rickycourtney
Conductor
Honestly, while drivers should be allowed to remove passengers when necessary, they shouldn't be tasked with that duty on a regular basis.
Permit me to tell a non-Greyhound story to explain my reasoning.
Here in Seattle, drivers on King County Metro buses are supposed to firmly request that all passengers pay a fare as they board. If they don't they're not supposed to do anything else except radio it into their supervisor, who may request that the transit police meet the bus and remove and cite the passenger. In practice, most drivers won't say anything to passengers who won't pay and won't radio in the violation, because drivers have been assaulted (punched, stabbed or shot) by passengers who they requested pay the fare.
On the other hand, we also have a few routes that operate as "proof-of-payment" where contracted fare enforcement officers board and ask to see passengers valid passes or transfers. These officers always travel in teams and wear protective vests. To my knowledge, none has been seriously assaulted by a passenger.
Back to Greyhound... if drivers are having to regularly confront passengers it creates an us versus them situation on the bus. It's much cleaner and less emotional if a security officer is the one who demands a passenger gets off the bus. But to make that work Greyhound would either need to spend more money to hire a nationwide contractor to staff and train guards or create its own security department that employs and trains guards.
Permit me to tell a non-Greyhound story to explain my reasoning.
Here in Seattle, drivers on King County Metro buses are supposed to firmly request that all passengers pay a fare as they board. If they don't they're not supposed to do anything else except radio it into their supervisor, who may request that the transit police meet the bus and remove and cite the passenger. In practice, most drivers won't say anything to passengers who won't pay and won't radio in the violation, because drivers have been assaulted (punched, stabbed or shot) by passengers who they requested pay the fare.
On the other hand, we also have a few routes that operate as "proof-of-payment" where contracted fare enforcement officers board and ask to see passengers valid passes or transfers. These officers always travel in teams and wear protective vests. To my knowledge, none has been seriously assaulted by a passenger.
Back to Greyhound... if drivers are having to regularly confront passengers it creates an us versus them situation on the bus. It's much cleaner and less emotional if a security officer is the one who demands a passenger gets off the bus. But to make that work Greyhound would either need to spend more money to hire a nationwide contractor to staff and train guards or create its own security department that employs and trains guards.
