TRIMET HISTORICAL ARTICLES

TRI-MET TESTS PROTECTIVE DRIVER SHIELD Newspaper October 1, 1988 Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) STAN FEDERMAN - of the Oregonian Staff Summary: The heavy-duty plastic panel is designed to prevent assaults on the bus operator from the rear Tri-Met is testing a heavy plastic shield around the driver's seat in the latest move to protect its operators from passenger assaults. James E. Cowen, Tri-Met general manager, said the shield was a prototype model that was installed on bus No. 909 and has been in operation about a week on North Portland line No. 4-Fessenden. ``We intend to test it for several weeks and then likely modify it in accordance with driver suggestions,'' Cowen said. ``So far, most of those who have used it seem to like it.'' Bill Allen, Tri-Met operations director, said that after the shield was modified, it would be installed in number of buses for use on lines that have a history of assault problems. Cost of the shields and installation is estimated at $2,000 each. The shield, which is made of half-inch heavy plastic, is located just behind and to the right of the driver. It is built from the floor to the ceiling of the bus and winds around the driver's seat, leaving a small opening to allow the operator to get in and out of the seat area. Heavy steel bars are positioned to keep the shield in place, making it impossible for the driver to be taken by surprise from the rear. ``It still has a few bugs in it, but it's obviously a step in the right direction,'' said Merle Dalrymple, station instructor at the transit district's Powell Street Garage. Officials said buses with the shields would be made available to any operator on request and the agency did not want to force the shield on drivers who did not want one. Dalrymple said the shield was one agency answer to the problem of late-night assaults upon bus drivers that have occurred frequently in the past two years. ``We need to do something to control that,'' he said. He said the 909 bus was being used for the testing period exclusively on line No. 4-Fessenden, which has long been the worst line in the agency for assault problems. The line's route takes it from the downtown transit mall to various North Portland stops. ``I've been knifed, shot at and beaten up on that route,'' said Anita Miller, a 10-year Tri-Met operator. ``And so have a lot of other drivers.'' Because of her seniority, Miller no longer has to drive on that line. Allen said the driver shield was just one of four actions the agency was taking this fall in an effort to increase security aboard its vehicles. He said a prototype intercom system would be installed next week on the No. 126 light-rail car that would enable Metropolitan Area Express passengers to communicate with the train operator. Three months ago, the agency announced it was earmarking some $35,000 for the system, which eventually would be established on all 26 light-rail cars. There have been a number of recent passenger assaults on other passengers on late-night MAX trains, usually in the second car, which cannot be seen by the driver. The intercom system would give passengers instant access to the driver who would be able to radio for police. Allen said Tri-Met planned to hire a coordinator between the transit district and neighborhoods and law enforcement agencies for handling crime problems. A consultant also will be hired, he added, to devise a training program for drivers to help them deal with assault problems. Because of a lack of money, Tri-Met has been unable to hire any large number of transit policemen for its fleet. The agency has five transit policemen and plans to add five more after present contract negotiations with the Amalgamated Transit Union. Copyright (c) 1988 Oregonian Publishing Co. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F0EB0852483B21C95

