Three Jacksonville Transportation Authority staff members are without jobs after an investigation showed some shoddy hiring practices within the agency
According to a Florida Times-Union investigation, transportation superintendent Charlotte Hall, risk manager Joseph Lewis, and bus operations analyst Roxanne Capeheart all got pink slips for not doing their due diligence during the screening and background check phase of the hiring process.
One rider, who referred to himself as "Cowboy" says if JTA doesn't clean up its act, people will stop riding the bus.
"A lot of people depend on safety while you're on the bus, and if they can't depend on being safe, riders will stop taking the bus altogether."
He said personally, he wants nothing to do with riding a bus with a bad driver.
"No. Sure wouldn't. Goodness, no! We'd have to go another way."
Another rider, Lenora, says JTA needs to remember safety first when hiring drivers.
"That would be pleasant, to hear that JTA has the citizens in mind when they're doing their hiring."
The investigation showed some drivers behind the wheel of JTA buses that had been cited in the past for driving without a license. Others had previous arrests for violent crimes. Some of these incident happened to drivers while they were employed at JTA.
A JTA spokesman tells WOKV that all drivers are given a criminal background check before they're hired, but that's the only time, as is the practice in many different industries. He says now JTA will be doing annual criminal background checks and was also able to confirm that the three employees fired were let go because they failed to conduct annual drivers license checks.
JTA executive director Michael Blaylock told the Times-Union he plans to take responsibility for the issue and have it fixed.
He said they won't be hiring any more drivers with violent crime arrests, and they'll be keeping a closer eye on their bus operators' driving records.
