What to Know
- Battery kill switches are designed for first-responders to shut down buses in emergencies.
- Riders say others flip the switches often.
- The locks will only let Metro access the kill switches.
A Metrobus feature designed to help first responders in emergencies is being locked up to prevent others from interfering with it.
Riders say battery kill switches, which shut down buses, get flipped often.
“I don't understand why they have it on the outside where you can pull it,” said rider Mysheicka Turner. “That's crazy.”
In August, a man was shot on a Metrobus in southeast D.C. when someone pulled the switch, stranding passengers in the chaos.
So Metro is installing locks on the doors where the switches are located so they can only be accessed by Metro. Workers install the locks when a bus is taken in for a maintenance overhaul.
Steven Kramer, who represents the man who was shot in August, is suing Metro, saying if the bus had not been shut down, his client would not have been shot.
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Metro did not comment on the lawsuit but has asked a judge to dismiss the case.
