California may no longer be friendly to loud and improperly dressed commuters, who will be asked to get off buses and light rail trains under the new transportation rules in Sacramento. The ordinance will refuse any train or bus passage from a person who is not wearing shoes and is not covered "above and below the waist." Under the ordinance, passengers may also be banned if they play any personal audio equipments that other passengers are able to hear. Sleeping passengers will also given the boot.
Originally, proposals included a standard for passenger smell so that passage will be refused from individuals who give off offensive odours. This segment was, however, disapproved as it was seen to be a slight against disadvantaged Sacramentans whose right to ride buses and trains should be respected.
Advocacy coordinator for Wellspring Women's Center in Sacramento, Pam Haney, remarked upon the discriminatory nature of the policy. "It seems as though the primary goal of this change is enabling them to have an administrative route to be additionally discriminatory toward homeless people."
In an effort to encourage public transport use in this capital, these policies to make travel more pleasant for the regular passenger were brought to the table. Sacramento Regional Transit District spokeswoman Alane Masui says, "If we can make it more attractive or make it more enjoyable to use the light rail or bus, then people are more apt to use it." The transit system currently sees around 98,000 boardings in a given week.
This anticipatory move is preparation in the wake of increase of downtown commercial structures and plans to eventually erect crowd-drawing high-end basketball arena and soccer stadium.
In the past year alone, transit officials customer advocacy department received a daunting 7,000 complaint cases. Around 318 cases of crime were also reported. This, needless to say, detracts from the agency's efforts to woo middle-class riders from private transportation to public bus and light rail commute.
