Buses, Trains and the Media

The end of the line

Well, it sounded like a great idea . . . start a blog about public transportation and tie it in to my website and livelihood, TransitTalent.com. Problem is, I don't really like writing a blog and thus have relegated it to the bottom of my to-do list.

So, without further explanation or rationalization, this is my final post to Buses, Trains and the Media. I'd like to thank all of you who've visited over the past several months and especially those who've taken the time to post comments.

I can't promise that I won't return. For that reason, I'm not going to cancel this blog account. Every now and then I feel like I need to vent about a particular issue. The blog is a great place to do that. Isn't that why blogs are so popular?

Best,

Steve

Random psychopathic murders on buses are hard to prevent, but . . .

It's OK to be afraid. And profoundly disturbed. When you read about a man getting butchered and decapitated by his seatmate on a Greyhound bus.

And it's OK to expect the operators of intercity buses -- or transportation security officials -- to come up with a plan to reduce the chances of another such attack. What's not OK, in my opinion, is to take the stance of Canada's National Post editorial board, which contends this was a random attack, could have happened anywhere, best thing to do is move on with our lives. To wit:

Mr. McLean could have been murdered equally easily by a random psychopath in a movie theatre or a classroom or a wine bar or a shopping mall - or on his front lawn, for that matter.

I disagree. In a theatre or a classroom or a wine bar or a shopping mall, Mr. McLean could have run away, or tried to, after the first plunge of the knife. When you're confined to the window seat of a bus, blocked from the aisle by your seatmate, you have nowhere to run. Attacks on a bus -- or an airplane -- are particularly dangerous because you can't get away.

Certainly, the grisly nature of the killing has biased, partially or perhaps fully, my reaction to the National Post's reaction, but I think precautions could be taken to prevent future "random psychopath" murders.

How about allowing (or requiring) coach operators to carry pepper spray? In this latest incident, the driver might have been too late to save Mr. McLean's life, but in other scenarios, a blast of pepper spray could help to subdue an attacker before a life is lost. It would be interesting to see what intercity bus drivers think of this idea. Pepper spray could also be useful to protect themselves from passenger attacks.

We allow mail carriers to carry pepper spray to protect themselves from vicious dogs. Why shouldn't motorcoach drivers be allowed to carry pepper spray to protect themselves and their passengers? Or do some of them already carry pepper spray? If you know, please feel free to chime in.

Until next time.

Steve