Driver faces
discipline over teen bus incident

Transit officials in Portland, Ore., apologized Wednesday to two 14-year-old lesbians thrown off a city bus for kissing and said the driver responsible will be disciplined.

The girls, Maika Rich and Jocelyn O'Neal, were on their way to Portland's Sexual Minority Youth Center on June 8 when their smooching drew a complaint from another passenger. They say that before the driver threw them off the bus he called them "sickos" and smacked Jocelyn's foot, an assertion the driver apparently disputes.

The stranded girls phoned Maika's mother, Ronnda Zezula, but declined her offer to pick them up and continued to the youth center on a later bus.

Wednesday's statement follows Zezula's complaint and demand for an investigation.

"TriMet sincerely apologizes to the girls and their families for this incident," general manager Fred Hansen said Wednesday in a written statement.

"Removing the girls from the bus was not consistent with our policy. I want to reiterate that we welcome all riders on our system," Hansen said.

Said TriMet spokeswoman Mary Flesch: "The riders' actions did not warrant being removed from the bus, and TriMet policy requires operators to call for assistance before removing a minor off the bus."

Personnel codes prevent the agency from naming the driver, a 64-year-old male with 11 years' service, or from specifying the discipline he is to receive, Flesch said.

Zezula told Gay.com she hoped that at minimum the driver would be taken off the line, which many teens take to the Sexual Minority Youth Center and which Jocelyn must also take to and from school.

"When the girls came out I lectured them a lot" about public displays of affection, Zezula said. "I said, 'This home is a safe haven.' But I see [straight] kids and even adults pushing it all the time in public, and they are not treated in that way."

The driver may appeal any disciplinary action through his union, Flesch said. (Barbara Wilcox, The Advocate)