Practices to Protect Bus Operators from Passenger Assault (2011) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 58-69
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From page 58... ...
These suspension-of-service policies have been implemented at agencies such as Capital District Transportation Authority in Albany, New York; Metro Transit in Madison, Wisconsin; 58 Montgomery County Transit in Maryland; Las Vegas RTC; Pierce Transit; SUN METRO in El Paso, Texas; and the Edmonton Transit System in Canada. These were reported to be effective in reducing repeat offenders.
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From page 59... ...
Montgomery County Transit, Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County Transit's Disruptive Behavior policy is believed to discourage repeat violations of agency rules. Individuals who violate the disruptive behavior rule by engaging in prohibited behavior are subject to a 90-day suspension of service and/or fines or imprisonment for up to 6 months.
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From page 60... ...
Charlotte Area Transit System, Charlotte, North Carolina Although CATS does not have a suspension-of-service policy, it instituted a change in the municipal law to prohibit inappropriate acts on their transit buses and light-rail vehiFIGURE 30 Montgomery County Transit's suspension of service policy signage. (Courtesy: Montgomery County Transit.)
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From page 61... ...
Supervisors and managers are required to provide needed medical attention, notify family members, complete the reporting form and submit it to the Workplace Violence coordinator, and coordinate investigations with him or her, ensuring that each alleged incident is investigated, evaluated, and resolved by implementing appropriate disciplinary actions and a remedial plan to address workplace violence. Pierce Transit, Lakewood, Washington Pierce Transit's Workplace Violence Policy defines workplace violence as "physical or verbal behavior that endangers or harms another employee, customer, contractor, or vendor, or that a reasonable person would constitute a threat of harm." Examples are cited: "Deliberate actions or behavior resulting in a physical assault against a person or property, such as hitting, pushing, holding/restraining, spitting on, or blocking the movement of another person.
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From page 62... ...
Customers purchase tickets or pay the fare at off-board payment sites and may board the transit vehicle using any of its access points. They have no interaction with the operator with regard to fare payment and simply retain the ticket or receipt while on board as proof of payment.
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LEGISLATION INCREASING PENALTIES FOR OPERATOR ASSAULTS The transit community (ATU and transit agencies) has been advocating for tougher penalties against those who assault transit operators.
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From page 64... ...
CTTRANSIT's Employee Assistance Program provides its transit workers with any necessary counseling and legal assistance after an assault has occurred. Many years ago, a female operator was sexually assaulted and needed several months of psychological counseling and support before she felt ready to return to work.
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Capital District Transportation Authority, Albany, New York CDTA has a security awareness program for their passengers and their operators. Signage stating "if you see something, FIGURE 31 NYC Transit bus signage.
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66 SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH Community and school initiatives are believed to build stronger relationships between the transit agency and the public. Transit agencies with a relatively high proportion of youths and agencies that transport students to and from their schools experience problems associated with unruly behavior and violence against bus operators.
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From page 67... ...
The school bus, shown in Figures 37 and 38, contains computers, a fingerprinting device, and other equipment. Hampton Roads Transit, Hampton, Virginia HRT serves 1.3 million residents in seven cities in Virginia: Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach.
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From page 68... ...
This event is supported by donations from Metro employees. This community outreach activity promotes a positive image of WMATA and its employees, and is an effort to discourage assaults and pranks against bus operators on Halloween, when such incidents are common.
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From page 69... ...
Operator injuries, including those caused by assaults, have decreased by 10% since the inception of this program in 2008. • Operators-to-Remain-Seated Policy, Veolia, Las Vegas, Nevada -- Veolia's policy for its bus operators in Las Vegas is for operators to remain seated when interacting with customers, which is believed to prevent some operator assaults.
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