WTF is the point of this story? An obvious attempt to vilify yet another bus driver who has done nothing!
Now lets put on my tin foil hat and think why would this story even appear in the mainstream media?
Nothing at all happened to the kid!
Something is rotten
Now lets put on my tin foil hat and think why would this story even appear in the mainstream media?
Nothing at all happened to the kid!
Something is rotten
A 5-year-old Portland girl, whose frantic family reported her missing Thursday morning, was allowed to board and ride a TriMet bus despite not being accompanied by a parent or other chaperone, police officials said. (so what? Is it the bus drivers job to ask for ID?)
She apparently rode the bus for nearly 25 miles before disembarking safely at Clackamas Town Center.
The girl, who lives near Southeast Foster Road and 122nd Avenue, was reported missing about 6 a.m. A Clackamas County sheriff's deputy found her at the mall just before 7:30 a.m.
The No. 71 bus runs within a block or so of her home. Its route travels a nearly 25-mile loop stretching north almost to the Columbia River, then west through Northeast Portland, then south through the Woodstock neighborhood of Southeast Portland. The 71 terminates its route about an hour and 20 minutes later at Clackamas Town Center.
TriMet officials say they are still investigating what happened and are unsure where the child boarded a bus and why she was allowed to do so.
TriMet spokesman Andrew Longeteig said the agency trains bus drivers to immediately contact a dispatcher if they see a vulnerable person needing assistance. (fuck you Trimet you assholes) That category includes young children as well as people who appear lost, confused or unable to take care of themselves.
The girl's family said she is tall for her age and has been known to ride TriMet buses and trains. They said she left home before 6 a.m. still wearing her pajama pants.
Portland Police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson said the child got to the mall exclusively by bus, not by using light rail. She was unhurt when the sheriff's deputy found her.
TriMet said in a statement that its drivers often "check on the safety of a child if it is clear that child is in jeopardy or alone." (fuck you Trimet assholes)
The agency's policy is to allow children younger than age 7 to ride for free when accompanied by a paying passenger.
Longeteig pointed to tips the agency offers on its website about child passengers, all of which refer to them riding with a parent, including this advice: "Keep your kids close to make sure you don't get separated."
Longeteig said TriMet officials are actively investigating the incident, but he did not know if they had determined which bus the child rode or talked to the driver.
-- Betsy Hammond
betsyhammond@oregonian.com
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/07/trimet_allowed_5-year-old_to_b.html
The union's immediate response should be:
ReplyDelete-We don't know how the child was acting. Some parents send their child to school alone on transit, and it's quite possible this girl seemed OK. It's not the operator's job to babysit every rider and be the welfare agency.
-If a younger (or other) rider seems OK, better to let them be than to possibly scare the kid or create an incident.
-It sounds like the girl seemed older and it's not uncommon to see people out in pajama pants.
-Better to be on a bus with operator and other riders who can see if anything happens than to be on a deserted sidewalk where somebody in a car could quickly snatch her.
-Negative stories like this, little defending of employees, lack of breaks, long routes like the 71, wear down operators, and the agency has created a poor culture which discourages employees from caring and instead they just let things go.
-Overall, a child presumably ran away from home and took the bus to the mall; this is a non-story.
I think that may be the absolute best comment you've ever made on this blog Jason
ReplyDelete