Friday, December 12, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Fired bus drivers dispute safety findings

CAT officials say system relatively secure

A review of bus safety suggests the Citizens Area Transit system is relatively safe for drivers and passengers alike, but that finding failed to appease some former drivers who allege violence is on the upswing.

"There's a large number of assaults and injuries to drivers. This is not the fairyland picture that's being painted of this transit system," former CAT driver Ben Carter on Thursday told the Regional Transportation Commission, which requested the internal review.

Carter did not offer any figures to back up his claim, which were in contrast to numbers offered by ATC Vancom of Nevada.

ATC, which operates CAT under a contract with the commission, claimed that in the past two years there were three aggravated assaults against drivers, two of which required hospitalization.

"The reality is we wouldn't be carrying 50 million passengers if this was not a safe system," said Dave Boggs, ATC southwest regional vice president. He declined give details, citing privacy laws.

And assaults against passengers occur at a rate of roughly one for every 10 million passengers, Boggs said, adding assault rates against drivers and passengers compare favorably with bus systems of similar size.

Transportation commission General Manager Jacob Snow said plain-clothes monitors have witnessed drivers being attacked, but not seriously hurt.

"They've observed drivers being verbally abused by passengers. They've observed objects being thrown at drivers. They've observed drivers being spat upon. But aggravated assaults are an exception, not the rule," he said.

Carter and fellow ex-driver Steve Mora disputed this. "If it takes a hospitalization to call it an assault, we have a very serious problem," he said.

Snow said all buses are equipped with satellite tracking systems, covert alarms and other safety devices. Next year, CAT plans to replace cameras in all of its fixed-route buses and add cameras to its paratransit fleet for the first time.

Creating a transit police force would be a good move, Snow said, but one that would cost up to $7 million per year that would come at the expense of some existing routes.

The commission seemed reluctant to go in that direction.

"To me, it seems pretty simple. Our routes are safe," said Commissioner and Las Vegas City Councilman Michael Mack. "To spend $7 million, we'd take a service away from the community. We need to look at specific areas if there are incidents or crime in certain areas."

Mora was critical of that view in the wake of the commission's purchase of $16 million worth of double-decker buses at the same meeting. "Get your priorities straight. You have to secure the safety of the drivers and the public," he said.

Mora and Carter were among three drivers fired by ATC after publicly criticizing working conditions last year. Those firings were later upheld by federal labor officials, and Mora is now trying to organize drivers to join his Transit Drivers Association.