Metro is engaged in an arms race of sorts with its bus drivers over cell phones. The transit agency cracked down on bus drivers chatting on cell phones in 2009, creating a zero tolerance policy that resulted in firing drivers after a first offense.
Initially drivers were caught by riders who took pictures of the operators chatting or texting while driving.
But drivers quickly got the message and put away their phones — when riders were nearby. “They know better than that,” Metro Assistant General Manager of Bus Service Jack Requa said.
The drivers then started using cell phones while driving empty buses, he said.
Yet, now, the new cameras installed on every bus are catching them in the act.
From March through last Friday, 20 bus drivers had been fired after being filmed talking on their phones, according to the agency.
The cameras catch drivers only when the bus is jostled, activating the camera to record what happened just before the sudden movement.
“You have a phone in hand and you brake hard,” Requa said. “Bingo, we catch you.” – Kytja Weir
