Columbia bus rider calls for change after being slapped by passenger
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Norma Jamill Barnum said she was riding a city of Columbia bus with her 12-year-old daughter on Monday when a couple sitting a few rows away began arguing.
Barnum, who uses the Orange Route of the Go COMO Public Transit system several times a week, said she has witnessed several incidents during her rides, including a fight between two men in July. However, she had never been directly involved in one until Monday.
As the couple in front of her continued to argue, Barnum says their conversation echoed throughout the bus.
“They were using profanity language. And so I asked the lady, I say, ‘Ma'am, can you please not use profanity language? My daughter and other passengers are riding the city bus and we may not want to hear it,’” Barnum said. “She flat out, stood up and told me 'F you' and she slapped me.”
Barnum says the bus driver immediately stopped the bus to call in the incident.
“They have a lot of good bus drivers that are still working for the city. But then again, they have lost some good bus drivers in the past. There were really nice bus drivers, and I think that they just got tired of dealing with the homeless people,” Barnum said.
The incident comes nearly four months after the city launched its “Ride with Respect” campaign. According to records obtained by ABC 17 News, since the campaign launched, at least 15 incident reports have been filed by drivers. According to transit manager Michael Sorkoff, one of those incidents happened on Dec. 5 after a person who was previously involved in a fight in July called the bus driver racial slurs after the driver asked him to get off the bus because he was banned.
Of the 15 incidents, six have happened since Jan. 1, with Barnum’s incident being the most recent. The other incidents have included a woman being removed from the bus for “disrespecting” the bus driver after being asked to put a lid on her cup, a passenger causing an argument after refusing to move for a person in a walker, a fight at the VFW, and “unruly behavior.”
Barnum says she is trying to save money for a new car so she no longer has to take the bus.
“I think that they should really start charging fares. I think that they should have a separate city bus just for the homeless people. Because, I mean, it's getting out of control,” Barnum said.
However, one homeless man at Wabash Station, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation from his employer, said bus drivers do not simply allow people to stay on the bus all day. He added that many in Columbia’s homeless community rely on the bus to get to work and shelters across town, and drivers often ask passengers about their destination before allowing them to board.
He noted that he believes many incidents stem from extreme weather conditions. During the winter, he claims fewer routes are available, forcing more people to crowd onto buses to reach shelters. In the summer, long waits in the heat followed by standing in packed buses can cause tempers to flare.
“You've got folks that are pretty well dependent on these buses running on time. It's not the bus driver's fault. If there's snow or rain, you've got people that need help getting on and off the bus,” the man said. “They certainly want to get more bus drivers. But, you know, the people on the buses have to be well-behaved because nobody wants to drive the bus. You know, if you're going into a hostile work environment, you don't want to drive the bus all day.”
Part of the issue stems from the reduced number of routes, which often leads to overcrowding. Columbia Public Works Department spokesman John Ogan told ABC 17 News last April that a driver shortage has prevented the city from restoring routes to pre-August 2023 service levels.
Orange Route ridership was 5,955 in January 2024, but had risen to 6,918 by this January.
To address the shortage, the city is hosting a job fair on Saturday in an effort to recruit more drivers.
