Bus safety matters, but under pressure, RIOC turned a blind eye. When caught, the state agency that never gets it wrong was at a loss for explanations.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Under Pressure
After years of dodging the future, RIOC saw its Red Bus system nearing collapse as a result. The organization hadn’t bought new buses in nearly seven years. It counted instead on more miracles from its now retired Transportation Director, Cy Opperman. Although Opperman can not walk on water as some thought, he kept veritable heaps of scrap running on Main Street.
But now, with Opperman having handed off to right hand man Eddie Perez, Roosevelt Island was down to one bus by early August. Those not fully cannibalized in their yard awaited calls from the Smithsonian.
It thought of something I saw back when I worked in the client/server computer networking business. When a veteran IT Director left Martha Stewarts’s online operations, multiple network failures overwhelmed his successor within a few days. I thought of Eddie Perez. It’s not his fault either.
It was a no win for Perez, but what happened next was hardly no-fault.
With Red Bus #10 running solo for over a week, mechanics get a second bus, #9, back in service. We don’t know what condition it was in, but #9 gave #10 a chance to breathe and get some R&R.
Then, by midweek, Roosevelt Islander Frank Farance spotted two warning lights glowing on its dashboard.
One was for the ABS – Anti-Locking Braking System. It’s on the dashboard for a reason: it warns the operator that the brakes are not working properly. Had RIOC, under pressure, put passengers and pedestrians at risk?
“Looks like they’re looking for another multi-million dollar lawsuit,” one resident observed.
What Is an Anti-Lock Braking System?
While the bus can still stop, the ABS may not work as intended. This can lead to longer stopping distances in emergency situations.
A bus with the ABS warning light on would not pass a New York State inspection.
The ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) is a critical safety feature. It helps prevent wheel lockup during braking. This improves vehicle control and stopping distance. A malfunctioning ABS system can compromise the safety of the vehicle and its occupants. So, state inspections typically demand that all safety systems, including ABS, are functioning properly.
So, why was an unsafe Red Bus on the road?
RIOC’s Point of View
When I approached RIOC’s Interim Leadership Team, Acting COO Mary Cunneen answered promptly.
“Let me look into this,” she wrote back in an email.
Cunneen is one of RIOC’s most responsive and accountable executives. She’s aggressive in problem solving, but she’s also overworked. Much of the remaining management staff, after CEO Shelton Haynes’s suspension and multiple retirements, is too.
As one resident put it, “Sounds like Mary C is the only one trying to do anything.”
When she did not get back to me, a gentle nudge drew Communications Director Bryant Daniels back from vacation early. The full story is not yet clear. He confirmed, though, that the bus with the ABS warning light glowing had been taken off the road.
So, what now?
RIOC has only a single bus toiling on Main Street, and there is no back up. Octagon Express and Shoppers Bus services have been canceled. Routes are truncated and operating hours lessened.
This not a crisis that poses easy solutions, but even under pressure, it does not warrant risking lives. Running a bus up and down Main Street with its braking system out of order will never be acceptable.
But there it was.
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For the good of the community, we hope that RIOC will freely come clean about what went wrong. Someone made the decision to keep running under hazardous conditions. Passengers were never notified nor was there any public advisory or apology. Fortunately, Frank Farance gave us a heads up. If he had not raised a red flag, in all likelihood, that bus would still be running.
Common wisdom tells us that an unwillingness to acknowledge mistakes yields in more of the same. Without accountability, guardrails vanish. But that we’ve found, after years of reporting, is RIOC’s greatest weakness. The state agency seems genetically incapable of accepting blame. We saw it recently in the pesticide poisoning of small animals in Southpoint. Will we see it here again?
The Red Bus system can’t last long with just one functional bus. As dire as that is, ignoring safety is not the answer.
This story is not over. We will follow up with RIOC and get back to you.
On naming, neglect, and the quiet work that keeps things standing
About twenty years ago, there was Harbor Police activity near the water, just south of the subway entrance. At the time, no one really thought of it as a pier, though technically there was a small boardwalk there. Of course it wasn’t a pier. A pier implies intention.
