That's telling 'em!!!

[Buzz]

An I.S. 24 parent sent this to the school, which forwarded it to Owen:


My daughter is in the 8 th grade she takes the bus home everyday. I've never had a problem and never complained about anything. I don't understand how a bus diver has the authority to decide where to drop off the students because of the weather. My husband and parents were waiting at the chapin ave stop. The students never arrived, he dropped them off on Richmond road. His excuse was the road is icy, if I can drive and other parents can go up a small hill, a bus can also.   Children were walking up several blocks and some called their parents to tell them where they were.

    The morning bus driver has also told the students if it snows he will not pick them up on chapin to meet him on Richmond rd.  a bus diver is to keep our children safe not decide where to pick them up where to drop them because of weather. It has been done at the base also.

             I am hoping you can solve this problem



Owen's response, which is posted in the drivers room:

Dear Mr. Gilberto,

I read the complaint that you received from Mrs. XXXXXX  regarding her concerns about the bus not going up the hill when there was ice and snow on the street yesterday, which was the same day that Mayor de Blasio urged people to stay off the roads because of dangerous conditions.

The driver of that particular route is one of our most senior drivers (started in 1987) and has an excellent safety record. In order to be a NYC school bus driver he holds a Commercial Drivers License and has undergone extensive testing and training that far exceeds the requirements for driving a passenger car. He takes two refresher courses every year administered by the NYS Education Department. He is tested by the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles annually for Defensive Driving, biennially for Behind the Wheel Road Test, takes a biennial Written Exam, annual Motor Vehicle Abstract Review, and biennial Physical Performance Exam in addition to an annual medical exam. He is subject to rules and regulations of the US Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration,  NYS Department of Transportation, and the Office of Pupil Transportation. He has been fingerprinted and undergone a background investigation and is randomly tested for drug and alcohol usage.

I am a Certified NY State Department of Motor Vehicles 19A Examiner, am licensed as a School Bus Driver Instructor by the NYS Education Department, am a Certified School Bus Accident Investigator and was formerly a school bus driver in Staten Island. With that said, I would never order a driver to proceed upon a roadway that in his professional opinion may be unsafe. The fact that some people choose to operate their passenger cars on that hill does not mean that he should operate a school bus on the hill. This driver is a professional driver whose job depends on him making safe decisions and maintaining a clean license. He transports "precious cargo" and the safety of the children on his bus is his number one priority.

The junior high school children on that route were previously told by the driver to let their parents know that the bus will not be going up the hill during unsafe conditions and that they and their parents need to plan accordingly.

This is not an isolated instance of a bus not going up a hill. During my years as a driver I personally had similar situations. There are many steep hills in Staten Island where similar circumstances occur.

Let me close by saying that the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles Article 19A is the strictest school bus regulations in the country, I am proud to tell you that we (NY State) have one of the best safety records in the country. Obviously, driving in NYC is more challenging than in rural upstate New York, so I think we should all be pleased with the safety record of our Staten Island bus drivers. As a matter of fact, Georgia recently decided to adopt our 19A regulations in an effort to increase safety in their state.

I hope this explanation will be helpful as you try to explain to the parent that the driver made this decision to keep her child safe, not the opposite. If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Owen Reiter
General Manager
Pioneer Transportation

***********************************************************************************

I am told that Ernie and Owen collaborated in regard to this defense of the driver's decision over "bagels and coffee."

I think it's fucking brilliant.

[John Eadicicco]

Excellent Reply!!!!

[PROUD MEMBER]

Thank You Owen. Your stance in backing this driver is appreciated!

[worker341]

Let me first say Thank you Owen for backing up a driver it was a well written letter. Now repeat all you wrote about what a driver has to do to make Neil rich. And let him stop the bullshit and pay us all fair wages and stop taking more and more away from us.

[PROUD MEMBER]

worker341
I agree with you 100% but unfortunately Neil could give two shits about Owen's opinion with regards to our wages. I'd have to assume that if Neil could find someone as capable & competent as Owen for less money that Owen is making that Owen would be out of a job!!!

[mirrorcheck]

Agree , if he could get someone cheaper he'd do it and get a new GM. However the whipping post is the drivers, it's his biggest target. He certainly didn't take the hit that we did over the last few years.

[hognol]

Agree , if he could get someone cheaper he'd do it and get a new GM. However the whipping post is the drivers, it's his biggest target. He certainly didn't take the hit that we did over the last few years.

I'm not so sure about that.  I'm sure Owen makes a decent wage and Neil probably could find someone to do his job at a cheaper salary.

[PROUD MEMBER]

I agree I'm sure Owen makes a decent wage but with what his responsibilities entail and considering this is a multi, multi million dollar industry and knowing Neil I personally would have to assume he is under paid. Which means it would be hard to find someone for less money.