Twin Cities: Complaints rise about Metro Transit bus drivers [View all]

(Star-Tribune) Cut off in traffic by a bus and then flipped off by its driver, Roger Watts filed a complaint with Metro Transit. Mark Jackson did the same thing after he endured a harrowing bus ride with “a very aggressive driver.”

A sharp rise in complaints about bus drivers has accompanied the recent jump in transit ridership. Metro Transit logged more than 6,111 complaints against bus drivers in 2012, up 30 percent from 4,686 filed five years ago. Last year, there was one complaint for every 11,431 rides, compared to one in 15,283 in 2008.

Metro Transit and bus driver’s union leaders explain the surge in gripes as a sign that it’s easier than ever to file a complaint, rather than indicating any problem with drivers. While the majority of complaints still come in by phone, agency officials say the complaints arrive by e-mail, text message, Twitter and Facebook, and through a portal on its website. In 2010, Metro Transit also installed a new system to better track complaints.

“Many of our riders are well connected,” said Brian Funk, Metro Transit’s assistant director of field operations. “They use mobile devices. That lends to instant connection. If they want to comment, good or bad, you have the ability to provide instant feedback.” ......................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.startribune.com/local/233173721.html