NEWS- Bus scare: Emergency message shocks driver

Anita Impagliazzo was leaving the Pantops Shopping Center on Tuesday, November 28 when she noticed something strange about the city bus in front of her.

"The bus sign that had just said the route number suddenly changed," she says. Now, instead of reading "Downtown 10"– the destination and bus number– a far more ominous message was displayed. "It said, 'Call Cops,'" says Impagliazzo.

Confused and concerned, she tried to peer through the windows to see if the passengers inside appeared to be in distress. Although she didn't see any sign of a problem, she decided to play it safe and called 911 to report the message and the bus's location.

That's just what she should have done, says Bill Waterson, the city's director of transportation. He says because there have been no reports of incidents on buses in the last several weeks, the alert was probably a "false alarm" that happened when the driver accidently triggered an emergency feature designed to allow buses to alert other drivers of problems.

"She is to be commended," says Watterson of Impagliazzo's call. "We appreciate members of the public being willing to do that for us. It shows they're out there helping us out." 

Impagliazzo says she's happy there was no crime, and says she's only disappointed by one thing. 

"I was kinda hoping to see Keanu Reeves on board," she laughs, recalling the action movie, Speed.

City buses are equipped for emergencies.
PHOTO BY COURTENEY STUART

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