Comments on: Crime and transportation

By: Dob

Dob — Mon, 14 May 2007 03:45:36 +0000

Diane,

Go to:
http://www.startribune.com/blogs/roadguy/?p=264

“Mailbag: Nicollet Mall…”

Read what about the busdrivers almost running pedestrians over in the crosswalks.

By: Diane

Diane — Wed, 09 May 2007 01:03:37 +0000

Fill me in on that one, I went back to look for something written on that, Is it in a different catagory?

By: Dob

Dob — Tue, 08 May 2007 02:25:46 +0000

Diane, do you want to weigh-in on the bus driver vs. pedestrian comments from Monday, May 7th?

By: Diane

Diane — Fri, 04 May 2007 21:31:36 +0000

We as bus drivers don,t have a say, but we get to take the abuse,I am sorry that this has happened, we are the last ones they will listen to, I myself try to accomodate our passingers in any way we can, for the ones that are hard to ride with I can say they have been here 30 years and hate it now, but they are holding on so they recieve their retirement. It,s sad we have to work untill 65 now, When I retire,in another 15 years the age limit will be 75, then I,ll have to work another 10 years, I will give you some advice, As our BRASS tells us ridership is our goal,so……..If every one started calling and e-Mailing your disappointment about what they have done, They get to raise bus fare but what do you get in return? they will start doing something, they are relying on you as riders to ride regardless what decisions they make, Demand more police, demand some service, or you will car pool, they will listen to you, but if they only here from 5 people on a route out of how many riders daily? We as drivers try to complain about things for our customers,but they don,t take us seriously , because we are the bottom feeders of the system, and yet who do you see? US! most all of us are a 100% with you, lets work on this,

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 04 May 2007 14:29:04 +0000

Kate: Unfortunately, the support we riders can give the drivers only goes so far. In the Twin Cities, bus riders have been relegated to second class citizenship. The politicians and Metro Council people like to tout the light rail as a smashing success, which it is (ironically, some of these same people were saying over my dead body ten years ago). But at the same time, bus service has been deteriorating rapidly. In St. Paul alone, several miles of routes have been abandoned, and on many routes, 50% of the stops have been eliminated! The stop I used to board for my commute to work is gone, and the one I got off at my office is also gone. That means I have to walk an additional two blocks each trip. Not that big a deal for me, I’m middle aged and healthy, except on those below zero days when every extra step is a burden. Many of the stops they have closed down are at major intersections. For example, buses no longer stop at University and Lexington. Nor do they stop at Snelling and I-94, a major transfer point! Guess the buses were getting in the way of “vehicles”, and of course the convenience of vehicle drivers is much more important than bus riders. Meanswhile, service on the West 7th/Randolph and Grand routes has been slashed, from every 15 minutes to every 20 minutes on the Randolph, and from every 15 minutes to every 30 minutes on the Grand.

The problem is, “important” people do not ride the bus. I also suspect some of the people who run Metro Transit and are on the Metro Council have never ridden a bus in their lives! They just don’t care.

By: Kate

Kate — Thu, 03 May 2007 23:01:00 +0000

Diane: A very close relative of mine is a busdriver as well. Unfortunately he frequently regales us with tales of extremely abusive riders, adolescents carrying guns and for some odd reason, people mistaking upholstered seats for toilets. Each time I hear another story I can’t help but wonder why it is that he goes back day after day after day.

At any rate, I hope you (and others in the same occupation) know that there are folks that appreciate you. It’s ridiculous that it took something like these murders to spur us into action, but I, for one, hope that you experience some sort of relief and a certain amount of rider support from here on out.

Good luck!

