Is it okay for a bus driver to kick a mother with crying toddler off the bus?

[MyOwnDrum]

Is it okay for a bus driver to kick a mother and her toddler off the bus because the toddler is crying or making a lot of noise?

Crying toddler kicked off Victoria bus

Manzer and her daughter, Briar Leach, were travelling from the University of Victoria to downtown Sept. 11 when Briar started to fuss. "She was just saying 'no, no, no, no.' It was loud and annoying, but she stayed in her seat and I was doing everything I could to calm her down," Manzer said.

But the bus driver pulled up at the busy Lansdowne-Foul Bay intersection and demanded that Manzer leave the bus because the noise was affecting his driving. Manzer said she had no stroller and three bags and would have to carry Briar a considerable distance to get home.

"I appealed to stay because it was not a safe situation to get off the bus with her, and he said he didn't care and I would have to learn to control her."

 

[jamesrage]

If the child was acting like a brat and the parent was failing to control that child then yes they should be kicked off. I know I am not the only one to witness a inept parent in the store who basically has no control over their child and their child is kicking screaming and misbehaving and getting into things that they are not supposed to. These types of parents should be considerate to everyone else and leave their child with a baby sitter or at least strap their child to a seat so it can not run around.

 

[Jerry]

Without having read anything beyond the question:

Yes, unless doing so would place her in immediate danger.

 

[Jerry]

Now, because of this experience, they're now wondering whether they should buy a vehicle.

Uh gee ya think? :doh

"I've ridden buses with inebriated people, riders with loud headphones, people swearing or making racial slurs, carrying jugs of liquor and even stripping down to their panties and changing clothes. None of these customers was asked to leave the bus," she said.

There's something about a child's cry that get's one's attention.

I for one can use my gender's super ability of selective hearing to tune out music, cursing, etc, but a child's cry can not be ignored.

Perhaps next time she is asked to leave a bus she should strip for the driver?

 

[Agnapostate]

I'd say not. The irritation caused to other people is probably a lesser imposition than the delay and inconvenience imposed on the mother if she was kicked off the bus.

 

[theangryamerican]

Ridiculous overreaction on the bus driver's part...kids cry. It's not as if the child was running amok, and mother was doing everything she could to try to help the situation, according to the article.

If you're ok with this situation, what's to stop a bus driver from removing people from their bus for any aribtrary reason they choose?

If the driver was so affected by surrounding distractions, maybe he needs to be the one getting off the bus...and looking for a job in a nice, quiet cube where he can concentrate. :lol:

 

[Alex Libman]

The customer gets to decide which business to choose.

The business owner gets to make the rules.

 

[Agnapostate]

The property owner gets to make the rules.

The bus driver is not a "property owner," but an employee of the municipal government that is the actual property owner. If he actually was, that would of course permit him to have a dictatorial monopoly over the bus perhaps supported by someone else's monopoly over the public transportation network.

 

[theangryamerican]

The property owner gets to make the rules.

The mother paid for a service, a bus ride, she is entitled to it.

Also, the driver does not own the bus...the transit company does and they obviously did not agree with his actions.

Nice, quick edit there, sir.

 

[talloulou]

No.The last thing some aggravated woman with screaming child in tow needs is to get kicked off public transportation. Toddlers pitch a fit all the time. If you happen to be in earshot too bad.

 

[talloulou]

Uh gee ya think? :doh



There's something about a child's cry that get's one's attention.

I for one can use my gender's super ability of selective hearing to tune out music, cursing, etc, but a child's cry can not be ignored.

Perhaps next time she is asked to leave a bus she should strip for the driver?

Yeah women should prostitute themselves out so men can put up with the presence of a surly child.

Fat chance.

 

[Alex Libman]

No.The last thing some aggravated woman with screaming child in tow needs is to get kicked off public transportation. Toddlers pitch a fit all the time. If you happen to be in earshot too bad.

There should be no "public" transportation - tragedy of the commons.

And can't they invent a soundproof / smellproof container of some sort... :lol:

 

[talloulou]

There should be no "public" transportation - tragedy of the commons.

