The co-chair of the Memphis Bus Riders Union is calling for metal detectors or security guards to be included on the city’s bus network after a shooting left a passenger injured on Saturday.
An argument on a bus reportedly led a Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) driver to eject a passenger on Saturday evening, with News Channel 3 reporting police said the disgruntled man then fired one bullet into the bus, grazing one person who required hospitalization.
Police were reportedly called to respond to the shooting at about 7:30 p.m., according to Action News 5.
The violence led Memphis Bus Riders Union co-chair Sammie Hunter to push for new security investments in remarks published by Fox13.
“We need to look at (metal) detectors to protect the drivers,” Hunter told the outlet. He added, “If that doesn’t work, we need to put security guards on the buses.”
He told the outlet the incident comes amid a concerted effort by officials to “get the bus situation back in order,” in remarks that were echoed by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 713 President Harrison Currie, who highlighted to Fox13 the risks posed to bus operators.
“Those operators need to be safe at all costs,” said Currie, who described drivers as “counselors on those buses,” as well as “teachers” and “father and mother figures,” because of the amount of “mental illness” experienced by those who depend on Memphis buses.
The incident comes as residents in another part of the state, Nashville, consider whether to approve transit proposal in November that Mayor Freddie O’Connell said will cost $3.1 billion but will ultimately require $6.9 billion over the life of the project.
Nashville’s proposal would increase the number of bus lines, including those that operate nonstop, as the city’s bus ridership officially recovers to pre-pandemic levels.
It would also fund miles of new sidewalk and new traffic signals that use modern technology to manage the flow of traffic, but Nashville Tea Party founder Ben Cunningham has warned these elements of the referendum make it illegal.
O’Connell plans to partially fund his transit proposal using a half-cent sales tax under the 2017 IMPROVE Act, but Cunningham argues the infrastructure elements of the Nashville referendum are not covered under the law.
Cunningham has additionally warned the half-cent sales tax proposed by O’Connell could prove insufficient if the federal funding sought by the mayor proves inadequate, likely resulting in a property tax hike for Nashvillians.
Nashville’s bus system saw its own string of crimes earlier this year, when three violent incidents were reported that either involved buses, bus stops, or transit centers in a 10-day period.
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to pappert.tom@proton.me.
Photo “Memphis Bus” by MATA.