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MBTA bus driver suspended for doing what probably every school-bus driver, ever, has dreamed of doing
By adamg on Tue, 01/11/2011 - 6:40am
The Herald reports the MBTA has suspended a driver who basically locked a bunch of Boston Latin School students in and then took them for an angry ride off her route after some pranksters kept pushing the stop strip and wouldn't fess up. Among the mini-hostages: Tom Menino's granddaughter.
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Comments
School Bus Drivers...
...don't dream of this because their busses don't have bells to ring, and they always make the same stops every day.
This driver, on the other hand, sounds like a total douchebag: “The bus driver also stated that ‘she was in a hurry today because she had somewhere to be’ and ‘had no time for this,’ ’’ according to a police report.
Seems to me that the way to deal with this would be to pull over slowly at each stop. Open the door. Call out the name of the stop. Wait. Call out the name of the stop again. Wait. Pull away from the curb slowly. Repeat every time they pushed the tape. They'd get sick of it soon enough. But I guess if you've got "somewhere to be", it's more reasonable to just kidnap a bunch of kids.
"somewhere to be" must be the bank to make a deposit.
....of a big fat paycheck.
"Arrington, who has been with the MBTA since 1999 and earned $88,369 last year, has been suspended with pay, "
Not too bad , I've put up with groups of rowdy kids for a lot less than that, where do I sign up?
and we wonder why the MBTA is
and we wonder why the MBTA is $9B in debt. I am all for a living wage, but $90,000 to drive a bus is unjustifiable in my humble opinion.
Look for the union label! Now
Look for the union label!
Now when the MBTAs underfunded pension scheme needs a bailout, guess what's going to happen to your pocket book? The public sector HAVES are going to get a bailout on backs of the private sector HAVENOTS during the worst recession in a almost a century. This is a big part of the reason why FDR was against public sector unions.
Sign up right here:
http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/career_opps/
A lot of these part time jobs are listed at $19 an hour. Not too bad.
Hey all right, $19/hr PT = 88K per year?
Not exactly the signup I was referring to.
There was a link there for the lottery.
And I would assume that working partime would help you out with the lottery?
Either way there are a lot of shift jobs with the MBTA. That means overtime.
I CAN UNDERSTAND HER FUSTRATION..
WE ARE PROFESSIONAL BUS OPERATORS THE ONE-WHO HOLD THAT SEAT...IS IN CONTROL....IF THESE KIDS LIKE PUSHING THE BELL LET THEM...ALL I SAY TO MYSELF IS THAT THEY WON'T BE ON THE BUS ALL DAY....WE GET PAID BY THE HOUR...AND IF YOU HAD SOMETHING TO DO THAT DAY...YOU SHOULD OF STAYED HOME ITS (NEWMAN LAW) OR you CALL IN SICK.......WHENEVER YOU HAVE SOME PLACE TO GO...WE WANT TO RUSH......IT EFFECTS YOUR DRIVING AND SOMEONE CAN GET HURT OR KILLED.....IT WOULD BE BETTER TO BE SUSPENDED THEN FIRED...AND ALL YOUR CO/WORKERS BEGIN TO TALK ABOUT WITH HERE PASSENGERS....IF YOU FELT It WAS ON SAFE TO DRIVE PULL OVER AND SINCE THE BUS RUN REGULAR DOWN THERE...THEY CAN ALWAYS CATCH THE BUS BEHIND YOU....I FEEL FOR THE DRIVER BECAUSE I'VE BEEN THERE...PEOPLE ARE GETTING CRAZY EVERYDAY.....I PRAY THAT I CAN SERVE MY 25YEARS WITH MY BENEFITS I ONLY GOT 4YEARS LEFT....WHEN YOU GET ON THAT BUS EVERYTHING ELSE DOES NOT MATTER EXCEPT THE PEOPLE WHO GET ON THAT BUS AND THE TRAFFIC.............THERE IS SOME PEOPLE WHO SHOULD NEVER DRIVE A BUS....BUT THE COMPANY WANTS ANYONE IN THAT SEAT...........
