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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Disabled fuming over
priority seatsQuestion: Who is in charge of TheBus or people who ride it? I am disabled and use a cane. There are so many nondisabled or nonelderly people who sit in the seats in front, and the drivers don't do anything about it. I've seen it every single day.
Answer: You're right in describing this as a widespread and everyday problem.
While elderly and disabled bus riders are given "priority seating" on the city's buses by city and federal laws, the same laws do not require bus drivers to enforce the rule.
That may sound strange, but TheBus officials say experience has shown the need to be "cautious about creating situations that could lead to on-board altercations."
This is an important issue and one that generates a lot of complaints, acknowledged J. Roger Morton, senior vice president and director of operations for Oahu Transit Services, which operates the city's bus fleet.
"The problem is difficult to resolve because of the heavy loads on buses," he said, noting that 50,000 to 60,000 elderly or disabled people ride the buses each day.
However, because of numerous complaints like yours, Morton said he has asked TheBus' training department to study the issue again and to come up with "simple verbal techniques" for drivers to use in getting able-bodied passengers to give up their seats.
"We will also provide the operator with more specific guidance on when they should stall a bus and request police assistance," he said.
Morton added that Oahu Transit will incorporate this training in annual driver refresher courses but that with more than 100 drivers, it might take up to a year to get to all employees.
Here's some background about the priority seating:
Each bus has at least six signs that identify the priority seating areas and that cite the laws requiring the seats be vacated upon request by an elderly and/or disabled passenger or by a bus driver, Morton said.
While drivers are trained to be "proactive" in asking people to vacate the seats, they are told to use their discretion because they "may be legitimately concerned, due to the situation, about not creating a disturbance or altercation," he said.
A passenger may also ask a driver, who might not be aware of the situation, to ask an able-bodied person to vacate a seat.
Basically, Morton said, the company's internal rules follow city and federal laws, "which do not require the driver to enforce the rule. ... As a company policy, we do not expect our drivers to intervene beyond simply asking someone to move."
At times, drivers may ask a transit supervisor of police to intervene. However, this requires stopping the bus and waiting for the people to respond.
Mahalo
To May and her husband, who found my husband's wallet in the Pearlridge Center parking lot and turned it in to the Hickam Federal Credit Union. We were contacted immediately and received the wallet intact. -- No Name
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