From TriMet, “Due to mechanical problems with one WES train, several trips this morning are being served by shuttle bus. The 7:49 a.m. trip north from Wilsonville and the 6:56 a.m. and 8:26 a.m. trips south from BTC will be served by bus. Buses will stop at all WES stations. Riders should plan to add 10 to 20 minutes to their commute.”
We have crap trains (it seems to be turning out) and Boston has crap drivers txting away. It appears there needs to be some serious enforcement over phone usage while driving. I still see it done by TriMet bus drivers here in Portland. I haven't however seen a MAX operator doing it fortunately. We already have the dozens dead on the commuter rail incident last year in California and we still have idiots running around as if it wouldn't happen to them. I hope these occurrences don't increase.
Seriously though, I hate that transit agencies are made to have their own police to fight crime, it isn’t their job. But hiring the appropriate personnel that will do their job and not be complete idiots as this driver was IS the agencies and authorities jobs!
Transit Sleuth 
I had a discussion with a co-worker about the texting incident on the MBTA subway and while I generally agree with transit operators not using cell phones, I offer one exception:
My line 12 Operator highlighted an incident a few weeks ago with the motorcycle fatality that occurred on Barbur Blvd. a few weeks ago. When she tried to request to talk to the dispatcher by radio, she was basically told to "shut up". As a result, multiple buses were backed up – she was the first bus to get stopped and was held up for 50 minutes.
Another incident is during a snow event a few years ago, my bus (a line 94) got spun out at Bull Mountain and couldn’t get through to a dispatcher by radio. The cell phone came out and he was finally able to get a dispatcher.
If bus Operators can’t depend on their Dispatchers and Operations Managers/Supervisors, the cell phone is going to be a fact of life. Clearly this is a management issue and hopefully (albeit I doubt so) TriMet is taking steps to ensure that if a Bus Operator needs a Dispatcher, that a Dispatcher is ready, willing, and able to take the call and make the appropriate operating decision to ensure continued, reliable service with minimal delay – whether it be dispatching Supervisors, replacement buses, etc.
Ok, what I’m talking is solely during operations. Using a cell phone when an issue arises is perfectly fine in my book. But I think we can all agree that bus, train, airplane, or any type of driver, even on a bike or in a car, needs to pay attention to where they are going.
Lives depend on it. 🙂
I agree.
There are some folks (I want to say NJ Transit) that wants to ban even the mere possession of a cell phone by a Transit Operator and that opens up a can of worms when that’s the only form of communication…I think we can all look back at the short effort to turn off the CDMA cellular network in the NYC subway system; but was turned back on after public outcries that it was essentially the only communication system down there.
But…outside of an emergency or extraordinary situation – there is no need to "text and drive". You’re on the clock, not on break.
I’m not for banning of cell phones, as you point out, there are obvious reasons and they can do the opposite of harm and instead save lives. But its simple, don’t use the damn things during operations.
…and yeah, a bus driver or rail operator, or anyone driving a vehicle directly responsible for people’s lives should be immediately fired if they’re using a cell during the performance of their job.
Some idiot texts while operating an LRV-FIRE THE IDIOT.
Taking away cell phones from bus drivers?
UNCONSTITUTIONAL!
Ban cell phone use while operating a vehicle, FOR EVERYONE!