“I haven’t been spit on yet, but I have been verbally abused and threatened by
male passengers. And we can’t retaliate,” said M15 bus driver Caesar Randolph.
It’s gross, but is it worth 64 days off work?
A driver’s tale of abuse
Jose Hernandez, 51, has been spat on three times in 20 years as a bus driver.
The first time, he didn’t take any time off. “The second time this teenager had a cold and he just gathered up all this phlegm in his mouth and spit all that junk in my face. I was crying,” he said.
He took four months leave. He took seven months the third time.
“I was so depressed. I wouldn’t go outside, I didn’t want to be around people. ... Every time I told my psychologist about it, I would start crying,” he said.
City bus drivers who were spat on by riders needed an average of 64 paid days off last year to recover.
Some of the 51 drivers took just one day off after being spat on — considered assault under guidelines — but one took 191 days off at full pay, according to NYC Transit.
“Some are taking advantage and some aren’t,” said senior vice president of buses Joe Smith. It’s difficult to tell who is truly traumatized by getting spit on and who is looking for a paid vacation. MTA heads said they were reviewing their definition of “assault.”
“You can spit on me for that!” joked bus rider John Locantore. “It’s obviously a disgusting thing that shouldn’t happen, but 64 paid sick days is unbelievable.”
Compare that with city correction officers who patrol city jails where, “I’d say about four or five times a month” a guard will be hit with blood, urine, feces, or sometimes a disgusting combination of all three,” said Norman Seabrook, president of the NYC Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association.
“I’ve seen our officers take off a couple days here and there, but I know we don’t take an average of 64 days,” said Seabrook, who is also an MTA board member. “I’ve even seen guys and girls come back to work the next day. But at the same time they (bus drivers) have the right to take off as much time as they need to recuperate.”
