King County Metro working to improve bus safety

SEATTLE — King County Metro and its bus operators met Tuesday in their first-ever Metro bus operators safety summit to find ways to improve safety on buses.

One solution: giving drivers more leeway when it comes to pulling over -- even if it means delaying the bus.

"I think if they stopped, pulled the bus over, it would be a minor inconvenience for a little while," said Kenny McCormick, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587, which represents bus drivers. "Once the people get acclimated to it, I think they'll get used to the buses being pulled over and we'll stop having problems."

McCormick said he is sick of hearing about assaults on both drivers and passengers. Last year, there were 77 assaults on drivers and 12 on passengers; there were also 273 physical disturbances, incidents in which there may be shoving or physical interaction, but there is not enough evidence or information to make an assault case.

McCormick said drivers are often told to just keep driving. So KIRO 7 took his idea to King County Metro Operations Manager Ted Harris.

“Perhaps we need, as managers in our control center, is to change how we ask questions of our operators because they are on the front line -- and to allow them to make the decision,” he said.

Harris said he knows other bus agencies, like Toronto’s, have had success with the policy.

"It is a double-edged sword," he said. "Sometimes the other passengers on the bus react negatively to being taken out of service because they're not getting to their destination."

Bus rider Paula McKinnon said she can see how some passengers might not like the delays.

“If I was in a hurry like I am now, it gets kind of -- I’d rather just get there,” she said.

But she said she supports bus drivers putting safety first.

Other potential solutions were also floated at the summit.

A bus driver named Denise, who asked KIRO 7 not show her face because she’s concerned about being targeted again, shared her story as part of a panel.

She said a group of men who couldn't fit on her bus after a Sounders game chased after it, threatening her. They eventually got on at another stop.

“Three of them got on,” she said. “They were coming at me, and the only thing that saved me was other passengers. I’m sure they were going to hit me.”

She called her operations center for help, but she said she was told to just keep driving. Denise said that is not enough.

“You're saying you need faster responses from deputies?” KIRO asked.

“Yes,” she said. “Definitely. And they need more resources themselves.”

King County Metro said it is asking for more deputies and working to add more cameras, which are currently on 48-percent of the fleet.

McCormick also suggested body cameras to help protect drivers, especially when they’re getting on and off the bus.

KIRO 7 asked Metro about that suggestion. They said it is a privacy issue and it would be costly to store and review all the video, but they are looking at all alternatives.

Cox Media Group