HOLY CRAP $88K for driving a
HOLY CRAP
$88K for driving a bus?! I knew the starting salary was in the 50s but geez. So does a red line operator make $100k??
uhm... kidnapping
The driver took a bunch of kids and drove them to a non-authorized place.
Isn't that the very definition of kidnapping? Why isn't this driver rotting in jail instead of sitting at home being paid public dollars?
Why do we even have an MBTA Police force?
Remember the rowdy bastards on the Green B Line a while back who pulled the E-Brake?
Same thing. Why wasn't this driver on the radio to dispatch requesting an officer while continuing her route?
I also don't understand why she cares whether anyone gets off or not at every stop. Her route has stops. If the bell rings, you stop. Open the doors, if nobody gets off, move on. Stopping should be considered the default state. Not stopping at every stop should be a fortuitous occasion. I don't see why it matters whether anyone gets off or not..it happens plenty of time on normal city buses where someone accidentally rings the bell or changes their mind about getting off.
Also, I barely make more than the bus driver that got me to work today...great. It only took me 11 years of post-secondary education to get here...sheesh.
It is annoying though.
When you know people never get on or off at 50% of stops and the driver can just pass them if no one tells them to stop or rings the bell.
So I disagree that stopping should be considered the default state on some bus routes, especially those that have stops that are directly behind intersections.
I was on a train where
I was on a train where someone, probably a kid since the train was full of teenagers, pulled the emergency brake. They had a simple solution. At the next stop they took the train out of service.
seems about right to me
Also, I barely make more than the bus driver that got me to work today...great. It only took me 11 years of post-secondary education to get here...sheesh.
Congradulations on just earning your Associate Degree in the Real World; compensation is dependent, like everything else, on supply and demand. There's a whole lot of supply, and not much demand, for overeducated folk. Meanwhile, the busses don't drive themselves.
Seriously, what's worse: a bus driver who is paid a good salary because it's a monotonous, annoying job where virtually everyone hates your guts?
...Or some know-it-all over-educated guy with entitlement issues?
"Well, the world needs ditch diggers, too."
How you doing, Judge Smails?
First, it's "Congratulations"...unless you're Hallmark and you're out of ideas for cutesy cards that your aunts can tuck a $20 into for your graduation.
"Overeducated" suggests that to do my job would require less education than what I have. You'd be incorrect. You'd also be incorrect that it's a case of supply and demand. By specializing your education as you get post-graduate degrees, you place yourself in rarer and rarer crowds. I would agree with the people that claim graduate schools have pushed out more PhDs than the universities can hold, but the private sector has found more than enough room for the specialization and devotion that comes with such an intense study in the fields, particularly in science.
As far as supply and demand goes for bus drivers...the MBTA has a job lottery specifically because it receives vastly more applications than it has positions. So, you're shooting yourself in the foot to suggest that this is all a matter of simple economics.
Finally, your questions pose a false dilemma. There's always another option, such as "...or Brett?".
You should ask for a raise!
The recession's been over for some time now, experts say.
It is pretty tacky to hint at how much you make...
whether it's in person, online, whatever.
Depends on the purpose...
If it's so that people know you're richer than them, that's tacky. If it's to point out what one tends to make in a certain profession, or to give some perspective as to what sort of financial situation the person making a particular comment is in, I think that's fine.
Bus schedules don't assume the bus makes every stop
For instance, last Sunday morning, I took bus 220 from Quincy Center to Hingham. Both on the official schedule and in real life, this was a 22 minute trip. It would have taken much much longer if someone had boarded or alighted at every one of the route's 48-odd stops. The schedule recognizes that this is unlikely at that time on a Sunday.
Who cares if they rang the bell for every stop
Buses are supposed to make every stop if that is called for. Many buses like the 94 and 96 DO end up making every stop at rush hour.
For 90 Grand a year, doing your job isn't an option, hurry or not.
Has She Never Driven The Bus Before?
I've been on plenty of MBTA buses where the stop bell kept ringing with no one pressing it. In one case, I was the only person on the bus and not only did could the driver see I was nowhere near the strips to press them, she knew me enough to know my regular stop. Another time, it apparently had been happening to that driver her whole shift. That time, she laughed, told us not to worry and then joked about how creepy it was when the bus was empty.
no bell -- yell
In the Herald comments, a parent of one of the kids claimed that the bell was in fact broken, and ringing by itself.
