Disrespectful RTA Drivers Need Retraining on Customer Service

Commentary by Tammy Hobbs

I am really upset with the way some of the Cleveland RTA bus drivers have been treating me lately.  Over the past few years the RTA has been in the news more than once for their rude bus drivers.  No one can forget the viral video of the bus driver punching a women in the face a few years ago or the homeless guy who was beat by the driver on Public Square. 

I’ve had a walker for about a month now because I have to get a hip replacement.  It is very painful for me to walk and my mobility is very limited.  Ever since I got my walker, I have had a lot of RTA bus drivers that disrespect me.  When they pull up to the bus stop and I ask them to lower the handicap platform, a service they have been offering for years, some of them get attitudes with me and roll their eyes, smack their mouths at me, and call me a slow names and just disrespect me badly.

Comments like that are not only disrespectful to me, but also to those who suffer from mental handicaps.  When they were hired as bus drivers they were aware that the RTA serves people with various handicaps and it should no come as a surprise when someone asks them to perform a service they are known to offer.  I just want people to know how I am being treated by some of the RTA bus drivers in Cleveland.

If you feel strongly that RTA bus drivers should not be treating people with handicaps disrespectfully, please call their offices or send them an email, not only for me but for everyone who has ever been mistreated by the RTA drivers.

Copyright Cleveland Street Chronicle July 2016 Issue 23.2 Cleveland Ohio