RTD Buses Running Red Lights...

FOX31 (KDVR) News here in Denver ran a quick report on buses and their driver who run red lights.

The reporter who produced the report intelligently voiced the report as "RTD Buses."
Not once did he state RTD Drivers.
And when the reporter interviewed RTD's Scott Reed, You'll notice that Mr. Reed very carefully stated RTD's policies pertaining to RTD Drivers.

Jeremy Hubbard was the idiot who, in his undereducated blathering, singled out RTD Drivers as being the ones breaking the laws.

As we all remember, it wasn't an RTD employee who was operating the RTD bus that ran the red light on Lincoln & 8th Avenue back in 2010.

That's not to say that RTD drivers do not run red lights.
But it is a point that RTD drivers drive a minority of the routes.
The Private companies operate more routes.

The reporter who produced this piece understood that and very carefully read his copy as "RTD Buses" knowing that while RTD owns all of the buses, they do not operate them all.

Does that mean that the Private/for profit companies have more drivers and more buses on the road at any given moment, breaking more laws, running more red lights and getting more complaints?
I personally don't think that's true but I don't know for a fact so I cannot say.

But I do know that I'm very sick of being lumped together with the private companies.
I personally don't believe we all have the same goal, the same expectation of customer service, the same sense of values or the same loyalty to RTD, the brand, the product, the service.

I go out of my way to serve the customer.
I don't feel that the for profit, private companies share that same value.

Does that mean I'm right, or that there aren't exceptions to my mental "rule?"
Not by a long shot, I'm sure that I'm being biased and "patriotic" to my employer, to my company.

When we found out that the NE Patriots won all those games by cheating, did we lump every team in the league together or did we recognize those who weren't cheating?
No, you folks here in Denver say, "Patriots SUCK, Broncos RULE!!!!"
You have your own loyalties as well.

When one of these private companies who lease RTD buses treats his passengers like trash, runs red lights and skips stops all together, why do you lump all of us together with him?

I've heard it time and again, overall y'all can tell the difference between RTD drivers and the others.

So why are these News anchors so danged biased and hateful, lumping RTD Drivers together with the privates?

Again, we're not blameless.
But why couldn't the reporter who produced this piece done something like compare the records of the three companies who operate RTD buses?
Why couldn't he have shown (hopefully supporting my personal belief that RTD Drivers are safer) which drivers have safer records overall?
Which companies have safer drivers overall?
Which companies have fewer tickets and accidents?

Etc etc etc.

I'm sure there are plenty of people working for those private companies who share my desire to serve you, the passenger and customer with all of our hearts.
I'm sure there are plenty of good drivers and good customer service providers over there as well.

But I'm fiercely loyal to my employer, our product and service.
I do my best to provide my passengers/customers with the best service I'm able.
I wear the RTD logo, not the logo of the private, for profit companies.
I like to believe we're better and I personally like to believe it's a competition to provide better service than they do.
And dangit, I'm going to win!

And folks, remember that these are just the rants of a mad man.
I'm one voice, and that voice is not the official voice of RTD.
In fact, we've all seen their demand of me to remind y'all that RTD neither sponsors nor endorses my blog nor anything I write herein.

As Always, "Welcome aboard, Find your seats, Look out for that red light - Let's Roll!"