If that's true, it should have been obvious to the driver, since the bell would always ring immediately after the door closed.
It would be nice the the bell had an off switch. That would solve either problem (ringing by itself, or kids ringing every stop).
except...
If that's true, it should have been obvious to the driver, since the bell would always ring immediately after the door closed.
Except for the trips where people push+hold the strip so that it dings the second the doors close.
This is particularly annoying when the bell circuitry is acting up and it 'dings' every time the strip is pushed...and the person keeps pushing it until The Voice says STOP REQUESTED. What's odd is that there is a very distinct demographic for these folks...
As for all the people claiming "so what"...well, clearly you haven't been on a bus where someone keeps pushing the bell strip. On most of the routes, it only takes about 2 presses before the driver gets out of their seat and informs the bus that it's not as funny as it seems, and that it does in fact screw up the schedule (which is adjusted for average trip time at that time of day.)
Also, if Menino's Little Princess wasn't on the bus, I seriously doubt anyone would have heard about this. And how unsurprising that a Menino got into Boston Latin...
Temper tantrum
I can see how operating an MBTA bus could inspire waves of rage. T drivers are more patient than I'd be in many situations I've observed -- it's called professionalism, and unfortunately, she lost it.
Meanwhile, they have a responsibility that they're expected to take seriously. I can't begrudge them their salaries.
High cortisol levels
Evidently driving a bus in an urban setting jacks your stress hormone Cortisol way way up, which causes all kinds of other health problems.
I wouldn't want to do it, thanks, although I bet that there are a lot of people who would for that money.
Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding
At least once or twice each winter when I've taken buses, the driver has had to disconnect the system or have a mechanic disable it because of DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING ...
I have never seen kids associated with this problem.
I won't say that drivers get paid too much ... but they do get paid way too much to act like unprofessional spoiled brats on a power trip.
Since when is it NOT the job of a driver to stop at EVERY stop anyway?
Um,
so are you suggesting that because the ding ding mechanism malfunctions once in awhile and has to be disconnected that 12-13 year kids thinking it funny to torture the bus driver is ok? This was not a malfunction but human.
I fail to see your reasoning here.
I would also say that the "spoiled brats" were the kids.
And, may I assume, that you always keep your cool head in tough situations? Well, I am also going to assume the answer is "no" and then I say you have no right to judge.
No
There was an adult present. That adult was being paid to make every stop if the passengers rang for it. She is also paid to ignore the bell ringing constantly, or pull over and shut the system down. In fact, she was being paid extremely well to do these tasks - something called HER JOB.
Grownass Adults who are acting in an official capacity and are paid very high wages for their trouble don't throw tantrums and trap people, most if not all of whom did nothing, because they have a misplaced sense of entitlement to finish a route early.
Explain to me why her tantrum didn't earn her kidnapping charges. Going off route and driving around and around isn't a simple case of "losing her cool" - it could quite easily be called child abduction.
A life sentence in federal prison vs. termination
Yeah, personally I think kidnapping charges might be a bit excessive. I doubt very much the driver intended to harm the kids or anything, though she should probably be fired.
It's hard to keep track of which recent "goats of the day" have earned your merciless condemnation, Swrrlygirl, and which have been granted the benefit of the doubt. I also admit that it's hard for anyone to be completely consistent in dispensing moral judgments. You do seem to have been getting more draconian lately, though.
Professionalism
We aren't talking a minimum wage worker in a call center here. For nearly $90K the public is buying professionalism.
Drivers in other large city systems - like some relatives of mine - are paid far less than this and have had far more accountability for far longer than MBTA drivers have been blessed with - video camera reviews, answering for rider complaints, etc. The T has only very recently bothered to discipline drivers for their unprofessional behavior.
For nearly-
-90k, the public is buying professionalism.
Abso-frickin'-lutely.
This woman should be fired. She has an appointed job to do, she didn't do it, she instead decided to take her 90k privilege and teach kids a lesson that they may not have needed.
I've seen too many T workers act like they deserve what they don't deserve. You work with the public, you know that's the job, here's 90k, deal with it.
