Bus driver's arrest prompts internal probe at Metro Transit

The drunken driving arrest and the driver's previous record have prompted a review of Metro Transit policies.

By DAVID CHANEN, Star Tribune

Last update: March 24, 2009 - 10:51 PM

In the wake of a driver's arrest for operating a bus drunk, the Metro Transit Commission on Tuesday created an internal task force to examine the agency's safety, hiring and performance review standards and procedures, a spokesman said.

The driver, Alonzo V. Martin, 46, of St. Paul, has been charged with one gross misdemeanor and one misdemeanor count of driving while impaired. Police stopped him about 9:40 p.m. Saturday in Brooklyn Center after passengers and drivers called to report that Martin was driving erratically.

MTC managers thought the incident was so serious as to demand a comprehensive review of policies and had discussed some things "we probably should change," spokesman Bob Gibbons said, declining to elaborate. At the same time, Gibbons said the incident "didn't expose any system-wide issues that would force immediate changes in how we do business."

Martin was the first driver in the transit agency's history to be arrested for drunken driving on duty. His blood-alcohol content allegedly was 0.24 -- six times the legal limit for commercial drivers. He is on leave pending the completion of the police and MTC investigations. Gibbons said the agency has dismissed other bus operators for driving offenses "far less serious than this."

The task force will be chaired by MTC's chief operating officer. Gibbons said he's certain any task force recommendation will be implemented. He said the task force also will examine other transit agencies' standards and procedures. The task force's first "check-in" meeting will be Friday.

The agency has a policy that drivers can't be hired if they have had more than one moving violation in the previous year. Martin had two tickets -- one for inattentive driving and one for speeding -- that fell within the one-year period before he was hired on Jan. 14, 2008.

Gibbons said MTC reviewed Martin's driving record before he was hired, but he added that the state's data practices law prevented him from discussing that record or the MTC's decision to hire him anyway.

Currently, MTC's alcohol testing procedures match federal government standards. Drivers are required to be tested before they are hired, after an accident, and if there is reasonable suspicion. Each year, 10 percent of drivers are randomly tested. Metro Transit employs about 1,500 drivers, 367 of whom are part-time.

According to the charges filed against Martin, police stopped him near the Brooklyn Center transit station at 55th Avenue and Xerxes Avenue N. An officer noticed a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and slurred speech. Martin dropped a beer can he tried to tuck into the back of his pants, the charges said. Passengers told police the driver had been all over the road and had run into curbs.

Gibbons said that since the incident the Metro Transit's customer relations department hasn't received any complaints of any other drivers believed to have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

David Chanen • 612-673-4465