2026-11-02 - Public Safety Committee

00:13Good evening.

00:14Uh today is Monday,

00:16uh November 2nd, 2026. I call to order a

00:20meeting of the Brockton's Public Safety

00:22Committee.

00:24Uh with us this evening is uh Councillor

00:27uh Shirley Asack and uh Councillor

00:31Win Farrell. I recognize a quorum. Madam

00:34Clerk, agenda item number one, please.

00:37>> Resolved, whereas there have been

00:39reported issues with safety on the

00:41Brockton Area Transit bus transportation

00:43system, be it resolved to invite a

00:44representative of the BAT bus system and

00:47a member of the ridership to appear

00:48before a committee of the Brockton City

00:50Council to discuss. Invited to attend,

00:53Michael Lambert, administrator of

00:54Brockton Area Transit or designee.

00:56Richard Ripley, Brockton BAT rider.

00:59Maria Tavares, Ward 2 City Councillor.

01:02>> Thank you.

01:02>> Is Maria Tavares here?

01:04>> Yeah, she's she's has not yet appeared.

01:08>> So, we go without her?

01:09>> Well, yes, we'll move on without her. Uh

01:11but uh prior uh to you going, um

01:14Mr. Ripley, uh

01:16the BAT administrator, Michael Lambert,

01:19sent a letter. I'd like to read it into

01:20the record.

01:22Uh dear Councillor Thompson, uh thank

01:24you for the invitation to attend the

01:26Public Safety Committee meeting on

01:28November 2nd. Unfortunately, [snorts]

01:30I am unable to attend, but I am happy to

01:33respond to any questions that may arise

01:35from the meeting. Additionally, if you

01:38allow, I would like to submit the

01:39following for the record.

01:42Brockton Area Transit's top priority is

01:44the safety of our customers, drivers,

01:48and mechanics, as well as members of our

01:50service area that drive, walk, or bike

01:54near our vehicles.

01:55We have a dedicated safety department

01:58that is backed up by superiors with

02:00decades of experience.

02:02We are the only agency in the

02:04Commonwealth that has installed a

02:05camera-based collision avoidance system

02:08on all our buses.

02:10We work closely with our municipal

02:12partners to make sure that our bus stops

02:15are in as safe locations as possible.

02:18We hold our operator contractor Transdev

02:21to a high standard of training and

02:23execution and review their performance

02:26in regularly scheduled safety meetings.

02:29The result of all of our of all of this

02:31is that BAT's

02:33injury rate consistently ranks at least

02:3590% below the national average for

02:39transit agencies.

02:41We are by no means perfect. However,

02:44this year BAT is on pace to complete 4

02:47million customer trips and travel 2.1

02:51million miles via 222,000

02:54vehicle hours.

02:56Additionally, many of these customers

02:58travel via Dial-A-BAT due to a

03:00disability and require a high level of

03:03care and attention.

03:05While we are proud of these numbers that

03:07represent a historic high and an

03:09excellent yield for a service of our

03:11size, they also represent many

03:14opportunities for a failure to meet our

03:17standards.

03:18When an incident occurs or a verifiable

03:21complaint is received, BAT requires

03:24preservation of video from the six

03:27cameras aboard each vehicle.

03:30As Mr. Ripley is aware due to his public

03:32records request, investigations are

03:35tracked in a database until resolved.

03:38Our contractor is then required to take

03:40appropriate action in accordance with

03:42their policies and collective bargaining

03:45agreement.

03:46Depending on the type of severity of an

03:48incident, these actions may include a

03:50drug and alcohol test as well.

03:53This commitment to safety is not just

03:55professional, it is also personal. Our

03:57reputations are on the line each day and

04:00we are continuously striving to mitigate

04:03risks, eliminate injuries, and reduce

04:06mistakes.

04:07Any accusations to the contrary are

04:09false or in error. Again, I am happy to

04:12answer any questions that the committee

04:14may have as a result of this meeting.

04:16Sincerely, Michael J. Lambert,

04:19administrator. Um counselors, uh without

04:22objection, I'd ask that this uh document

04:24be submitted uh for the record.

04:32Does anybody have any uh statement based

04:34upon uh this uh the record uh or the

04:37statement of Mr. Lambert? All right,

04:39seeing none, then uh we'll call uh our

04:42bus rider uh representative, Mr. Richard

04:44Ripley. Good evening, Richard. Good to

04:46see you.

