If you ride Metro – occasionally or often – but haven’t yet answered its safety survey, today’s your last chance. The survey is part of what Metro calls its SaFE Reform Initiative – safety, security, and fare-enforcement reform. The survey is available here in 13 languages. You don’t have to answer all the questions – you’re allowed to skip any you don’t want to answer. Once Metro comes up with recommended reforms, pilot programs will launch next year.
Family member drove for Metro from ’74 to 2010. Fare enforcement and driver safety were NOT big priorities then. Metro’s goal was to “look wonderful” and ALWAY’S downplayed problems. Hopefully things are not as bad today. Love to hear today’s drivers riders chime in.
Took the survey. Very “feelings” and “imagination” heavy. I wonder how much they paid a consultant to put that one together. Wish I could have those 10 minutes back.
Metro is horrifically unsafe. They need a survey for that???
No. not “horrifically unsafe”. I rode the bus (56E, C-Line Express, etc.) for many years from WS to downtown as a daily commute for many years. That said, 3rd/Pine stop(s) were often a cross between Twilight Zone and Star Wars bar scene, especially after 8P. Although I never felt personally threatened, there were frequently enough “vibrant” riders to keep me from being able to relax after a hard days work. You know things are rough when a late evening driver change at 3rd /Pine (in front of Macy’s) causes new driver to say to old driver: “Damn, this bus has security cameras. That means I can’t kill someone.” (True story.)
Horrifically unsafe?! Do you really really want to compare deaths from transit vs. road deaths from private automobile drivers? Seriously?!
Have you ever seen a report on how many fatalities occur on and around transit vehicles? Off the top of my head I can think of Seattle incidents of people who have died running across a street to catch a bus and incidents where buses ran over and killed people, but I’ve never seen a table of fatalities and injuries per year or passenger mile or whatever metric from KC Metro.
On a national data level, this report lays it out (newest data 2019)
https://www.bts.gov/content/transportation-fatalities-mode
If people run across the street to catch a bus and get hit by a car, is it the bus’s or bus driver’s fault? Seems like that’s a reach to try to prove that buses are more unsafe than cars.
I don’t think people are speaking of safety in terms of vehicle accidents vs bus accidents. I believe they are referring instead to their safety amongst the other passengers on the bus. As a female bus rider myself, I generally do not feel safe and have had too many incidents occur to back me up. One of which was being threatened to be kidnapped and taken from my child by a self professed schizophrenic who declared he was on his way to buy drugs. This was on a packed bus during rush hour, mind you. No one stepped in to help me….mind you, I don’t really blame them, as no one wants to be the target of an unhinged person.
My in law was told by his supervisor one time is the Metro DELIBERATELY downplay problems because “it might scare riders and they wouldn’t want to ride the bus.” What you’ve seen or read in the news is only a TINY fraction of what actually goes on at bus stops or in the bus.
Hilarious. I ride the bus all the time and I can’t count the times the bus driver just drove right by the stop and refused to pick up customers. Especially up at Harborview they just drive by, won’t open the door, and leave people standing there.It didn’t hurt my feelings, but sure as hell pi$$ed me off.
Imagination exercise: I’d like a bus ride where I’m not sexually harassed for female anatomy. I’d like a bus route to Boeing Field that actually operates early enough to attend 7am meetings without having to ride over an hour and transfer downtown to get 5 miles away.
Here’s an imagination exercise: Imagine giant busses not running red lights. How would that make you feel?
Completed it and was brutally honest. I work for the county and it is notorious for skewed surveys with nebulous questions, so I too was annoyed by the feel-good, philosophical questions vs. ones that would really let Metro know what people thought and believed about their transportation experience. I do however believe Terry White is trying to make changes (he’s not new to the game and has “been there. done that.”) But, it’s a bureaucracy and a painful one at that, so change will be slow. One thing is for sure, Metro buses and stops are much less safe now than they have ever been.
Sorry, comment time is over.
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