MTA Board Members Say Bus Operators Treated Unfairly Under Vision Zero

Bus operators are being treated unfairly under a controversial Vision Zero law - and the MTA shouldn’t sit quietly on the sidelines, two Metropolitan Transportation Authority board members said Monday morning. “I think the inequitable treatment of the bus drivers is something that does need to be addressed,” board member Jonathan Ballan said at the monthly NYC Transit committee meeting in Manhattan.

Board member Allen Cappelli said: “I do think bus drivers have been treated inequitably in this situation and, as their employer, we do need to in fact weigh in on these issues as we put these men and women out on the streets everyday.”

Six MTA bus operators and dozens of other motorists have been arrested under the “Right of Way” law that Mayor de Blasio signed last year. It directs police to arrest drivers if a pedestrian is hit in a crosswalk - even without evidence of recklessness like speeding. Transport Workers Union Local 100 has argued that drivers are set up for failure because buses have “blind spots” created by the placement of drivers’ side mirrors obstructing views of the street from behind the steering wheel. The city Department of Transportation’s signal system directs pedestrians into crosswalks at the same time buses are making left turns.

Local 100 has demanded that the MTA fix the “blind spots” with different bus designs and the city install left-turn only signals at dangerous intersections. “I think the alternate solutions that have been set forth by the union are something that we need to discuss at the board level,” Ballan said. Councilman Daneek Miller, a former bus driver, has introduced legislation that would prevent the arrest of non-reckless drivers after pedestrian accidents. Cappelli called the proposal “meritorious.” A similar bill is pending in the state Legislature.

“I’d like to know where the MTA stands as an institution on this issue and look forward to a discussion on it,” Cappelli said. Committee Chairman Fernando Ferrer, the former Bronx borough president, indicated the issue might in fact be discussed at a full meeting of the board when MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast is present. The next meeting is Wednesday.