VTA Fires Bus Driver Following Racial Incident
A Martha's Vineyard Transit Authority (Massachusetts) bus driver has been fired after he refused to pick up a passenger who is black, the regional bus service said Thursday. Kevin Brooks, 35, a hairdresser and camera man/editor who commutes to the Vineyard from New Bedford, Mass, told the Gazette Thursday that he was waiting for the bus at his usual stop on Beach Road just past the Triangle. On Wednesday the bus drove by him and the driver looked at him and kept driving, he said.
Mr. Brooks ... hopped in an Uber and followed the bus to Oak Bluffs, waiting for the bus to clear before he asked the driver why he hadn’t stopped. “I said what was the reason you didn’t stop for me in Edgartown,’” Mr. Brooks said. “He said ‘Because you’re black.’” Mr. Brooks said the bus driver added that the bus was crowded.
He said the staff at VTA were responsive and called him back immediately. He said has also been in touch with a civil rights lawyer and the state commission against discrimination. VTA administrator Angela Grant said the driver involved in the incident was fired by that company after an investigation. Ms. Grant said she had spoken with Mr. Brooks.
“It was a bit of a shock,” Mr. Brooks said Thursday, speaking to the Gazette by phone from the ferry. He said he has commuted to the Vineyard year-round for three years ... “I’ve never had an issue,” Mr. Brooks said.
Full story at:
https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2018/07/12/vta-fires-bus-driver-following-racial-incident