And can't they invent a soundproof / smellproof container of some sort... :lol:

If you don't want to be subjected to B.O., greasy hair, gas, screaming children, loud mouths, and all other types of craziness you need to get off the bus.

I use to ride the El to work when I lived in Philly.

Grossest experiences:

Kid with actual bugs on his neck - lice? I could see them. Crawling around his hairline.

Next up was a kid with a cup who proceeded to hawk up huge wads of phlegm and spit them in the cup. I thought I was gonna vomit on the spot after he did it the 3rd time. It made me so sick to watch I actually had to ask him just wtf he was doing that twisted crap for. Apparently he was in some sport, wrestling I think, and that day was weigh in day. He was gonna spit in that cup all day in an attempt to make his weigh in.:2sick1: On top of all that he was hideous and I'm thinking retarded to boot. This guy made the lice kid seem like a delightful seat mate.

So I don't want to hear jack about crying kids on public transportation. I really don't.

 

[Alex Libman]

Listen lady, I was born in the Soviet Union. I've eaten things that are more disgusting than the worst thing you can imagine. That said, my original point about property rights and consumer choice still stands.

 

[theangryamerican]

Listen lady, I was born in the Soviet Union. I've eaten things that are more disgusting than the worst thing you can imagine. That said, my original point about property rights and consumer choice still stands.

...and my response to you stands...

The driver didn't OWN the bus. The transit company that DID clearly disagreed with the driver's actions.

The consumer made her choice in good faith, she paid her bus fare to ride on a bus that she had not been thrown off of before, nor was she warned that she might be removed from the bus if her child did not behave.

The bus driver overreacted, it was inexcusable.

 

[Agnapostate]

There should be no "public" transportation - tragedy of the commons.

I suspect you don't even know what a tragedy of the commons is.

 

[Dezaad]

I suspect you don't even know what a tragedy of the commons is.

He probably does but is probably also naive enough to believe that the world is so simple that every situation where property is held in common leads to 'tragedy'.

 

[Baralis]

I selected "In some circumstances I suppose". If a child or anyone for that matter is being very disruptive a bus driver should have the ability to kick them off. I would reserve this for only extreme circumstances tho.

 

[MyOwnDrum]

He probably does but is probably also naive enough to believe that the world is so simple that every situation where property is held in common leads to 'tragedy'.

Public transportation in no way compares to the ultimate failure of the commons.

The commons is more of a lesson of the importance of environmental stewardship not being left in the hands of whomever has sheep needing grass...

 

[Agnapostate]

More than that, it doesn't prove the failure of the collective management it's frequently incorrectly used to attack because the state of the "commons" in the original analogy was by nature unregulated and subject to a free-for-all rape of sorts.

 

[Kandahar]

This reminds me why I'm never having kids.

 

[theangryamerican]

This reminds me why I'm never having kids.

Is used to think that...until I had a kid. Now, I wouldn't give up being a father for anything.

 

[Psychoclown]

I selected "In some circumstances I suppose". If a child or anyone for that matter is being very disruptive a bus driver should have the ability to kick them off. I would reserve this for only extreme circumstances tho.

Pretty much my view. If the kid is just crying or whining, I think it doesn't warrant getting kicked off the bus, but if the kid is running around terrorizing people or something like that, then by all means they deserve to get the boot.

That said, if I'm asked to look at this legally, if the bus comany has a policy on ejecting annoying children, they have that right. If the individual driver made a judgment call (which seems to be the case here), then the company can support the driver's call or punish him for it.

 

[B L Zeebub]

How gauche, you people ride in buses!

 

[NEUROSPORT]

i voted YES kick the bitch to the curb

i don't see Asian kids throwing fits - they understand discipline

if you don't know how to raise kids then you better know how to drive a car.

kids are like dogs. their parents/owners think everybody should love them.

i am sorry but i don't love your dog and i don't love your kids. if you feel like traveling with your dog - BUY A CAR - and the same for your retarded kids.