Ordered Handicapped Children Off Car in Rainstorm : Trolley Operator to Take Sensitivity Training

A trolley operator who ordered eight preschoolers, including six handicapped children, and four adult chaperones off a trolley at the wrong station during a rainstorm has been ordered to undergo sensitivity training in dealing with handicapped people and the elderly, trolley officials announced Friday.

The decision to require the special training for the unnamed operator was the result of a San Diego Trolley staff inquiry. The investigation concluded that the operator exercised poor judgment when she “did not respond appropriately to the group’s representative when they indicated their desire to go to Harborside” station instead of the Barrio Logan station, said Peter Tereschuck, director of transportation for the San Diego Trolley.

“Her judgment and her attentiveness to the group’s request were not adequate and (were) held in question,” Tereschuck said. He added that the decision by trolley officials was made Wednesday but that the operator was not notified until Friday, after she returned from two days off.

Officials said the sensitivity training will include video programs and one-on-one instruction in dealing with the public, particularly disabled and elderly people.

“She was concerned that the incident took place and feels that it was an unfortunate occurrence, one that she feels she wants to put behind her,” the director said, describing the operator’s response to the investigation’s finding and the publicity given to the incident. He said the operator has been with the trolley system for five years and has a good record.

Tereschuck said that since the incident on Feb. 23, the operator has continued working and was never placed on leave.

The group--a teacher, three adult aides and the children from the Albert Schweitzer School for disabled children--were forced off the trolley during a rainstorm at the Barrio Logan station. One child was forced to sit in the rain in his wheelchair.

Tereschuck said two operators, including the one who forced the small party off the trolley, had helped the children get on board at the downtown Santa Fe Depot.

The operator mistakenly believed that the group had not paid the proper fare to reach the Harborside station but did not bother to check. She told them to get off the train one stop before Harborside.

Tereschuck said that at no time during the encounter was the operator “argumentative or negative in her dialogue or interaction with the group,” a statement that was also supported by teacher Lisa Bartman.

He added that although the operator was correct in inquiring about the group’s destination, she erred in her response to the group’s requests and in not letting the chaperones and students continue on to Harborside.

There were also other problems. When the next trolley came by, its operator told the group that the car’s lift for the handicapped did not work. With the help of some passengers and trolley crewmen, the children were eventually placed on board and continued their field trip to the Harborside station.

Since the incident, trolley directors have offered the children and their guides a free field trip on the trolley from downtown to the border and back. School administrators have not yet responded to the offer.