04:47>> Thank uh good evening, counselors uh

04:49Thompson, Channel, Asack,

04:52Powell.

04:54I'm not sure your name, but well, I'm

04:55glad to be here in front of you.

04:57Okay, I'm just going to read this um I'm

04:59going to read it. So, I'm not going to

05:00look up too often because I want to make

05:02sure I get everything cuz I spent a lot

05:04of time on this. I spent uh I've been

05:05fighting this for 44 months trying to

05:07bus safety, and I've got without

05:10exaggerating, thousands and thousands of

05:11documents and videos and letters and

05:13everything, and that's the truth. And

05:15I've I've I've whittled all that down to

05:18this.

05:19So, I've cut it down as far as I can to

05:22give you a a complete understanding of

05:25what I see and what I'm

05:28I'm going to talk about.

05:29>> Understood. The floor is yours, sir.

05:31>> Okay. Uh let's see. Uh my name is

05:32Richard Ripley. I appreciate the

05:34opportunity to speak to you with you

05:35tonight on the ongoing threat to

05:37passenger safety on Brockton Area

05:39Transit buses, particularly for our

05:41city's most vulnerable residents, our

05:43elderly, disabled, and our kids.

05:45Let me say that there are there are

05:47quite a few bus drivers who care. They

05:49drive responsibly, and they allow

05:51elderly disabled to be safely seated

05:53before they move the bus.

05:55>> [clears throat]

05:55>> But sadly, there are a group of drivers

05:57who, for a lack of a better term, do not

06:00care, are rude, and drive in a way that

06:03endangers passenger safety.

06:05Well, I agree that Brockton needs a bus

06:07company. More importantly, it needs to

06:10be a safe bus company. As you will hear,

06:13despite what BAT may tell the mayor and

06:15the city council, BAT is not as safe as

06:18they say. I will have more on that in a

06:20couple of minutes. I will now list some

06:23important facts to back up my statement.

06:25Most of what it what I'm about to tell

06:27you is documented in thousands of pages

06:29of emails, letters, texts, videos,

06:32interviews with various concerned

06:33Brocktonians, and elected public

06:35servants. I will now begin. The city of

06:38Brockton, Brockton Area Transit, the

06:40Brockton Police Department, and State

06:42Representative Rita Mendez have all

06:45investigated and confirmed the illegal,

06:47dangerous, ongoing public safety threat

06:49on BAT buses.

06:50Currently, there are what BAT calls

06:53safety signs on its buses in four

06:55languages informing passengers to ask

06:59the driver if they need more time to

07:01find a seat.

07:03I will have more on that in a minute. I

07:04have personally witnessed and reported

07:07over 200 illegal or dangerous passenger

07:10safety threats primarily affecting the

07:13elderly or disabled. These have largely

07:15been investigated and confirmed by BAT.

07:18I have all those documents.

07:20For example, multiple elderly disabled

07:22Brockton grandmothers have been

07:24seriously injured and hospitalized.

07:26Multiple elderly disabled in wheelchairs

07:28have had their life and safety

07:30threatened when the driver failed to

07:32properly properly secure

07:35their their wheelchairs. I have

07:37witnessed many obviously elderly

07:39passengers knocked off their balance as

07:42they walk to find a seat when the driver

07:44hits the gas and and the and but other

07:47fast-acting passengers reach out and

07:50they grab them before they hit the floor

07:52and get injured. And I have those

07:53documented, too.

07:55I witnessed a truly disturbing incident

07:57to an to a young kid from West Middle

07:59School of a driver knowingly and

08:02intentionally

08:03knowingly and intentionally jeopardizing

08:06the kid's life as he was standing

08:08between the driver and the bus doors

08:10while the bus was in motion driving down

08:12West Elm Street. Again, all documented.

08:15I have witnessed drivers eating and

08:17drinking while driving the bus. This is

08:19called, I am told, distracted driving.

