Transit for Livable Communities-Sub

mntransit.org

Transit systems need protection from lawsuits.

You can take action on this alert by reading the information below and following the directions at the bottom.

Issue

Bus systems can be held liable for injuries that take place off the bus.

Background

Bus systems in Minnesota are at risk for lawsuits. In cases where students choose to ride a city bus rather than a school bus, the presumption is that bus drivers will be held to the same "duty of care" standard that school bus drivers have to ensure that students safely reach their final destination. In some cases, this has meant that even though students safely got off the bus and went somewhere else and then subsequently were injured, the bus system was sued for negligence. We need legislation to protect bus systems from this kind of litigation.

Your message will be sent to each of the following targets:

Representative Al Juhnke
Representative Alice Hausman
Representative Andrew Falk
Representative Bernard Lieder
Representative Bruce D. Anderson
Representative Doug Magnus
Representative Frank Hornstein
Representative Keith Downey
Representative Kory Kath
Representative Mary Liz Holberg
Representative Michael L. Beard
Representative Michael V. Nelson
Representative Paul Thissen
Representative Peggy Scott
Representative Torrey N. Westrom
Representative William Kuisle

A sample message appears below, which you may edit before sending.

Lawsuits make transit systems less accessible.

Dear Representative Juhnke,
In Minnesota, one idea for saving tax dollars is to encourage as many people as possible, including students, to ride the bus. Students traveling to school by city bus rather than taking their own car or using school buses can save money by taking advantage of buses that operating in the area.

However, right now, bus systems can be held liable for injuries that happen to students AFTER they have safely left the bus and gone on to other locations. The Legislature should change the law to encourage greater use of bus service by clarifying that the duty of the bus driver to students - just like any other passenger -- is to get the student safely on and off the bus.

HF2016 will ensure that regular route bus drivers are not at risk for actions that happen off the bus and will support greater efficiency in our transit system. Please support this legislation.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Your name and address here

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Action Alert: Transit systems need protection from lawsuits.