SEPTA to install bulletproof glass to shield bus operators
SEPTA demonstrates bulletproof glass to shield bus drivers
SEPTA is working to ensure no other bus drivers are shot and killed while operating a SEPTA vehicle as they demonstrate bulletproof glass to be installed in some buses.
BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. - It has been more than one year since a SEPTA bus driver was shot and killed by a passenger and the agency is working to make sure it never happens again.
This spring, SEPTA plans to implement bulletproof glass to protect all bus operators.
What we know:
In the wake of the shooting death of a SEPTA bus driver nearly a year and a half ago, the agency will place eight protective shields in its buses in a pilot program to protect drivers.
Repeated shots from a 9 MM pistol crack the outside of a safety shield in a Bucks County shooting range Tuesday afternoon. But on the other side, the material is clear nothing has pierced or penetrated.
What they're saying:
Union representatives for bus drivers from Philly to Houston and Miami to Michigan like what they see. John Samuelsen is the International President of the Transit Workers Union on hand for the demonstration. He said, "This is a move we are taking to hopefully, permanently end the scourge of violence against Philly bus operators and take it across the country."
They’ve come to learn if the new protective shield for bus drivers can stand up to repeated shots from handguns. SEPTA plans to be the first in the country to install eight of the shields in its buses in the coming months.
More shots, this time with a 357 magnum, yielding the same result. Local TWU leader Brian Pollitt said he was absolutely pleased with the result, adding, "It didn’t come through at all."
The backstory:
Installation of the new barriers grows from tragedy after veteran SEPTA bus driver, Bernard Gribbin, was shot to death by a passenger in Germantown nearly a year and half ago. The TWU says it pushed for the systems in contract talks. Pollitt said, "I championed the fight for safety, not just for members but the riding public. If they jumped on this sooner, maybe we wouldn’t have a murdered bus driver."
Female suspect charged with murder after SEPTA driver shot to death onboard bus: police
Philadelphia police say a female suspect has been taken into custody after a SEPTA bus driver was gunned down in a "targeted" shooting Thursday morning in Germantown.
Big picture view:
The shield repels shots from a more lethal pistol, but when shooters aim their weapons on the bus enclosure with a test dummy seated inside, the dummy bucks, struck by a bullet a company representative says was non-lethal and was left hanging on the dummy’s jacket.
Chad Beach of Custom Glass Solutions said, "What you have is professionally trained shooters putting bullets on the exact same impact point."