Bus drivers in LA fear that safety measures are not sufficient

Some shuttle buses in Los Angeles lack panic buttons, the plexiglass shields around drivers are not designed to prevent physical attacks, and drivers’ union officials say other safety measures touted to protect drivers simply aren’t enough.

“More needs to happen,” said Lourdes Garcia, treasurer and general manager of Teamsters Local 572, the union that represents the city’s DASH shuttle drivers. “It’s time to just be honest and say what’s going on.”

A series of violent attacks has raised concerns about the safety of bus riders and prompted the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to declare a state of emergency due to the attacks.

During a June 5 meeting of the Los Angeles City Council’s Transportation Committee, representatives from the Los Angeles Department of Transportation advocated for panic buttons on DASH buses, plexiglass around drivers, training, video cameras and radios as measures to ensure driver safety.

But drivers and union officials say many of the safety features don’t work. For example, the panic buttons that drivers can press don’t connect to a dispatch center or emergency services. Instead, the button plays a recording that instructs passengers or others to call 911.

“You might as well just honk,” Garcia said. “You have to be able to trust that someone will hear it, a Good Samaritan, or, if you’re on the highway, someone might not hear it.”

Concerns about the safety of bus drivers have increased following reports of several attacks on drivers, some of which were captured on video.

In an incident on May 5, a passenger attacked a Metro bus driver at the corner of Central Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard.

The woman is seen pushing and hitting the driver, who then tries to free her by kicking her from her back.

In March, a passenger carrying an airsoft gun hijacked a Metro bus and then crashed into several cars and the Ritz-Carlton hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

Another subway driver was stabbed in Willowbrook in April in an attack captured on video. The driver can be heard screaming “Help me! Help me!” during the attack.

Hundreds of bus drivers called in sick in May for safety reasons, causing delays on dozens of Metro bus routes.

Much of the attention has been on the Metrobuses, but officials also raised concerns about safety measures for the DASH drivers who operate the free shuttle service in 27 communities, including downtown Los Angeles. DASH buses feed the county’s Metro transit system.

Los Angeles police patrolled in DASH buses until 2021, when the contract with the agency expired. Officials said there were plans to replace them with safety ambassadors, but those were never implemented.

Adriana Avila, chairwoman of Teamsters 572, told the city’s transportation committee that drivers have complained about missed safety training and bus radios not working in several areas of the city.

Some radios, she said during the January 5 meeting, did not work at all.

Officials pointed out that the plexiglass screen around drivers was installed as a precaution against the COVID-19 virus and not to stop unruly passengers.

“When you’re out there, you’re on your own,” Garcia said.

LADOT, which oversees DASH buses, is currently working to resolve the radio issues, a spokesman said.

“Ensuring the safety of drivers and passengers on our buses is LADOT’s highest priority,” agency spokesman Colin Sweeney said in an email. “In some cases, drivers have reported connectivity issues in certain areas of the city, such as hills and ravines, and LADOT is currently evaluating technical solutions to maintain communication with the vehicles at all times while driving.”

Sweeney also added that buses undergo a ride inspection before each shift to ensure drivers can contact dispatch and panic buttons are working.

But that’s not enough, said Council Member Traci Park, vice chair of the city’s Transportation Committee, during the June 5 meeting.

“We’ve pulled our law enforcement partners out of public transit and (in the case of the Department of Transportation) never got around to replacing them with ambassadors or anything other than plexiglass and panic buttons to nowhere,” Park said. “I feel like our drivers and our riders are left to their own devices, unprotected. Radios and panic buttons and plexiglass here and there are not enough.”

City officials said they plan to conduct de-escalation training for drivers and examine safety measures that can be put in place to protect drivers. The Los Angeles Police Department, LADOT and union representatives are expected to participate in the talks.

Garcia said union officials and drivers are encouraged that LADOT and the City Council are now paying more attention to driver safety and violent incidents on board, but she noted that many of the concerns raised were raised by drivers months ago.

“We’ve been telling you this all along,” she said. “You finally feel there’s urgency to address the issue, and we welcome that.”