Late buses are frustrating, but one Detroit woman says delays are made even worse when bus drivers make unscheduled stops, and she caught one driver on camera in the act.
Shopping instead of driving, that’s what this cell phone video allegedly captured.
At the Clark gas station on the corner of Davison and Dexter, Tahsha Hardeman says her DDOT driver made an unscheduled stop, and she caught it on camera.
“He stopped there to go into the gas station (and) get some snacks," Hardeman said. "(He) returned to the bus, opened the snacks up first, takes a couple of bites and then he took off. This is not at a bus stop, and they do this all the time."
Another time she says she was riding the 6 Mile bus heading east.
“And the bus driver hopped off the bus to go into the Chinese restaurant to pick up an order to get something to eat,” Hardeman said.
She says late running buses make her late to work, putting her job in jeopardy and she’s fed up. She says she called with complaints many times and nothing seems to change.
“This is like a part of their culture," Hardeman said. "It seems like there is someone there that makes it OK for them to do this."
Unscheduled stops are definitely not okay, according to Angelica Jones, interim director of DDOT.
Bus drivers are allowed to take breaks, but not in the middle of a route.
“Our policy is that they stop at the end of the route, at the last destination and as we receive complaints, we do address those with the drivers,” Jones said.
DDOT has identified the driver in this video and says they will interview him and take the appropriate action to ensure these unscheduled stops don't happen again. They will also be reminding all DDOT drivers of the break policy and expectations.
If you have an issue or complaint you want to be addressed, Jones says it’s important you give as much information as possible.
“The bus number, the bus route, the direction they are going in – give us as much information as possible to ensure that we can investigate timely,” Jones said.
If you have a transportation problem or solution or a thank you to give, email us at gettingaround@wxyz.com.
