When you see someone in trouble, you’re supposed to call the police – unless, of course, you work for the MTA.
Last Friday afternoon, somewhere around 4:30, two people on the Q 111 bus in Jamaica, Queens were shot. One man died from a bullet wound to the head and another man who was shot in the mouth is expected to survive following surgery.
It seems reasonable to say that people on the bus were in a state of shock, bullets flying around, blood everywhere. But, we suspect, what would be more shocking—in fact outrageous– is the policy of the MTA if someone just happens to open fire while you’re riding one of their buses.
Their policy prevents drivers from calling 911, instructing them to use their radios to call command centers instead. Then someone there will decide if the situation is an emergency and then make whatever calls are needed.
Can you just hear that phone call: Dispatcher: “Hello MTA Command Center, how can I help you?” Bus Driver: “There is someone with a gun on the bus. He’s shot two people already.”
Dispatcher: “OK. Let me check the manual.”
Yes, we know that conversation sounds ridiculous but not as ridiculous as the notion that first contact in an emergency situation would not be to emergency services. We didn’t know the MTA had their own SWAT team ready for dispatch to the nearest bus in trouble. Oh wait…you mean they don’t have their own elite team?
Of course, by the time all this gets done the emergency will almost certainly have progressed into a more nightmarish situation, so whatever response is decided upon will not be appropriate anymore.
Consider how long it takes the MTA to restore service after a routine signal problem. Is that really the response time you want to see when someone on your bus is brandishing a loaded gun? It’s only logical that the emergency response teams are allowed to respond to emergencies. That’s why they exist. There is no logical reason in favor of slowing them down. It’s common knowledge that, in an emergency, every second counts. Any tiny little delay could be the difference between a life saved and a life lost.
Everyone has the right to a reasonably safe commute, but how can we feel safe knowing that if we are stricken ill, or attacked, or in an accident, that the drivers can’t call for help? Additionally, what if the driver is the one having the emergency? It doesn’t make any kind of sense to call a bus command center if you’re having a heart attack or are being assaulted.
A spokeswoman from the MTA said drivers aren’t supposed to call 911 directly because they can’t have cell phones while on duty, due to safety concerns. The obvious implication being that the drivers cannot be trusted not to chat and text while driving. Really? Are these drivers so irresponsible that they cannot carry an emergencies-only phone? Many third graders manage the task just fine. Now if only we could get them to drive the buses.
The ‘premium’ on this nonsensical policy will undoubtedly be paid for in more lives. It’s time someone stepped up to end this idiocy and protect us while we’re getting to and from work, home or wherever the MTA takes us. This agency is always on the brink of financial disaster; perhaps they should shift their concern to their public safety policy, which has obviously passed the brink of disaster.
