SAN ANTONIO - The cameras on VIA buses have recorded several fights, but it wasn’t until the News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooters started investigating this growing problem that the videos were seen by the public. The videos show exactly what happened on board the buses and how this violence has put several riders in danger.
To combat the unruly behavior, VIA officials recently announced a code of conduct for riders.
One video showed two women on a VIA bus arguing, but it quickly escalates into violence. The first punch was thrown by a woman with a newborn strapped to her chest. Other riders screamed for them to stop because of the small baby, but the woman with the baby ignores the pleas and threw more punches.
For some via riders, these types of incidents make riding the bus risky. "My heart was beating fast. I have never seen that before,” said Jalissa Stevens.
Stevens rides via bus every day. Just this week she says she saw a rider pull a knife during an argument. "I was concerned he was going to stab everyone on the bus," she said.
At a recent press conference Keith Parker, CEO of VIA, said some people are scared to ride the bus, “One of the major reasons people say why they don't ride public transit is because of fear. They think something will happen to them.”
We found one video that showed a guy and his girlfriend getting into an argument with another passenger. It escalated to the point that a Bexar County Deputy had to step in and help throw the passenger off the bus. As the passenger is beaten, the VIA driver closes the doors and moves on.
Another video shows a group of teens getting into a fight with a girl while she talks on her cell phone. They throw her to the ground and stomp on her.
And on another bus loaded with more teens, all hell breaks loose as punches are thrown.
Despite the mayhem in the videos, the head of VIA says the total number of incidents on their buses is low compared to other transit agencies.
“Our goal is to get that very small percentage of folks who don't behave properly to get them into compliance. Now after trying that, if they don't, we will do whatever necessary to remove them from our services and ask them to find a ride somewhere else,” explained Parker.
VIA's code of conduct went into effect September 1. You can read it here...
