TACOMA, Wash. - Joseph Thomas, 20, routinely rides the bus to the restaurant at Point Defiance where he works. But today, the frustrated Tacoma resident showed us a "notice of exclusion" - specifically, excluding him from riding the bus for 3 months.
"I didn't do anything wrong," said Thomas. "And I didn't know I was doing anything wrong. How should I be kicked off the bus for 90 days?"
On Nov. 3, two Tacoma Police officers approached him at his workplace, said Thomas. Tacoma police said two off-duty Pierce County sheriff's deputies had witnessed him playing his iPod loudly, with the earbuds out of his ears, while hitting the seat cushion like a drum.
Thomas called the accusation ridiculous, saying he was "just sitting there, nodding my head, listening to some Ted Nugent, Stranglehold."
He was given a noise warning and the bus ban, as part of a new zero-tolerance special enforcement by Pierce Transit, Tacoma Police and Tacoma Public Schools. It's supposed to combat disruptive behavior among teen riders, something that's gone up the last three years, said transit spokesman Lars Erickson.
"I've had a gang fight on my bus where one of the boys was taken off to the hospital," said bus driver Katherine Farrer, who added that the enforcement just want riders to be courteous. "It’s public transportation, not your own vehicle.”
But the three-week zero tolerance policy also means anyone on the bus, not just juveniles, will be penalized.
"If it's disrupting our service or the safety, we will take action on it," Erickson said.
Erickson suggested Thomas appeal the bus-riding ban if he disagrees. The exclusion gives riders 10 days to do so. But Thomas said he's upset mostly because no one complained to him directly, and now he may have to find other ways to get to work.
"I would have turned it down, I would have said, 'Sorry. Sorry. I'm sorry about that,' and turn it down," Thomas said.
The "Not on Our Bus" special enfrocement started Oct. 30, and is expected to conclude next week. The plan includes having uniformed and undercover officers enforcing rules on buses, as well as conducting spot checks of bus stops and boarding areas near Tacoma high schools.
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