Letter: Bus drivers are not the fare police

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Regarding the letter, “Community Transit must make collecting fare a priority”: I would highly suggest that the writer familiarize himself more with public transit. Practically all of the funding making public transportation possible comes from the federal government, followed by money kicked in by cities or counties. The cost of a bus ticket does not remotely cover the true cost of that ride.

The driver of a bus is not the “fare police.” Any passenger boarding a bus might be carrying a gun, a knife or be high on drugs. It will benefit nobody if that driver gets into an altercation with said passenger who might pull out a gun and shoot the driver or passengers. It will benefit nobody if that passenger pulls out a knife and attacks the driver or passengers. If that were to happen because the passenger snapped, do you have any idea how much your tax dollars would pay toward medical costs and paid leave for the driver? How about if our litigious society decides that the driver needn’t have pushed the issue as much, to cause said passenger to “snap”? An altercation over $2 to $3 is not worth everyone on a bus being late to work, or not getting there at all.

Each transit entity has it’s “fare police.” If someone repeatedly abuses the system and rides for free, there are ways in which they are dealt with.

Rather count your blessings, be thankful that you have never found yourself in the position of wanting to, or needing to abuse the system and “stealing” the amount of the fare.

Lynn Donovan

Mill Creek