08:21Please understand, it is critically

08:23important for the driver to pay full

08:25attention to driving the bus. Eating

08:27food and beverage distracts the driver

08:30and jeopardizes passenger safety. Bus

08:32drivers have a I'm told I don't want to

08:34say I'm swearing to this, but bus

08:37drivers have a duty of care to every

08:39passenger on the bus. Having a hamburger

08:42in one hand is dangerous. I have

08:44reported this to BAT and asked them what

08:47their policy is on drivers eating and

08:49drinking. BAT chose not to respond. That

08:52includes Michael Lambert cuz everything

08:54here is goes through Michael Lambert and

08:57something called [email protected].

08:59I have reported this to BAT and asked

09:01them what their policy is on drivers

09:02eating and drinking. BAT chose not to

09:04respond, which is a direct violation of

09:07their own written policy to respond to

09:10any concerns, compliments,

09:13or questions, or anything within three

09:15business days. Three business days. It's

09:18not my policy, it's their written policy

09:20on their website.

09:22Uh let's see. An elderly passenger from

09:24Bel Air Towers, that's where I live,

09:26asked the driver if drives the driver if

09:29this bus, the route 14, which is the one

09:31that stops at Bel Air Towers, was going

09:33to Stoughton. There are two 14 buses.

09:35One goes to Stoughton, one goes to BAT

09:38Center downtown Brockton. There's a

09:40sign,

09:41I don't know what it's called on the

09:42front of the bus. I call it the

09:43destination.

09:45Okay. So, let's see. Uh where was I?

09:47Okay, the elderly passenger asked the

09:49driver of the bus, "Is this what that is

09:51uh what if the bus was going to

09:53Stoughton?" That is what it said on the

09:56destination on the front of the bus. The

09:57incredibly rude bus driver said, "Can't

10:00you read?"

10:02To an elderly passenger, "Can't you

10:03read?"

10:05Uh okay. Uh the woman was simply making

10:08sure she was getting on the correct bus.

10:10Many times the drivers have the wrong

10:12destination on the front of the bus, so

10:14passengers have to ask so they get to

10:15the right bus.

10:17A Portuguese-speaking elderly disabled

10:19resident, also at Bella Towers, was not

10:21feeling well one day. As she got on the

10:23bus, she asked the driver in Portuguese,

10:26in Portuguese, not English, Portuguese,

10:28not to move the bus until she was

10:30seated. The driver did not know what she

10:32was saying.

10:33Didn't know what she was saying.

10:35She was Yeah, she was forced to struggle

10:37and try to stand up until she walked to

10:39a seat. She did get safely seated. She

10:42did get safely seated. Three different

10:44BAT managers, I won't list their names

10:46now, but I'll happily give them when the

10:47time comes. Three different BAT managers

10:50have been telling me both verbally and

10:52in emails for 44 months. It's not a

10:56mistake. 44 months.

10:58Uh 44 months that they will Every time

11:01an incident happens, they will speak to

11:03the driver and retrain the driver, but

11:05nothing changes. Whatever BAT has been

11:07doing for 44 months to retrain the

11:09drivers, it's not working. I don't know

11:12what their training procedures are, but

11:13whatever it is, either the drivers

11:16aren't listening or they're not doing it

11:17or something is wrong because the things

11:19continue. I reported all the above to

11:22BAT. They confirmed most of them, and I

11:25also reported it to the mayor and city

11:26councilors. Not all of you cuz uh this

11:29goes back 44 months and some of you,

11:30like Channel Council Channel, you

11:32weren't here at that time.

11:34Uh but not one of them responded. This

11:37brings me to the safety signs on the

11:38bus. These signs are on the bus. They

11:41are They are in English, Portuguese,

11:43Haitian Cre- Haitian Creole, and French.

11:46But this creates a language barrier

11:48between the driver and the passenger.

11:50They are useless and not safety signs if

11:53the drivers do not understand what a

11:55passenger is saying. I have addressed

11:57this multiple times with various BAT

11:59managers. Oh, here we go. BAT Operations

12:01Manager Kelly Forrester stated in an

12:03email that all drivers know what the

12:06signs say.

12:07While that is a true statement from Kel-

12:09from um Ms. Forrester, Kelly was being

12:12evasive. She knows that the drivers are

12:15do not understand when a passenger

12:17actually speaks to them in Portuguese or

12:20one of those languages,

12:22it asks some more time to find the seat.

12:24They know what the signs say cuz they're

12:25all beside each other. So, whatever's in

12:27English, that's what it means in those

12:29languages. But, when you try to speak to

12:31the driver in those languages, the

12:33driver does not know what you're saying.

