Tired at the wheel: Concerned riders take on TriMet overtime issue
PORTLAND, Ore. – A group of bus riders, worried about driver fatigue, plans to ask TriMet officials to change how shifts are scheduled.
Oregonians for Safe Transit will present petition at the TriMet board meeting Wednesday asking Gov. John Kitzhaber to intervene if TriMet and the drivers’ union can’t agree to new work hours policy.
The Oregonian was first to raise concerns about drivers working overtime without rest.
Federal law requires MAX train operators to take at least a seven hour break between shifts, but that doesn’t apply to bus drivers.
TriMet’s current contract allows drivers to pick up extra shifts for colleagues who call in sick. That means they can rack up the overtime if they push themselves to keep driving.
The rules for drivers say they can’t work more than 17 hours in one day, but because there’s no required time between shifts, drivers can work a two 17-hour days back-to-back.
“It doesn’t make much sense when an operator can work say 20 hours with a little time off in a 24-hour period,” said TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetch.
Fetch said fighting driver fatigue will be a top priority in negotiating a new contract with the union.
TriMet wanted to change the hours policy in the previous contract, but the issue took a back seat to the more contentious battle over health care costs.
In the meantime, TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane is calling on drivers to decline extra shifts if fatigue is setting in. He also wants staff to report tired drivers to management, and he’s requiring an overtime audit.
The drivers’ union did not return calls from KATU Tuesday night, but has told TriMet it is willing to discuss scheduling concerns.
“We have a safe system. I will tell you that,” said Fetch. “We have operators that are professionals. This is a small group of operators that take advantage of this ability to work long overtime. Now they choose to work this long overtime.”
I've seen many bus drivers come very close to hitting other motorists, and most of the time its the motorist that reacts and gets out of the way first.
@axpman Oh that's normal for TriMet bus drivers, has nothing to do with being tired. I think the attitude is - I have a big bus, get out of the way.
 @JTesla  @axpman "My vehicle is bigger than yours, so you have to move so I can clog the road."Â
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A few years ago, there was an "ordinance" passed that people need to yield to buses. Problem is, when there is a turn-out lane for the buses to turn into to load/unload passengers, they don't follow through with turning into the lanes properly, and they cause more problems.Â
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I hate Tri-Met.
 @Robert GÂ
I'm well aware that's why the drivers don't use them but it's damn inconsiderate (should be a ticketing offense) and it causes accidents as people try to get around with too little space. That is why there are lighted yield signs on the back of the bus - BUSES are supposed to merge into traffic and CARS are supposed to yield or get a ticket.
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No one is going to patiently sit behind a bus that didn't pull close to the curb and then wait forever while the driver runs the handicapped lift when they could have pulled off and let traffic go by. It's an entitlement attitude and everyone knows it.
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You think for a few seconds.
They dont use turnouts (and rarely make new ones) because it slows down busses *and* it forces the bus to have to try and merge back into the flow of moving traffic or just sit there. This is why its better for them not to use it.
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Think for a few seconds.
Didn't we just see the sad results of what can happen when a bus driver hasn't had enough rest? I believe the article is still in the headlines and TriMet is doing the same thing. Shame on you TriMet.
When I moved to the burbs without a car it only took a month of riding Tri-Met before I bought a big comfortable,fast,American car.The screaming kids,people's loud earphones,weird odors,loud conversations on their cell phones,too many layovers,no decent early morning/ late night schedule was too much.I don't need to worry about getting killed or injured on top of all of that.Besides with heated seats,killer sound system,I don't mind shelling out the extra $$ to transport my rear end around town.
I might add..Feeling unsafe enough waiting at stops late night with a pocketful of cash tips to get my CHL.Especially after that rash of attacks by unhinged ghetto people on the busses and trains.
SO tri-Met and Banks can break the Law and there are no Consequences?
So Be it, Untill Banks and Public transportation is held accountable for there actions, then stop paying the banks there monies.. I wonder what would happen if people in mass quantities chose to stop paying there mortgages and car loans.. And IÂ no Not talking a mere few hundred I am talking about hundreds and thousands of the people in every city and every state to cease paying there debts...I wonder what would happen?
To bad the Yankee don't have the guts to do this. I really would at least an opinion on what would happen.
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@lee986321 We already tried that. It's what happened after around 2008, tons of people stopped paying their mortgages, you can see for yourself what happened... and if you can't, let me give you a hint: the whole economic crash that we still haven't recovered from. As for your other point, how can Tri-Met break the law? Well it's simple, when the law is written to your benefit then you are not breaking it.
