FOR ALL TO SEE

…where was any media coverage of Joel preventing a fatality? Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that this is at least getting internal recognition at TriMet. Donna said it, I’ve said it (more than once), and now Joel, and who knows how many other operators that I just don’t have links for – TriMet bus and rail operators really are saving lives every. single. day by compensating for the poor attention of / decisions made by the public around the buses and trains. This is not news to any operator, but it’s nice that this was distributed to other TriMet employees who don’t see it the same way since they’re not out in the field.
But Joel is right – if an operator does something stupid, there’s no end to the media coverage of it, and no official support from TriMet in the media for the rest of the operators who do their jobs, and do them well. The fact that operators prevent hundreds of horrific accidents every day, well, I guess that doesn’t sell as many newspapers as “look at the dumb thing this bus driver did!” TriMet bus ridership averages around 61 million boarding rides per year, the overwhelming majority of which DON’T make the news. Then one woman in August and another in September had negative interactions with bus operators when their small children were being fussy, and now somehow it’s fair that the public is viewing all bus drivers as baby-haters?

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