Long-Awaited Relief for Metrobus Drivers
Metrobus drivers are among the most abused of all local workers. In the words of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, “Riders have spat on, punched, slapped, and thrown bricks at bus operators.”
Assaults on the drivers, says the union, have more than doubled over the past five years, from 36 in 2002 to 84 last year.
Thank God for plexiglas. This week, Metrobus is rolling out shields for drivers on six buses. It’s an initiative that Local 689 has pushed on Metro management, and finally some progress is showing up right alongside the driver’s seat.
Municipalities across the country have long been aggressive about instituting special penalties for crimes against cops. I’m a bit skeptical of such laws; but if you’re going to do it for cops, why not bus drivers?
One Response to “Long-Awaited Relief for Metrobus Drivers”
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March 7th, 2008 at 11:25 am
I’m a retired bus operator and it’s a problem that’s been going on for a long time. There have been small steps over the years (shields behind driver, radios, video cameras) and now a partial shield facing the bus door. I believe that the threat of increased penalties (if it were widely publicized) along with vigorous prosecution and sentencing would act as a deterrant.
There is a video circulating on the internet of a person throwing a rock at a DC Metrobus driver where stitches were required to close the wound. The person was identified, arrested, prosecuted and sentenced–they received 60 days in jail and I believe were let out early. The sentence was more than a slap on the wrist but not much of a real deterrant if you can bust somebody’s head open and do less than 2 months in a Detention Center.