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RIDERS, DRIVERS SUPPORT TRI-MET'S PLAN TO INCREASE SECURITY Newspaper June 29, 1988 Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) CHRIS MYERS - of the Oregonian Staff Summary: Fearful bus passengers and drivers call for more security police and surveillance cameras When something significant happens in her life, Kathie Turner makes a note of it in her datebook, so it will stick in her memory. There's a special mark in her datebook, and in her memory, for the night of June 9. Turner was riding Tri-Met's No. 4 Fessenden bus from her North Portland home to downtown that night, when a passenger on the bus fired a gun and injured two other passengers. Turner scrambled off the bus immediately to get out of harm's way, but she was back on another No. 4 bus later that night, continuing her ride downtown. And she was on the bus again Monday afternoon, talking about Tri-Met's plans to spend more money on security in the coming fiscal year. In response to a rash of assaults of drivers and riders in the past year, the transit agency has allocated $620,000 for security in its proposed budget for the 1988-89 fiscal year. Included in the allocation is $364,000 that would be devoted to providing ``additional police presence'' on buses and light-rail cars and in Park & Ride lots. The proposed budget, which comes up for final approval Wednesday, would raise the number of Tri-Met transit police officers from four five to 10. Turner, for one, thinks that Tri-Met needs to do more than just put officers on buses if it wants to provide more security. ``I ride this bus all the time,'' she said. ``I have felt fearful at times. . . . Two days after the shooting, there was a security officer on the bus, but he didn't have a gun or anything. He didn't have anything more than we did. If they're going to have security, they should have somebody trained, with some kind of back-up.'' Other riders agreed. ``I ride the bus quite a bit, and sometimes it can get pretty wild,'' said one Southwest Portland woman, who asked not to be identified, as she rode the No. 41 bus Monday between downtown and the Gateway Transit Center. ``I really think they (Tri-Met) could do more. A lot of elderly people and citizens like me ride the bus, and we don't want to be bothered.'' The driver of the No. 4 bus Monday afternoon, who asked not to be identified, said that increased security on buses has become a ``necessity'' lately, primarily because of increased gang activity in some parts of Portland. Gangs were implicated in the June 9 shooting on the No. 4 bus. ``We've had personal problems with individual riders in the past. That's pretty normal,'' he said. ``But the gang-related activity didn't start until about a year ago. . . . It's really been bad.'' One Tri--Met driver, Darrell Warsop, said that most of the security problems are concentrated on a few lines, and usually occur at night. ``I'd say probably 80 percent of our assaults have been on three lines -- the No. 4 (Fessenden), 5 (Interstate) and 8 (Northeast 15th Avenue),'' said Warsop, who has been a Tri-Met operator for 30 years and was driving the No. 22 Parkrose route Monday. He said that drivers often become targets of verbal abuse when they try to collect proper fares from riders. ``A lot of drivers have got to the point where they don't pay much attention to what goes in the fare box,'' Warsop said. ``It's easier to let them (riders) get away with a short fare than risk the verbal abuse and maybe physical abuse.'' The string of incidents has a chilling effect on riders, too, Warsop said. ``I think people are almost afraid to ride the bus at night. They never know what's going to happen,'' he said. Warsop suggested that Tri-Met should have transit officers ride the buses that have the worst problems, and perhaps put surveillance cameras in those buses. Tri-Met's proposed budget includes $30,000 for experimenting with video surveillance equipment on buses and light-rail trains. ``They definitely need more security,'' Warsop said. The driver of the No. 4 bus Monday said that if the security situation doesn't improve, Local 757 of the Amalgamated Transit Union could demand that Tri-Met pull buses off the lines that experience the most problems. Turner, meanwhile, will continue to ride the No. 4 bus. She thinks that the line's reputation for problems has been blown out of proportion. ``I think things happen on a lot of different buses,'' she said. ``I think it's just a little more frequent on this one, and more publicized.'' Copyright (c) 1988 Oregonian Publishing Co. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F0EB08505B654B76B ============================================================================================================= 

 Newspaper October 1, 1988 Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) STAN FEDERMAN - of the Oregonian Staff Summary: The heavy-duty plastic panel is designed to prevent assaults on the bus operator from the rear Tri-Met is testing a heavy plastic shield around the driver's seat in the latest move to protect its operators from passenger assaults. James E. Cowen, Tri-Met general manager, said the shield was a prototype model that was installed on bus No. 909 and has been in operation about a week on North Portland line No. 4-Fessenden. ``We intend to test it for several weeks and then likely modify it in accordance with driver suggestions,'' Cowen said. ``So far, most of those who have used it seem to like it.'' Bill Allen, Tri-Met operations director, said that after the shield was modified, it would be installed in number of buses for use on lines that have a history of assault problems. Cost of the shields and installation is estimated at $2,000 each. The shield, which is made of half-inch heavy plastic, is located just behind and to the right of the driver. It is built from the floor to the ceiling of the bus and winds around the driver's seat, leaving a small opening to allow the operator to get in and out of the seat area. Heavy steel bars are positioned to keep the shield in place, making it impossible for the driver to be taken by surprise from the rear. ``It still has a few bugs in it, but it's obviously a step in the right direction,'' said Merle Dalrymple, station instructor at the transit district's Powell Street Garage. Officials said buses with the shields would be made available to any operator on request and the agency did not want to force the shield on drivers who did not want one. Dalrymple said the shield was one agency answer to the problem of late-night assaults upon bus drivers that have occurred frequently in the past two years. ``We need to do something to control that,'' he said. He said the 909 bus was being used for the testing period exclusively on line No. 4-Fessenden, which has long been the worst line in the agency for assault problems. The line's route takes it from the downtown transit mall to various North Portland stops. ``I've been knifed, shot at and beaten up on that route,'' said Anita Miller, a 10-year Tri-Met operator. ``And so have a lot of other drivers.'' Because of her seniority, Miller no longer has to drive on that line. Allen said the driver shield was just one of four actions the agency was taking this fall in an effort to increase security aboard its vehicles. He said a prototype intercom system would be installed next week on the No. 126 light-rail car that would enable Metropolitan Area Express passengers to communicate with the train operator. Three months ago, the agency announced it was earmarking some $35,000 for the system, which eventually would be established on all 26 light-rail cars. There have been a number of recent passenger assaults on other passengers on late-night MAX trains, usually in the second car, which cannot be seen by the driver. The intercom system would give passengers instant access to the driver who would be able to radio for police. Allen said Tri-Met planned to hire a coordinator between the transit district and neighborhoods and law enforcement agencies for handling crime problems. A consultant also will be hired, he added, to devise a training program for drivers to help them deal with assault problems. Because of a lack of money, Tri-Met has been unable to hire any large number of transit policemen for its fleet. The agency has five transit policemen and plans to add five more after present contract negotiations with the Amalgamated Transit Union. Copyright (c) 1988 Oregonian Publishing Co. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F0EB0852483B21C9