My response to Joseph Rose of the Oregonian

Mr. Joseph Rose of the Oregonian, found my blog and is not happy about some of what I wrote yesterday.

Mr. Rose,

Let's start with the most pressing "hot button" topic of our day in public transit:

I do not condone MAX or bus operators texting or using cell phones while operating their vehicles. The rule against this has been on the books at TriMet for a long, long time. Those who break this rule should be disciplined as harshly as TriMet deems fit. The recent announcement that TriMet now has a rule about this, is misleading; it is not a new rule, it is simply an old rule that will now be strictly enforced.

I become very concerned when I see or hear about any TriMet operator giving less than full attention to his or her job. My job requires me to give 100 % every day, something that is not always easy. However, along with most other TriMet bus and rail operators, I try my best. I remind myself daily that people's lives are in my hands, sometimes quiet literally when they carelessly run in front of my moving train.

I understand that you have tried to drive a TriMet bus; however, trying to drive a 40 foot bus does not show you how to walk in my shoes as a MAX operator. Operating a MAX train is so different than driving a bus that there is no way you can imagine what it is like WITHOUT having tried MAX.

I am sure that you would get a new perspective on my job if you could see it from the inside of my cab while listening to the radio and following in detail all we have to do and pay attention to. (Unfortunately, I could not let you ride in my cab without special permission.) Downtown Portland looks a lot different from my cab than it does from the seat of a bus driver.

Please do not misunderstand me: driving a bus is very challenging and a huge responsibility - I did it for seven years and it is as stressful a job as you could ever wish to have. Perhaps driving a bus partially prepares you for operating MAX - not sure about that, but it could. Come to think of it, I am pretty sure there is a transit agency here in the United States that found that light rail operators without a bus background were safer than those with. I would have to dig a little to find that piece of information again.

Just like in every other job, there are good TriMet operators and bad ones. Some should not be driving a bus, and some should not be operating MAX. I do not make the decisions about who should or should not work at TriMet - my job is to operate my trains as safely as I can every time I get into that cab. If I am not "fit for duty" it is my responsibility to take myself off the train - which I have in the past when I have been too sick to safely operate my train.

When accidents and incidents happen at MAX it becomes big news; the recent story about the three year old boy being left at a platform is a horrible example of something that should not have happened.

But please do NOT judge all of us because of the bad apples in our ranks. Most MAX operators are responsible and safe operators. Most are patient and helpful. Lately, I have seen a tendency to lump us all into this "awful operator" category, whether that be bus or train operators. Most of us do well with the public, most of us are safe, most of us will help you when you need help. That is part of our job, whether we operate a bus or a MAX train.

Mr. Rose, I am not here to argue with you. You may think whatever you want about TriMet and it's employees - and me. We live in a free country, and we still have freedom of speech. Just don't think you know all there is to know about TriMet just because you blog about us.

And, at the same time, I will remind myself that I do not know all there is to know about TriMet, either. I am "only" a rail operator, and can only blog about things the way I see them...

Mr. Rose, most MAX operators have only one goal in mind: to get you safely to your destination, without any incidents. That goal enccompasses everything about this job, a job that is challenging, enjoyable and rewarding.

I hope some day I will meet you; it would be an interesting meeting - in a good way.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Eva