 @JTesla  @lee986321 With regards to the the financial crash, then what you are saying is that those of us that are converting to Our OWN Power Production would harm the economy? I don't think If we were to go onto our own grid we would devastate the economy. Are you also stating that if we cease in purchasing Loans and And mortgages we would fail as an economy? I am purposing that we break the law, Just Get more independent and be responsible for our selves.
Contrary to the Norm of I want , I get, No matter what it costs.
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 @JTesla
It's really pathetic and scary how many people don't understand basic right and wrong and have to have it explained to them. And apparently he/she is raising a child. Glad you explained it to him/her.
@lee986321 What you are proposing there makes sense, don't take out loans, make your own power, that's great. However, your original question included "chose to stop paying there mortgages and car loans". If you take on the obligation, then you should pay it, and when mass quantities of people stop paying what they promised to pay, then there is a problem. So, if you are just not taking out new debt and converting, more power to you... literally.
Oh and while were at it What would happen if every one stopped paying there power bills?
Seriously What would happen if EVERYONE stopped? Including Businesses?
What I am saying is we g Allow power to be given, but we actually do not allow our selves to have the Power.
Trimet isn't concerned about our safety...look at how often they clean the buses. My hands touch the nasty rails that sometimes have boogers on them or gum, and my pants smell like crap from the seats that have not been replaced recently. I am also allergic to mold and a few times I felt very bad while on the buses due to mold.Â
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There should be no policy that allows for the drivers to work this much. It also costs trimet extra money because now they have to pay overtime. This isn't fair to the riders who have to fork up the extra cash while being taxed greater by our government that doesn't work!
 @portlandborn83Â
They should stop the overtime excess immediately. But they'll have to replace those drivers with something and something costs money. It's expensive to add people to the pool of drivers because each employee comes with costs besides just the hourly rate they're paid for work. When someone calls in sick they have to have an excess capacity in the system to make up the loss and often on short notice. That means overtime, having people paid to be on standby, or paying a premium to get people to come in on short notice. The solution probably won't cost any less, but hopefully it will be safer if they eliminate the overtime hogs (most are senior drivers earning the highest base wages) that are gaming the system right now.
Oh, I've got an idea.. they can replace them with people that aren't further up the pay ladder, because I'd be willing to bet that on top of the O/T, we're most likely paying a premium on the wage. Instead of bus drivers that make double or triple what teachers make, how about hiring enough to avoid those unnecessary expenses? I know, makes too much sense for this town.
@JGalt Shortsighted thought. TriMet doesn't hire new riders because its CHEAPER to pay OT over hire more drivers. The drivers have a very expensive benefit package.
I purpose that TRI-MET, hires more drivers, to allow the drivers proper rest, forget the union side form a moment, no matter Private UNION , Driver fatigues is a deadly path to destruction and lawsuits, We need not forget as to what occurred with the bus driver that killed all those people and now the company is being sued. TRI-MET is about fork out hundreds if not of thousands of Dollars in a Lawsuit if Driver fatigue is proven to be the cause of an accident and God have Mercy on you TRI-MET if you hurt of kill a KID Because the public won't forgive you on this one. Passengers are taking note, then TRRI-MET it is only a matter of time before your Luck ends. Correct this issue before this happens. And IF an accident does happen from Fatigue, Don't say I didn't warn you.
Fire all of the drivers. Hire them back without their union, or other drivers that don't require a union as a crutch, and the passengers will be safe.
 @last boyscoutÂ
Yes and no. The adage "you get what you pay for" has plenty of validity. Unions certainly are responsible for excesses but I don't want to ride on a bus or train with someone willing to work for the cheapest possible wage either.
This is a major scandal. Tri-Met's general manager and board of directors should all resign. It's bad enough they're running a once-decent bus system into the ground, but they're also jeopardizing the lives of passengers, pedestrians, and motorists. They're political hacks, and they need to go.
@bojack No. Tri-met tried to change it, but ran head first into the union. It is not a scandal.
Visit this blog for what's really happening at Tri-Met
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http://rantingsofatrimetbusdriver.blogspot.com/
 @Mipsfer Lets talk about safety at Trimet, or in reality lack of safety. Only months after my daughter was killed by a Trimet bus, Trimet cut Safety and Security budgets by over 79%. I was told the reason they did that is it was put on the other budget.Two budgets? Lets look at with in one year later we filmed 15 buses ran the same red light in One Hour and seven minutes. One driver was actually filmed reading a magazine while waiting to run that red light.
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The fatigue wouldn't be so much of a problem if the management would restrict hours of operation as well as the union NOT promoting overtime for THEIR divers.
No one; Union or Not, should EVER be "Over Timing Drivers"
@lee986321 @Mipsfer He was reading a magazine while waiting to run a red light? That would indicate to me that he was stopped at said red light waiting for it to turn green.
