October
21,
2003
CONTACT:
Ed Scannell/Marc Littman
MTA MEDIA RELATIONS
(213) 922-2703/922-2700 www.metro.net/press/pressroom
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MTA-Led Panel Makes
Recommendations in
Wake of September Bus Stop Wounding of
Three Taft High School Students
(Los Angeles) - A
multi-agency task force formed by MTA to review bus-operating procedures
following a Sept. 9 shooting of three students at a bus stop near Taft High
School in Woodland Hills has recommended a broad series of steps to improve the
safety of LAUSD students. Task force members including MTA, the Los Angeles
Unified School District, the district's police department and the Los Angeles
County Sheriff's Department will carry out the 12-step action plan.
"I want to commend the MTA
and the other participating agencies for addressing this very serious issue with
the urgency it deserves," said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Chairman of the MTA
Board, who requested that MTA convene the independent panel. "These
recommendations should go a long way toward helping to ensure that we can avoid
any repeat of this tragic incident in the future."
The Sept. 9 shooting,
believed to be gang-related, occurred a few minutes after the operator of a
Metro Rapid Line 720 bus chose not to pick up students at a bus stop at Ventura
Boulevard and Winnetka Avenue because he believed some of the students waiting
at the stop were unruly and posed a safety risk. Three Taft High School students
were wounded in the shooting, one of them critically. Three suspects were
arrested and remain in custody.
"The actions the task force
members have chosen to pursue go well beyond the panel's initial focus,"
said John Catoe, MTA deputy chief executive officer. "While not every incident
can be anticipated or prevented, this tragedy has spawned changes that will
create a safer climate at bus stops located near LAUSD schools served by the
Metro Bus system."
The plan includes several key
actions:
MTA will modify its
current policy that requires bus operators to notify MTA's Bus Operations
Control Center (BOCC) of a pass-up only if it involves a wheelchair
bound or otherwise disabled customer. The new policy will require immediate
notification upon passing up a bus stop, regardless of the situation.
Depending on the nature
of the pass-up, MTA will contact its law enforcement provider, the Los
Angeles County Sheriff's Department. If the pass-up involves students
under the age of 18 or unruly students, MTA's law enforcement will contact
the LAUSD police department for follow up and/or intervention.
MTA will create a bus
safety-training program for schools similar to its rail safety-training
program and will initially test it in schools in the San Fernando Valley.
The program will be expanded later throughout MTA's service area. In
addition, MTA and LAUSD will determine if LAUSD training programs related to
situations involving adolescent behavior might be incorporated into MTA
training programs.
Whenever an MTA bus
operator has requested an unruly passenger under the age of 18 to vacate a
bus, the operator must request a supervisor or police officer to respond.
The LAUSD'S police department will be notified when a student is put off
the bus during school pick-up or drop-off hours.
MTA's Chief of Police,
Captain Dan Finkelstein, and LAUSD Police Department Commander Steven
LaRoche will develop procedures for contact and coordination between the two
agencies.
Other steps identified by the
task force include:
Notification to MTA of
new school openings and coordinate location of bus stops and changes to
service new schools
Notification to MTA of
school schedule changes
Inspections of bus stops
at or near schools to determine whether the stops should be relocated to
provide maximum space
Familiarize LAUSD
personnel with MTA's Bus Operations Control Center, incident reporting
system and new technology
MTA Deputy CEO John Catoe
will report to the Board in 120 days and in 6 months on the progress of the task
force in implementing the 12 recommendations.
MTA-161