The Transit & Paratransit Company (TAPTCO) has announced that they have just completed the development of a new training program – Conflict & Aggression Management for Transit bus operators.
“Many of our customers have been requesting a more powerful program to provide the drivers with the systems and methods to handle problematic situations,” said Jeff Cassell, president of TAPTCO. “This program examines a number of real life situations and demonstrates how the drivers should and should not react to diffuse the situations.”
“The course starts by showing a re-enactment of the video on YouTube, (watched by over 8 million viewers), where the bus driver and a passenger are screaming at each other leading to the driver punching the passenger with a powerful uppercut after she spat at him. The program clearly shows how the driver should have handled that situation to diffuse it and prevent it being aired on worldwide news channels and YouTube.” added Cassell
Ken Reed, the Loss Control Services Manager for the Ohio Transit Risk Pool commented, “We are excited to be able to provide this material to our members and the feedback we have received has been extremely positive.”
Included in the course are the practices taught in the police academies across the USA by The Verbal Judo Institute. By the very nature of the job, the police face conflict and aggressive situations every day and these practices are very effective in preventing most situations from escalating. These practices include:
- People have a need to be respected.
- People would rather be asked not told.
- People have a desire to know why.
- People prefer to have options over threats.
The program presents a number of problematic situations and shows the driver’s using these techniques to resolve the problems. The program is DVD based and also includes a trainer’s guide and a driver’s study guide. The program costs $250.
In addition, the program guides discussions on:
- When can you refuse transportation?
- Rights to remove a passenger.
- What to do if a passenger does not have the fare.
- What to do if a passenger appears intoxicated as you approach a stop and many more such challenges.
