texting on a cell phone," Brown said in a statement today. "Metro didn’t go far enough in the disciplinary action against the individual. The operator should be fired and anyone caught in the future should face the same consequences." Brown is a member of the D.C. Council's Committee on Public Works and Transportation, which has oversight over WMATA.

WJLA/ABC7 reports that an unidentified Metrorail operator was suspended for five days without pay after a Metro rider posted a YouTube video of the driver that appears to show him using a cell phone to send an SMS while operating a Blue Line train.