She should be dealt with. Having someplace to be doesn't enter into any other job workers thinking, why should it enter hers?
Wow!
Ok, first of all, these kids were pushing the strip over and over and not ceasing. I am sorry but 12-13 year old kids, which where the ages of these kids, should no better.
Next, her salary. Sigh. Ok, she has been doing the job, what, 12 years or so? She is not a new employee. $88K is a decent but no means incredible salary today for a 12 year employee. (My salary is 58K, by way of disclaimer.) I mean, really, how much should one make to drive a bus through all sorts of traffic, weather, and dealing with all sorts of people on a daily basis?
While one can argue that she should of kept her cool, she is human, like all of us and, like all of us, we might not do the prudent thing at all times. The T did not fire her, but suspended her, which is fair. And I hope the parents of the kids that thought it cute to be disruptive punish their kids before they become ass whole adults.
Some buses do not have to stop at every stop (and shouldn't)
Every once in a while I take the 34E bus (Walpole to Forest Hills). There are a total of 94 stops on this route. Many of these stops are rarely used and are in surburban parts of Walpole, Norwood, Westwood or Dedham. No one is at the stops and no one is ringing the bell, so the bus doesn't stop.
Also, this bus didn't seem to be a regular route bus. This was one of those buses that school departments pay for. The stops should be pre-determined anyway I would think.
The magnitude of her salary isn't the issue
The fact that she gets paid very well to do a customer service job that she seems to have little interest in doing properly is the problem.
Also, Pete? Did you read the article? This bus was supposed to make stops as requested. When nobody got off, she threw a tantrum instead of continuing on the route because she was in a hurry.
Yea I read it.
My point was that school buses shouldn't let kids decide what stop they want to get off at. It should be a predetermined route since I assume there are no official stops anyway.
And my other point was that some bus routes shouldn't have to stop at every stop.
The issue with the bus driver is simple. She was wrong, and should be suspended.
Special Runs Aren't Charters
At least, not in my community. MBTA buses go "alternate routes" at school pick up and drop off time, both to cover some extra stops and to detour to the High School. Otherwise, the runs cover stops on route like every other bus. It isn't a charter.
My son walks, but he takes advantage of this to get to where he wants to go. He can get on a bus at school, which then makes all stops once it reverts to the normal route. Once on that route, it picks up passengers and lets people off as if it started in the usual place and not the High School.
Example: http://mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/bus/routes/?rou...
Buses from "Winthrop and Brooks" are the High School buses, but they are not limited to high school students once they rejoin their route.
right
You are correct. These school runs still pick up (and drop off) regular passengers, have a regular route indication on the board, and really have no distinguishing marks other than being cram packed full of Latin students.
I don't think this was one of those buses.
I think it was one used mainly for Boston Latin Students. I could be wrong.
This is indeed....
...the kind of buses that ferry BLS kids. Regular buses with funny little extensions added to their normal routes. (Like a 34 -- that goes to BLS instead of Forest Hills).
It was one of those
It was one of those buses:
http://www.mbta.com/uploadedFiles/Documents/Schedu...
If you open the Route 9 PDF, look at note "l"
As noted, the MBTA doesn't run any special "charter" buses but they do operate additional "supplemental" trips which are primarily for use by school kids, but are techically open for anyone to ride.
What she said
From BLS, once the bus gets onto its regular route, it picks up passengers just like a regular T bus.
Just sign me,
Guy who just picked up the kidlet from her 34 bus in Roslindale Square.
I don't think we've seen kidlet....
... since she was in a stroller -- unless she happened to come down our street trick or treating.
Did we know this?
She got into BLS? Good for her.
Thanks
I did post something short at the time, because, well, how could I not?
The only school buses the
The only school buses the city should have are the SPED ones.
Que???
I am assuming (yeah I know what happens when you assume..) that you don't have school age children. Should parents with kids from K0/K1 to 6th grade put their minor children--without supervision--on public transportation? Why should school buses only be for SPED? How did you get to school? A limo?
Sorry you missed the
Sorry you missed the point.
Kids that young should be able walk to a n-hood school and not have to take any transportation---public or otherwise (with very few exceptions). But that ship already sailed a long time ago.
