Bus driver and passengers say Go COMO public transit system is overcrowded, unsafe

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

It's a hot day on a crammed city bus when a fight breaks out.

Two men in the back of the bus throw punches. Other passengers are yelling at them to stop or get out. There's hardly even any room to fight, as people are standing shoulder to shoulder, waiting to get to their next stop.

This is what happened on the Orange Route of the Go COMO Public Transit system on July 25, and it's not the only safety concern.

A driver for Go COMO, who wished to remain anonymous due to fear of losing their job, said belligerent passenger behavior on the bus has gotten out of hand, including fights, smoking and public intoxication.

They said something needs to change before someone ends up getting hurt.

"The next thing you know, somebody's going to either get shot, stabbed or seriously hurt," the driver said.

Incident reports ABC 17 News obtained from the City of Columbia show bus drivers have reported multiple instances of rule violations in 2024.

An April report states, "Passenger punched me in my right shoulder three times."

Two reports in July mention rule violations including, "Had a guy on my bus that was drunk," and "Disoriented customer without shoes."

An August report details a passenger threatening and cussing out a driver after the driver attempted to strap in their wheelchair for safety reasons.

The Go COMO driver said it's situations like these that are keeping students and working-class people from riding the bus, and causing drivers to get fed up and start looking for other jobs.

"The problem is, all the drivers love their jobs ... but they've got a family to support, too," the driver said. "They want to go home at night and not wind up in the hospital or in the morgue."

'I was very afraid'

In the incident report for the fight on July 25, the bus driver on that route states two men got into an argument as the Orange Route bus was headed to the Ashley Street Center, a service for homeless people. One man tried to pull another man out the rear door, and when the door closed, the man punched the bus, busting a window.

The City of Columbia said the cost to repair that window was $85.

After that, the driver writes, the man still on the bus started fighting with another man. The driver called dispatch, who told her to open the doors until the two men exited the bus. One of the men tried to re-enter, but she denied him entry.

The driver finished her entry by writing, "I was very afraid, please take me off that route."

Go COMO passenger Gregory Silvey, who uses the services at Turning Point, was on the bus that day and witnessed the fight.

"It was overcrowded, people are already hot and they're very moody and they're trying to get somewhere and people [are] bumping up against them," Silvey said.

The bus driver who spoke with ABC 17 News said he has sometimes had over 50 people on a bus at once, saying he's been told there is no limit on how many people can be on the bus.

The driver said the route where they see this the most is the Orange Route running from the Turning Point Day Center on Wilkes Boulevard to Loaves and Fishes at the Ashley Street Center, both of which are services for the homeless population.

Check back and watch ABC 17 News at 10 for the full story.