Five Girls Abducted from Bus Stop:

TBN Continues to Pressure RTA

By Linda Jane and Ruth Finklestein

On January 3rd, five girls were abducted at gunpoint from a West 25th Street bus stop. Three of them were raped. When asked about the incident, RTA replied that the bus stop was city, not RTA, property, but certainly their security guards would have done something if they had seen the kidnapping.

This is not the first sorry excuse many women have heard. Nor is this an isolated incident. Rape, assault, robbery, and harassment are common occurrences at RTA rapid and bus stops. However, very few of these incidents receive public attention. For obvious reasons, RTA isn't talking.

Those who rely on RTA, cannot ignore the reality of violence. But fortunately, women are fighting back under the leadership of Cleveland Women Take

RTA Security Facts

A. RTA ridership has increased by 50 percent since 1975, yet there has been no increase in the transit police force. Only 1.2 percent of RTA's operating budget is allocated for security. However, RTA's federal funding has increased tenfold since 1975, from $6.2 million in federal funds in 1975, to $66.8 million in 1977.

B. A call to the RTA Transit Police is not an emergency call. Therefore, you must have 20 cents to dial and 20 minutes to wait for the understaffed information operators to take your call.

C. Three RTA drivers have raped women in the last two years. Twenty RTA drivers were involved in assaults in the last two years.

D. RTA provides no lighting at bus shelters. Only bus shelters containing advertising have lighting. This is provided by the advertising company.

Back the Night (TBN), a feminist collective committed to ending violence against women.

A second public meeting between TBN and RTA occurred on December 10 at the Old Stone Church in downtown Cleveland. Over 100 interested individuals and representatives of women's groups joined TBN to challenge the responses of RTA officials Harry Alexander (Chairman of the RTA Board) and John Terango (Director of Transportation) to demands first presented on September 29th (see WSW, October, 1980). These demands are as follows:

1) An increase in security guards from 35 at present to 150, half of whom should be women;

2) Free, comprehensive route maps outlining the RTA system to be posted within two months at all rapid stops and major bus stops;

3) Assault statistics from 1975 to the present, published within two months;

4) Adequate lighting at all rapid stops and immediate vicinities, and all bus stops and shelters to be lit or placed under street lights;

5) To meet again with RTA in two months for a progress report.

Although described in the Plain Dealer headline the following day as "Safety-Seeking Women Outgun RTA", the outcome of the meeting was somewhat less dramatic and certainly less violent. In September, Terango refused to make any recommendations to the RTA Board of Directors concerning

these demands. This time, the head honcho Harry Alexander did the same.

In regard to the specific demands, we learned that 1) the decision to hire more security guards must be based on budgetary constraints; 2) the route map, slated for publication in November, 1980, as of September 23rd is now scheduled for mid-1981; 3) assault statistics were provided as the result. of the first meeting, but as one TBN member commented, they are inadequate (e.g., rape is not isolated but is combined with assault. Nor are the locations of incidents identified); and 4) adequate lighting of bus shelters and rapid stops also must be considered in financial terms. After the meeting, Terango asked for a list of ten bus stops to begin "checking into". Although RTA officials appeared unmoved, there were some small victories. RTA's responsibility for security was clarified by Capt. John Barry of the Cleveland Police force who, contrary to RTA's positon at the last meeting, stated that security must be a joint effort. Terango also agreed to TBN's demand that security guards receive rape crisis training and promised to call the Rape Crisis Center the following day. (RTA did, in fact, call and is currently making arrangements for in-service training for all drivers and guards.) So, although in Harry Alexander's eyes we were merely a "special interest group" with our own concerns, RTA may at least be sitting up and taking notice.

For both those who endured the frustrations of the first meeting and the previously uninitiated, the evening moved and informed us. After a brief introduction, members of TBN presented a slide show featuring photos of unlit, desolate rapid stops, and nervous riders accompanied by personal testimonies of fear of and incidents of violence. As the meeting progressed, women began to express their indignation at RTA's callous attitude. Our security must become an RTA priority. Only then will there be money in the budget for an adequate transit police force, for good lighting everywhere on the system, for usable route information, and for training that sensitizes all transit personnel to the security problems women face. Our struggle for freedom of mobility for women on the public transportation system must continue.

The question facing TBN now is-how? What next steps will most effectively make women's security an RTA priority? This process has only begun, is ongoing, and needs your input. So far, ideas for future plans include more community education, an evening meeting with the entire RTA Board, research about

Kenny v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority

581 F.2d 351 (1978)

A woman waiting on a public transit platform in Philadelphia was dragged to a dark corner, beaten, and raped. A ticket taker on the platform did not notice the assault. The woman sued the transit authority for damages-and won! The court found the transit authority liable for the assault because of

1. "deficient lighting on the station platform;" and

2. "insufficient attention to conditions by the only employee on the premises".

RTA's funding and budget, U.S. Department of Transportation involvement, possible lawsuits by individuals, and civil disobedience. These ideas are not mutually exclusive, and we expect to pursue a number of them simultaneously.

The community education process has been initiated by inviting representatives of area women's

groups to the December 10 Public Meeting. Education will continue by speaking with these groups about problems of safety for women on RTA and using the slide show to urge women's groups to action. Because of Harry Alexander's inability (or unwillingness) to recommend consideration of our goals to his Board, we suggested an evening meeting with the

Wana

Photo by Louise Luczak

As Cleveland women express their anger and frustration about the instances of violence against us on RTA, Terrace Smagala, Director of Communications for the transit system, finds time to nap.

entire RTA Board of Trustees. Two RTA Board members present in the audience, Sarah Ann Vigil and Joseph Gaul, said they would support a request for an evening Board meeting. TBN representatives who attended the most recent RTA Board meeting on the morning of December 16 requested an evening meeting to provide a forum for the entire RTA Board to hear and act upon the needs of a large proportion of its riders.

Continued research about RTA's budgets, funding sources, and federal obligations will yield more pathways for RTA to meet our security goals. Knowing more about what additional funds are available, what restrictions exist on funds, and what alternate uses are possible for existing funds will help us show RTA additional ways to meet our goals. U.S. Department of Transportation involvement is closely related. As one of RTA's main funding sources, the Department of Transportation is valuable first as a source of information and then possibly as a source of pressure on RTA.

Lawsuits by individuals to get reimbursement from RTA for damages suffered because of lack of security are another option. As TBN lawyer Paula Gellman stated at the Public Meeting, a recent Philadelphia case (see box) provides a precedent for such suits. Local women have expressed interest in filing similar suits in Cleveland.

Another option available to make the safety of its ridership an RTA priority is to employ civil disobe

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January, 1981/What She Wants/Page 3