@lee986321 @Surveyor1 @Mipsfer A magazine or was he just holding a paddle (which is some paper)
 @Surveyor1  @lee986321  @Mipsfer Eh gads Give me a freaking break, reading while behind the wheel? that is bad a texting and driving, It is called Distracted Driving..Gese man Get a Clue, While Driving you attention should be on the damn Road not a magazine.
Dman Doesn't nay one have freaking brain. In this area..No wonder why there are still accidents.
Ask any Tri Met extra board driver. If you refuse to take extra hours Tri Met offers you, you get punished, i.e; less desirable routes and less hours. The safety of passengers should be Tri Met's priority. Oregon needs to remove the exempt status of Tri Met drivers and force them to comply with the federal rules. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, (FMCSA), Rule 395.5 Maximum driving time for passenger carrying vehicles states: Hours of service of drivers. § 395.5Maximum driving time for passenger-carrying vehicles. Subject to the exceptions and exemptions in §395.1:(a) No motor carrier shall permit or require any driver used by it to drive a passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle, nor shall any such driver drive a passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle:(1) More than 10 hours following 8 consecutive hours off duty; or(2) For any period after having been on duty 15 hours following 8 consecutive hours off duty.(b) No motor carrier shall permit or require a driver of a passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle to drive, nor shall any driver drive a passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle, regardless of the number of motor carriers using the driver's services, for any period afterâ(1) Having been on duty 60 hours in any 7 consecutive days if the employing motor carrier does not operate commercial motor vehicles every day of the week; or(2) Having been on duty 70 hours in any period of 8 consecutive days if the employing motor carrier operates commercial motor vehicles every day of the week.
If they are being punsihed then talk to the Union rep. One of the few people who have them.
 @Poisonpony YOU Just nailed it Dead on, This means that TriMet is breaking the Law. But because they are too big, there is no oversight into this because interruption to services means people not getting to work, Doctors, or even to School.. This is sad in deed on how Criminals can break the law and show no accountability.
The company I worked for was dead strict on OT. If went over we were fined and it came out of our checks.
@lee986321 @Poisonpony actually they aren't breaking any laws. Oregon laws exempt transit employees from those rules and that is why those exemptions need to be removed.
I may be wrong but Federal law only allows over-the-road truck drivers to drive for 10 hours before they are required to take an eight hour rest. How is TriMet getting around this? If your cargo is people, I feel the rules should be much stricter. Unfortunately it will take a fatality before TriMet changes their practices.
 @MadMax64 My drivers can drive 12 hours and then break for 8. Trimet is special. Of course I actually care about my drivers and customers, so I only allow them 8 hours driving and break them for 16..
But is that the Federal law? If so why is TriMet exempt or are they?
 @MadMax64 Because Tri-Met is not an intrastate operation, and their drivers are not required to hold class A CDLs (they only need a class B with passenger endorsement), they can operate governed only by OR laws regarding CDL drivers. OR, in turn, allows transit districts to be largely self-governing when it comes to 'personell matters' because they are all members of unions.Â
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We live in a D state, remember?
I don't understand the problem. Â Since obama has told the deadbeats that they are entitled to part of what every working man or woman earns, we should all be happy that these drivers are making a lot of extra cash in overtime. Safety isn't important as long as obama can fulfill his promises to his voters.
@boomer Everything is Obama's fault! http://www.mandatory.com/2013/01/04/everything-is-barack-obamas-fault-funny-meme-gallery/2
"The rules for drivers say they canât work more than 17 hours in one day, but because thereâs no required time between shifts, drivers can work a two 17-hour days back-to-back."
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So, basically, the driver's union and Tri-Met expect us to tolerate commercial bus drivers who have been operating for 34 hours straight, mostly overtime. Instead of hiring spare drivers.Â
"TriMet and the driversâ union canât agree".  Where does the danger, the trouble, the problem begin? Two  words, Driver's Union. Where is our "Taxpayers Union" that should be telling TriMet that they work for us, and not the other way around.Â
@last boyscout TriMet Management and the Union (ATU) have been in a fight constantly over the driving problem for this, healthcare. TriMet's Management demands lower benefits and the union is fighting it. As a result TriMet says it can't afford new drivers and chooses Overtime pay (as its cheaper then paying the benefits for a new employee).
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While the matter of hours being placed in the contract has been backburnered the underlying problem has not.
Truck drivers aren't allowed to drive that many hours in a 24 hour period. Bus drivers shouldn't either.
 @Sweatpea70 Neither are pilots or train operators.
WTF is going on, Tri-Met?Â
 @Sweatpea70 Nobody should be behind the wheel that long.