she's
actual
size

I don't want to talk about that again. Not yet, anyway.

A few weeks ago, we had a guy come into work to fill out an application to be a driver. The Ops Manager did a brief interview, and asked the guy if he had any questions. Oh boy, did he.

Mostly, he asked questions about the MRDD passengers that we carry. His questions became more and more pointed in the direction of Aren't these people dangerous? He finally asked why we didn't have cages on the buses.

Cages!

The Ops Manager, to her credit, kept a straight face and explained that most of our passengers worked in the community at grocery stores and restaurants and retail stores. They didn't need to be in cages.

Well, it turns out one of our passengers does need a cage.

Yesterday, I got a call from a driver on the radio. In the background, I could hear frantic screaming and yelling. The driver said, "'Ann' is freaking out. You can probably hear her screaming. What do you -"

And with a brief burst of static, her radio cut out.

I tried to raise her repeatedly, but got no response. We didn't even know where she was to send the cops. After examining her schedule and figuring out where she should be, we get ready to call the police. Then the driver finally calls us back. In tears.

The passenger, after pitching a fit because she had to sit next to someone she didn't like, attacked the driver. Apparently the passenger knew that the driver was "telling on her," and wanted her to stop. The driver had her hair pulled, and she was punched in her arm, her shoulder, her head.

"Fortunately," said the driver, "she hits like a girl."

The driver's ok. She was mostly just shook up. The passenger is off the bus, suspended indefinitely.

It's one of those things that will seem funny in a few years, but isn't now.

Say nice things to your driver when you get on the bus tomorrow, ok?