12:36Okay. Let's see. Signs say well, that is

12:39speak to them. Kelly She knows the

12:41drivers don't understand in one of the

12:43multiple languages. Now, I have offered

12:45that a viable solution a couple of times

12:48to this language barrier, but they

12:50refuse to respond. A very viable

12:52solution, which I'll be happy to tell

12:53you if you want to know it. This brings

12:55me to the issue of BAT informing the

12:57mayor and other elected public servants,

12:59including some of you that were there at

13:01the time,

13:03that based on their numbers, I'm sorry,

13:05my mouth is getting dry.

13:07That based on their numbers, BAT is one

13:09of the safest buses in Massachusetts.

13:12Now, I'm aware of these reports and

13:14BAT's numbers, but as with most of how

13:16BAT operates, it is a wildly misleading

13:19statement. The numbers they go by are

13:22incomplete and not representative of the

13:25true number of complaints and injuries

13:27and etc. First, according to an email

13:30from BAT assistant general manager John

13:31Whitmore, the BAT bus drivers union

13:34contract

13:37has a clause called fishing and

13:39harassment. What that means is if a

13:41driver has been disciplined for driving

13:43to endanger passenger safety, BAT is

13:46forbidden to review the bus tapes of any

13:50of any bus that that driver may be

13:53driving on any other day day or time to

13:56see if that driver who's been

13:57disciplined is repeating the same

14:00illegal driving behavior. But, they

14:02can't do that without a specific

14:04complaint being filed on that specific

14:06bus.

14:08Okay. Which means that BAT does not have

14:11the authority or power or ability to

14:14keep passengers safe by monitoring the

14:16driving behavior of disciplined drivers

14:19who have already endangered passenger

14:21safety and been disciplined, which means

14:23that the incident numbers that BAT goes

14:25by, I'm just going to put this up. The

14:27incident numbers that BAT goes by and

14:29they rely on in their reports are flawed

14:31and incomplete.

14:33Number two, Brockton is an immigrant

14:35city.

14:36Now, what I'm about to say, I don't I'm

14:38not demeaning any of the immigrants. I'm

14:40just going to state what's going on.

14:43Let's see, Brockton is an immigrant

14:44city. The vast majority of BAT's riders

14:47are low-income immigrants, many who do

14:49not speak English. Being immigrants,

14:51they are not aware of the federal and

14:54state laws and BAT policies that are

14:56there to keep them safe when riding the

14:58bus. And being immigrants and not

15:01speaking English and not knowing the

15:03law, they would never think of

15:04questioning the bus driver or even know

15:07that what they just saw or what just

15:08occurred was even illegal or dangerous.

15:12This also affects the real number of

15:14safety incidents that BAT's that BAT

15:16tells you about. They're not reflected

15:18on this on these documents that they

15:19tell you. Also, BAT operates 550

15:24individual bus trips per day, Monday

15:26through Friday, not including weekends,

15:28just Monday through Friday, from point A

15:31to point B and back again.

15:33I don't ride the bus as often as I used

15:35to, but I alone but I alone witnessed

15:38and reported well over 200 safety

15:41incidents. I myself was a victim five

15:43times. Unless you believe that I am

15:46unlucky enough to be on the only buses

15:49that these illegal, dangerous, ongoing

15:51public safety threats occur on, then

15:53just imagine how many thousands of

15:56illegal or dangerous passenger safety

15:58threats are actually occurring on all

16:01those 550 bus trips just Monday through

16:04Friday, but are not being reported. That

16:06also doesn't reflect on this on their

16:09reports that they're telling you that

16:10they're so safe.

16:13Okay, so you see the numbers BAT relies

16:15on to complete their reports are wildly

16:16inaccurate and not reflective of the

16:18true safety threats. Next, I'm going to

16:21pronounce this guy's name wrong, but I

16:22think it's a next mistake I think it's

16:25called Guy DePierre. He's currently the

16:28president of the drivers um

16:31the drivers union. He came to me on the

16:33bus one day and this is all documented.

16:35He came to me on the bus one day and

16:37said, "I know who you are.