Not everyone has NH schools...
seriously, mr. BH, I know that in Dorchester or whatever high density place you live in, but out here in the middle of nowhere, walking two miles to the Irving is just a stupid idea, especially for an eleven year old-and it's the closest middle school.
And I must add,regular people can and do get on those special BLS buses.
I thought it was clear I was
I thought it was clear I was speaking specifically about Boston schools given that the story was Boston students (and the comment about the ship already sailing). Sorry for being vague.
The Irving IS in Boston
Specifically Roslindale (which is nonetheless not as densely populated as some other areas of Boston).
Your point is moot BH
As Latin is a city wide school which has students from all over Boston (including areas that you don't know are part of Boston--like Dorchester) kids need transportation.
and latin isn't a nh school for hardly anyone
I know one person who walks to school. One! If you expect me to walk four miles in the snow uphill both ways you have another thing coming. The closest high school to here is, I think, westie high, which is-I wouldn't even contemplate going there. Build some good high schools in the west zone and you may talk, but....
Bus...
I went to Latin and took this exact same bus home. The thing people don't get about the bus "making all stops" is that the same group of people take each bus each day; it's a charter bus, not a route. No one who lives in Grove Hall or by Latin Academy or wherever takes this bus, so why would they want to get off there?
If the button was in fact broken, then I can't fault the kids. But knowing how these kids are it doesn't surprise me; having ridden that bus for years, it happened all of the time. I don't know how our drivers dealt with it. One time a kid sprayed an entire can of Axe on the bus just for fun. HILARIOUS.
It's funny, too, that the Herald let McPhee write that article, considering she knows Galvin personally. I thought that would be a conflict of interest, but whatever.
Salary
88,000 is a lot of money.
On one hand, it isnt easy driving a bus. You deal with idiots in cars, idiots on bikes, idiot pedestrians, and idiot riders. You also have to deal with some crazy people who can make your day become very unpleasant very quickly. Most people suck enough at driving, and these people have to drive an enormous vehicle with giant blind spots in a crowded city, all while hearing a bunch of passengers making a lot of noise in the back....and do it with a perfect driving record.
So it certainly isn't a minimum wage job.
But for 88 grand, I do expect better customer service from these drivers. Some are fantastic. Others? Well, I've seen happier workers at taco bell, and those folks ARE getting minimum wage.
The other story
Mumble's grandkid gets into Latin. I'm sure she's fully qualified and there was no one more qualified and the admissions committee didn't have a clue that she was the grandkid of the local Caesar.
There is no admissions committee
It's based on the results of your ISEE test (50%) and your grades from the last half of fifth grade and first half of sixth grade.
And these are public records?
Who grades the test? Who transcribes the grades?
Come On
Is it really so hard to believe that the kid actually passed the test and had good grades? Obviously she's got an advantage in that her family isn't wracked by poverty, malnutrition, and the disadvantages inherent in minority ethnicity, and can probably afford tutors and museum trips, but are you really suggesting a conspiracy to get her admitted to what is ultimately a public school?
I'm not a fan of Menino -- at all -- but you might as well ask for her birth certificate while you're at it.
Not at all
I'm sure she'll do as well at Latin as many others. I am also sure that Latin is happy that she is there. I am also sure that when Latin saw her name on the list of applicants, they thought, "Damn, that would be opportune!" I am not sure what happened behind closed doors.
Really?
As Latin is the city's elite school, the crown jewel if you will, do you really think they need to curry favor with the mayor by tipping the scales for his grandchild? The only thing that you got right is that you don't know how the process works. "Oh!, Boston is being hit by a big snow storm, Menino must have done that so he could declare a snow emergency and give all the plow guys who supported him overtime pay." The guy needs to go, but the entire hub doesn't revolve around him.
and the disadvantages
I'll assume you really mean that 'inherent' business.
Tenured Teachers
Tenured teachers give the grades. And you know who tenured teachers are really worried about job security. I'm sure they gave her straight A's since it is so easy to fire tenured teachers.
Boston Latin Teachers
do not want to be transfered to another high school that is for sure.
But I don't think the school really benefits from having anyone with possible political influences around. Just puts more pressure on everyone.