Scozzola: Santa Clara VTA frontline workers need better safety standards

I walked the picket lines a few months ago speaking to VTA drivers on strike.  These proud members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 had overwhelmingly voted in favor of going on strike, but the impression I got was they were not eager to do so.

They felt compelled to strike after many of their concerns had not been adequately addressed during contract negotiations. There were the standard requests — higher wages to compensate for recent astronomical rises in the cost of living,  maintaining their health benefits and arbitration. But at the forefront of their minds were higher safety standards. I began to learn why. The more drivers I spoke to, the more I began to see how they often felt like their job placed them in an active combat zone.

Public transit drivers are some of the unsung heroes of our cities. Here in the South Bay many of them rise before dawn to commute to work. For some it’a a two-hour journey each way. Then for hours more they steer through congested streets, shepherding thousands to work, school and home. These thousands of commuters are one of the key factors that keep drivers coming back to their job, because their regulars begin to feel like friends and family to them. But every family has that one unstable uncle and that’s where the concern for safety lies.

Transit drivers are all too often subjected to verbal abuse, harassment, and even violent assaults to where many are forced to keep checking their mirror every few seconds. It’s not paranoia, but rather a means of survival after suffering from a previous traumatic event.

According to the Amalgamated Transit Union, nationwide assaults on drivers have surged in recent years. The drivers I spoke with shared stories of having been physically or sexually assaulted, spat on, doused with hot coffee and in some horrifying cases, had a gun or knife pressed against their bodies, essentially hijacked with demands of being taken somewhere off the standard route.

Sadly, many drivers now go to work with the quiet knowledge they could become the next headline. They wear uniforms, but unlike police or security personnel, they are not armed or trained to defuse violence or on how to respond to a mental health crisis. Regardless of their lack of training, they do their best to deal with any emergency situation that occurs while working their shift.

As an organization, VTA strives to create a safe work environment for its employees and passengers. However, the daily risks faced by our public transit drivers and passengers make it clear that current efforts, although commendable, are not enough.

In one recent incident in San Jose, a man engaged in lewd acts, exposed himself mere inches from a rider, then assaulted the driver before fleeing the scene. Thankfully, due to a VTA policy requiring onboard surveillance cameras, citizen tips ultimately led to the arrest of the assailant. But there is more that can be done such as making plexiglass barriers to protect drivers from aggressive passengers mandatory on every bus. This alone would dramatically decrease assaults on drivers, while also giving them greater peace of mind as they transport us throughout Santa Clara County.

When we talk about making cities more livable and equitable, reliable public transit is always a part of the conversation. But the system cannot function if its frontline workers are under siege. We ask them to drive our children to school, our elderly parents to appointments and our essential workers to their jobs. The least we can do is ensure they return home safely every night.

Elliot Scozzola is a Campbell City Councilmember and vice chair of  VTA Policy Advisory Committee. This op-ed is solely his own opinion.