Mom Kicked Off Bus Because Her Baby Was Crying

on October 4, 2011 at 3:38 PM

cry baby I think we've all been there -- you're on a plane or at church or in a restaurant, somewhere public, and your baby starts crying. You try to comfort her, but nothing works. Nothing! No one wants the crying to stop more than you do. Not only are you attracting a whole room's worth of ire (embarrassing!), you're also feeling horrible for your unhappy baby.

My best defense in that situation was always to start nursing, but breastfeeding in public can get you in trouble with certain types. Still, when I heard about this Oregon bus driver who kicked a mother and her crying baby off a bus this week complaining that she couldn't "drive with all that noise," I was outraged.

The driver says she warned the mother, telling her over the loudspeaker to quiet down her baby. But we all know how that works. There is no "off" button for crying babies.

Some of the other passengers defended the mom, pointing out that the baby's crying wasn't that loud. But mom and baby were forced to leave the bus at 8 o'clock at night by this female bus driver! Imagine getting dropped off in an unfamiliar neighborhood in the dark with your tired, miserable baby?!

Another woman passenger joined her to help. And then, after arguing with the driver, the rest of the passengers marched off the bus as well out of protest.

Since then the bus driver has been suspended. A spokesman for TriMet Public Transit says if the driver was really having that much difficulty, she should have called her supervisor for help. It's against policy to force "vulnerable" passengers like babies and the disabled to leave. "Drivers aren't just supposed to ask them to leave." No kidding, bus company.

It's good to know at least the passengers and the bus line have some compassion for parents of crying babies. Sad that the driver didn't.

What would you have done if you were that mom? What would you have done if you witnessed this?

Image via MissD90/Flickr

About the author Adriana Velez

is a staff writer who dabbles in food, parenting, news, entertainment, molecular biology, and anything else that that pops into her head. She lives with her husband and elementary school-aged son in Brooklyn, land of urban farms and artisan everything.

Filed Under: colic & crying

Comments (20)

kelticmom

on Oct 4, 2011 at 3:54 PM

That is dispicable! How has our society gotten to such a place where we kick mother's with crying babies out of buses? Or handicapped passengers off of planes? Or tell a nursing mother to feed her baby in a bathroom stall? Where has our national sense of common decency and compassion gone? It makes me sad and afraid for our society if this is the way we are headed.

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jalaz77

on Oct 4, 2011 at 3:55 PM

I would have stuck up for her. If that driver wants certain cleintal then he needs to get off the PUBLIC transportation system now!

Nonmember comment from Jasmine

on Oct 4, 2011 at 4:01 PM

Wow, that's terrible! I think most of us have been on both sides of that issue: having to hear the annoying crying baby, and being the mom trying desperately to quiet the baby. A crying baby can certainly be an annoyance, but if it was causing her that much distraction, she should have pulled over at the next stop and waited for the next bus so that the passenger and baby could safely transfer. It would be bad enough having to travel by bus with a baby in the first place, I can't imagine then being kicked off of it with a screaming baby at 8 pm! Poor woman and baby. I'm sure a lot of people are going to jump on this and say that this woman deserved it because they're sick of hearing crying babies, but it comes down to the safety of mother and child, and that's more important than you having peace and quiet for the duration of your bus ride.

momavanessa

on Oct 4, 2011 at 4:38 PM

That is horrible! The people on the bus were great! I would of been right there with the mom.

bigndead

on Oct 4, 2011 at 9:24 PM

She was pro ably worried about being g able to drive safely .. some people can not block out and any screaming

on Oct 4, 2011 at 9:25 PM

*block out baby screaming

tayanna2

on Oct 4, 2011 at 9:32 PM

If you are incapable of driving with a baby screaming, DON'T BE A BUS DRIVER! Buses can be noisy, distracting places, if you can't hack it - find a new job.

elizabooks

on Oct 4, 2011 at 10:38 PM

Poor woman should have called her supervisor if she was that distracted by the crying.

I'd rather not be on a bus where the driver cannot concentrate, but instead of getting off I would have seen if the other passengers would have collected enought for her to get a cab.

Facebook comment from Alena Scott

on Oct 5, 2011 at 1:25 AM

I am shocked to know this, I mean how could he force a lady with a crying baby that too at night to get down the bus...It was not her fault that baby was crying...He should be definitely suspended.