Officials at Akron Metro RTA are currently investigating an incident where a mother and her four-year-old autistic daughter, Valerie, were turned away by a bus driver.
Valerie’s grandmother, Julie Bohoff, recounted that the bus driver had informed her daughter that she could not board the bus with Valerie if she continued to behave in that manner.
Around 2 p.m. on July 21, Valerie and her mother were waiting at the Metro Transit center to board bus 13.
According to Bohoff, Valerie usually orders chips from the café’s center. However, the café was closed on Sunday and this caused Valerie to have a meltdown.
Bohoff explained that in the past, the woman would have simply boarded the bus and eventually calmed down. However, in that particular moment, she was experiencing a lot of distress.
According to Valerie’s mother, Chelsea, she informed the driver that Valerie has autism, but unfortunately, the driver disregarded the information and drove away.
Bohoff expressed concern as he noticed that something was amiss. He inquired whether everything was alright and if there was anything he could do to assist, apart from restricting her from boarding the bus due to her behavior.
Bohoff stated that Valerie relies on the metro for transportation as she is unable to drive. Whether it is for doctor appointments or a day out, the buses are crucial for her and she depends on them.
In response to 19 News’ inquiry, Metro RTA’s Chief Operations Officer, Jared Hampshire, provided the following statement:
“Metro RTA Operators undergo rigorous training to ensure they can provide exceptional service to passengers of all abilities and backgrounds. We take pride in transporting all of our loyal transit riders with the respect they deserve every single day. Although we are still investigating the incident, it is clear that a child and her mother were denied boarding on one of our vehicles, and proper procedures may not have been followed, potentially preventing this from happening. We sincerely apologize for this and want our riders to know that this does not meet our expectations of customer service on our system. We have been in contact with the family member who filed the complaint, both immediately following her initial communication with us and as recently as earlier today.”
Bohoff expressed confidence that such an incident would not occur again in the future.
According to Metro RTA, the decision to deny someone a ride is never made by the bus driver. In fact, they are obligated to contact a supervisor if any issues arise.