'Scared' Detroit bus drivers refuse to work

Bus drivers in the city of Detroit halted public transport on Friday, as they refused to take the wheel without support from law enforcement, local media reported.

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A representative for Mayor Dave Bing, told NBC station WDIV-TV that the drivers showed up for work, but declined to start out on their routes.? The Detroit Free Press reported the group numbered about 100.

The mayor's office said Bing planned to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. EDT to announce a deal with the drivers, the Free Press reported.

WDIV reported that the walkout comes on the heels of the beating of one of the city's drivers.? The Thursday attack, which was caught on tape, stoked concern among the other bus operators, the WDIV report said.

Henry Gaffney, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26, which represents the drivers, told the Free Press he's scheduled to meet with the mayor and other officials later Friday.

"It?s not just for my members, because if the drivers aren?t safe, the passengers aren't safe," Gaffney told the newspaper. "This is not the first incident. This is the incident that broke the camel?s back."

Gaffney also told local TV station WWJT that the drivers are "scared for their lives. This has been an ongoing situation about security. I think yesterday kind of just topped it off."

He described the incident to the Free Press, saying a group of young men in their late teens and early twenties attacked the driver after he pulled away from the Rosa Parks Transit Station in the city's downtown area without stopping for a friend of theirs.

On Thursday, the driver was pulling away from the Rosa Parks Transit Station in downtown Detroit at about 1 p.m. when a half-dozen men between the ages of 16 and 22 began yelling for him to stop for a buddy, according to Gaffney. The driver has worked for DDOT for 22 years.

Treated for injuries
"They got mad, he got off to tell the service inspector inside, and the next thing he knows they?re on him, beating him," Gaffney told the newspaper. Gaffney alleges officers at the station did not intervene, and it took police 30 minutes to arrive, according to the Free Press.

The driver, a 22-year veteran, later left a Detroit hospital after being treated for injuries sustained during the beating, Gaffney told the newspaper.

Callers to the Detroit Department of Transportation heard a message saying it "sincerely apologizes for extreme delays in service today. Matters are being undertaken to restore daily operational service. Again, we apologize for the situation," WDIV reported.

The walkout does not affect public school buses, WDIV reported. Detroit Public Schools issued a statement to the TV station noting that the district is aware of the shutdown, and will not penalize students who are late or unable to get to high schools because of it. The statement also said the school district's own police would provide additional security near some bus stops.

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45164397/ns/us_news-life/

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