OCTA, Drivers Union Reach Pact on Calling Out Bus Stops

Bus drivers who fail to announce stops at major intersections will not be fired after the first offense, under an agreement reached by the Orange County Transportation Authority and the Teamsters Union, which represents the drivers.

Transit officials had threatened to fire two drivers for failing to call out the stops and had imposed less severe discipline on two dozen others for the same violation. Federal law requires drivers to call out major intersections for visually impaired passengers.

Earlier this month, transportation authority spokesman John Standiford said the agency had received complaints from riders who said drivers failed to announce major intersections.

Drivers and union officials said that when drivers forget to do that, it’s usually because they are trying to maneuver safely in traffic and deal with passengers at the same time.

But transit officials considered the infraction serious enough that they had begun termination proceedings against two drivers.

Under the agreement, reached between the union and the agency, drivers will receive a warning letter for the first offense. A second offense within a year could lead to termination.

The union will continue to contest written warnings given to drivers before the agreement was reached this week.