Detroit Bus Drivers 'Fed Up' with Bed Bugs, Rodents

In addition to verbal abuse from passengers, drivers say they are they’re forced to dodge roaches, bed bugs and rodents. CBS Detroit reported.

The drivers say their working conditions are disgusting — they have no choice but to breathe diesel fumes, passengers verbally abuse and spit on them, and they’re forced to dodge roaches, bed bugs and rodents. Those are just some of the complaints from the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26, which represents Detroit Department of Transportation bus drivers.

In a resolution passed last week, the union is demanding the city provide improvements and immediately fix bus operator workstations to end “the preventable accidents, and driver injuries that plague DDOT.”

If assaults weren’t enough, drivers also must deal with other vermin like rodents and bed bugs, Westbrook said.

“We had a massive epidemic last year of bed bugs on the DDOT buses and, you know, the bed bugs come from — we ride the homeless and anyone can ride the DDOT bus. We have a bulletin out there that if you see a bed bug on the coach, you are to call control so they can come and get that bus out of service. They even hired a bed bug-sniffing dog who can find bed bugs. And then these buses have to be out of service for four or five days,” said Union President Fred Westbrook. “We have had some cases this year of bed bugs where operators had to strip down because they didn’t want to take bed bugs home.”

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Source: CBS Detroit