Bicycle Fixation Weblog
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03/24/2010: "Metro Says the Right Things...."
Since there have been a couple of incidents with LA bus driveers being rude or even threatening to cyclists lately, I though I'd throw down the transcript of an exchange I had with metro regarding a stunningly unsafe pass by one of their buses. My original compliant:We certainly regret the incident described below. Please know it is Metro's policy that if an operator passes a cyclist, they are to slow down and pass with a 3-4-1/2 foot clearance from the cyclist. Also, they are to avoid passing cyclists if they are turning right or making a bus stop within 200 yards of the cyclist.Let's hope they actually do something--though in Metro's defense, I 'll say that they fully support cycling on the policy level, and have even removed a few seats from each subway car to make room for more bicycles, wheelchairs, and so forth.
Clearly, safety is our number one priority and while maintaining schedules are important, there is never an excuse for unsafe vehicle operation. Please know your report is being entered in our complaint database and a copy forwarded to management staff responsible for Line 52. The operator in question will be identified, interviewed and appropriate corrective measures taken.
But there have been too many incidents involving their drivers, who should be much more professional, including one reported on SoapBoxLA.
And if you've suffered an incident of road rudeness, harassment, or endangerment, you can try Metro's Comments page--which however failed to send in both Safari and Firefox for me, so I used their normal email address: customerRelations@metro.net.