By: Diane

Diane — Thu, 03 May 2007 22:47:31 +0000

I do have alot of support, drivers are pretty close. we debrief and let go on each other, It helps us get ready for another day, Thank you for YOUR support, We all need it , I don,t have trouble myself very often, but If I count the abuse I endure from black women, I can,t begin to count how many times in a day, We harden our selves to this after 15 years of it, I just tell my self ; Things could be worse, I could be in a wheel chair and have to put up with these people, or worse yet I would have to live with one, AND I STILL LOVE MY JOB! To me the good people out weigh the encounters daily, Thanks again for your understanding, keep writing! you have me hooked! I have to read this every night!

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 03 May 2007 15:53:31 +0000

Diane: Thanks for posting here. This is one rider (I’ve ridden MTC/Metro Transit for 21 years) who appreciates the hard work you do, and the fact that you have to put up with this on a daily basis. I’ve never witnessed a driver being assualted, but have heard a lot of verbal crap directed at you guys, just for doing your job. One time when there was a fare increase, the driver made a couple ladies pay the extra $.25. They glared at the driver but said nothing. On the way to their seats, one of them muttered, “Greedy bastard!” As if the driver raised the fare!

Another time a woman got on with two little girls. She paid her fare and went to her seat in the back, but the little girls were having trouble getting their fare into the box. The driver, a sweet grandmotherly type woman, showed the girls how to pay. The woman, seeing the kids still talking to the driver yelled: “Don’t @3&* with my children!!”. The driver responded in a calm voice: “I am trying to show them how to pay the fare.” The woman yelled, “Those are MY children! Don’t @%&% with them!!”.

Wonder how those little girls will behave when they start riding the bus as they get older? Kinda sad.

By: Dob

Dob — Thu, 03 May 2007 01:54:52 +0000

Diane,

And we think we have it bad in the schools. At least we can get them to be quiet or apply consequences.

I hope that you have support personnel to turn to and receive combat training for heaven’s sake!

I have never heard from a bus driver before. I could only imagine. I can never board a bus again without a feeling of gratitude.

By: Diane

Diane — Wed, 02 May 2007 23:26:54 +0000

I would like to give you a drivers insight, Yes you all hit it on all catagories, Imagine driving an 8 hr. day,most of the time it amounts to 10-12 hrs. with our splits, It sounds like the two shootings got your attention, But. how about the drivers being assaulted every day? Imagine going to your place of work in fear, being told your a crazy white hoe, because you ask for the fare! Imagine being spit on because you asked her to please fold stroller, another policy our managers want to enforce, so we are the pawns, We learn not to say anything, get through are 18 trips with out being beaten, we get plenty of complaints any ways, every route we have has it,s pocket of crime, we see it everyday, all day , we deal with the same ones on many routes, If we stand up to any of them, we are alone, we get no back up from any riders, If we even got a responds from just some of you we have a good day, their are tons of stories that don,t get in the papers, this crime did,nt just start latly, some drivers here for 25 yrs. remember the days back when their were no radios, video, and the way they had to deal with crime, I have one I remember; did any one hear about one of our buses being hijacked? well He also tried choking the driver with a hankercheif, while driver was still driving, amazing how a 40 ft. bus could be parked diagonaly on Kellogg , and no one noticed, amazing the bus can run two red lights, swerve down the busy streets,and no one noticed,and the bus was headed to GOD knows where!, It finally got pulled over by police, Put in jail, Defense attourney asked for speedy trial with in 120 days def.atty. requested, an evaluation, 3 times ,the 3rd. date set went past his 120 days, Judge let him go, on his own cognasince, didn,t even have to post his bail. def. atty. did her job , right? in the mean time driver is out driving through his neighborhood, but does not know where he might be, It just makes our day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Imagine that, You ride the bus for at least half an hor to 40 mins. at a time ,the things you hear and see don,t began to compare to the full day of this double feature of wild kingdom, and Lampoons nut house , we are the rolling chicken bone motel! God! these stories are a riot!!!!!!!!!1 Thank you for writing ,it makes my day a little brighter, and one other thing, The driver that was stabbed, never came back to work , no jail time for that kid, too young I guess,