Hey, Tri-Met -- pull the plug on this driver, now! (Jack Bog's Blog)

It's really unbelievable what a tin ear Portland's transit agency has. The fuller story about the driver who recently trashed a mother with her crying child would curdle milk:

The driver’s 10-year disciplinary records read like a broken record of complaints, infractions and ineffective, light consequences with threats that the behavior must not continue. In 2007, the driver was issued a five-day suspension after repeated "inappropriate conduct" that a TriMet report says was similar to the most recent incident.
The Line 57 driver, as a result of complaints, was required to go to counseling about "customer service skills" in February 2006, May 2006, November 2006, March 2007, May 2007, June 2009, September 2009, February 2010, January 2011, March 2011, April 2011 and July 2011. In addition, improvement plans were established for her in April and October 2005.

Despite all that, complaints about the Line 57 driver increased in recent years without an apparent change in attitude. At an Oct. 14 hearing on the latest incident, the driver told TriMet investigators that she had done nothing wrong and that she wears cotton in her ears and keeps the bus fans on high to dampen the distraction of noise in her bus.

She's driving a bus with cotton in her ears? How in heaven's name is she supposed to be able to hear passengers, or emergency vehicles, or anything else?

Come on, Tri-Met. That's grounds right there. Pay the lawyers and get her out from behind the wheel. Now, before she hurts somebody. She's already trashed what minimal goodwill you have left.

Comments (10)

Cotton in her ears? How archaic! Why not get a set of Bose Noise-Cancelling headphones? I love mine!

Just kidding. Why can't nitwits like this simply be shown the door? Oh, wait.......

Posted by BobM | November 16, 2011 9:18 PM

The noise bothers her so much, and given her snapping behavior, maybe she's got rabies.

Actually, while tossing that kooky Tri-Met operator baby out, get rid of that foul management bathwater: the supervisors responsible for enabling this unsuitable and volatile person to remain chronically raging at the wheel of a bus full of cringing victims-in-waiting.

Posted by Mojo | November 16, 2011 9:38 PM

Unions might have a bit of credibility if they worked to remove employees like this instead of protecting them.

Posted by tankfixer | November 16, 2011 9:39 PM

Exactly tankfixer.

Sad the other comment blames management, as if unions were not to blame. Even in the pathetic, low skill public sector, managers know a lost cause when it is this obvious. They should have fired her long ago, but then only to have to re-instate her after the grievance, with back pay. Such is the sad state of unions in Portand, and the enabling people who place blame elsewhere.

Posted by Harry | November 16, 2011 9:55 PM

This case reminds me of Ellis McCoy. Funny thing, his supervisors have all left the building.

Posted by Jack Bog | November 16, 2011 10:03 PM

Harry, that's not how it goes. The reason that any employee (union-represented or otherwise) succeeds in their grievance is only because either: A) the grieved management action was unjustified or in violation of the employment contract or outright illegal; or B) the management's undertaking of justified action was impermissibly inept.

Both of those bad management behaviors happen a gazillion times a day in the U.S. Lots of times it's because management gets stupid advice from their personnel dept. or management lawyers, even more often because they don't even bother to obtain good advice.

The solution to this crazy Tri-Met driver problem is a no-brainer. If that goofball freaks out again and hurts somebody, supervision & management are at fault, too.

Posted by Mojo | November 16, 2011 10:49 PM

What mojo said. I have no problem holding management accountable for these results and for its (many and costly) failures in dealing effectively with the union.

Posted by Allan L. | November 17, 2011 7:03 AM

THis nutball driver "bumped" a pedestrian in a cross walk too!
And she is driving a bus??? Road rage seems to be a way of life for her. She is obviously unsafe at any speed behind the wheel of anything. She should be retired and committed to an old folks home and have all of her driving licenses taken away before she hurts or kills someone.

Posted by Portland Native | November 17, 2011 7:05 AM

Seriously, why are they wasting any time defending her?

Posted by Dave J. | November 17, 2011 9:07 AM

Her side of the incident story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUXM33isDVw

Posted by al m | November 18, 2011 8:00 AM

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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Hey, Tri-Met -- pull the plug on this driver, now!

Comments (10)

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