16:39I have access to all your reports of

16:41safety violations." I asked Mr. Pierre,

16:44"Why do the drivers repeatedly drive

16:46illegally and dangerously?" You're not

16:48going to believe what he said. He said,

16:50"They have been doing it for so long, it

16:52is a habit that they cannot stop."

16:55He further said, "I want you to know

16:57that the drivers also know who you are,

16:59me, and if you do not stop reporting

17:02safety violations and if the drivers

17:04receive their fourth disciplinary

17:06letter, which he says will result in

17:08them being terminated, they will come

17:10after you."

17:12Since I did not think the drivers were

17:13going to take me out to lunch, I

17:15interpreted that as a threat to harm me.

17:18I reported it to BAT, the mayor, that

17:21was Sullivan at the time, and the

17:23Brockton Police Department. The Brockton

17:24Police looked into it and they said,

17:26"Well, he was only warning you to stop

17:29to to he was only warning you to stop

17:31make your reporting the threats,

17:33reporting the dangerous incidents. He

17:35was not threatening me."

17:37BAT responded and I have the email. BAT

17:39responded in an email that they reviewed

17:41the bus tapes and acted according to

17:43their standard operating procedures.

17:45My point in telling you this about Mr.

17:47Guy DePierre was not was um

17:49was to show you that Mr. Pierre, the not

17:52who was at that time the vice president,

17:54is now the president, he was not at all

17:56concerned about the drivers illegal

17:58dangerous driving behavior to the

18:00elderly passengers, he was only

18:01concerned with protecting the drivers

18:03jobs.

18:05Next,

18:06why do I say that BAT is not safe and

18:09that they are a secretive organization

18:12that does not I know I keep using this

18:14word, but I don't know if a better word

18:15to use, does not care or respond to

18:17safety concerns?

18:19I apologize if that's the wrong word to

18:20use.

18:21On October 1st, 2025, this is what I was

18:24telling you earlier counselor Thompson.

18:27On October 1st, 2025, I emailed that

18:30executive director Michael Lambert about

18:32legitimate safety concerns. Today makes

18:35398

18:37I'm not not exaggerating. That's a real

18:39number. 390 straight days without a

18:43response from Michael Lambert. Keep in

18:45mind that has a written policy that

18:48states they will respond within three

18:50business days. I've been waiting 398

18:54days.

18:56BAT has forced me to file multiple

18:58freedom of information requests to get

19:00answers to my legitimate safety

19:02concerns.

19:03No elderly disabled Brockton resident

19:05should have to be forced to take this

19:07step to get simple legitimate safety

19:10concerns addressed to be safe on the

19:12bus.

19:13When BAT came to Belair Towers for the

19:14purpose of addressing with the elderly

19:16disabled residents how to be safe when

19:18riding the bus, all they did was bring

19:21bring a table. They covered it with a

19:23blue cloth that said dial-a-bat. They

19:25put out some literature for dial-a-bat,

19:27and they answered questions and signed

19:29up residents for dial-a-bat. They never

19:31once never once, and this is the whole

19:34reason they were there, was to address

19:36with the elderly residents how to be

19:37safe on the bus. They never once

19:40voluntarily spoke about it or addressed

19:42it.

19:43Uh

19:44voluntarily brought up ongoing safety

19:46threats to the elderly. And that was

19:47exactly what they were there.

19:49Uh I also have documents on that. And

19:51when I walked up to the table to where

19:52Mike Mike Lambert was standing, he

19:55wasn't sitting. When I walked up to the

19:56table and started asking safety

19:58questions to Mike Lambert, he said,

20:00"Let's go over there. Let's go over here

20:01and talk." He did not want the other

20:04residents to hear me asking safety

20:06questions. We had a very long talk. In

20:09fact, he agreed with me on many of the

20:10issues, including the um the um

20:13language barrier solution.

20:16Yet, the next day when I sent him an cuz

20:19it was a verbal conversation. So, the

20:20next day I put it all in the email, what

20:23I recollect from the from our

20:25conversation, and I asked him if this is

20:27true.

20:28He never responded.

20:30That's another way he's evasive. All

20:33that

20:34uh no no matter email when he was going

20:35to do what he said. Yeah, Michael

20:36Lambert never responded. All that is a

20:38perfect example of how BAT operates.

20:40Like I said, they are evasive and they

20:42are not forthcoming and do not act

20:45responsibly. They cannot be trusted. In

20:48my opinion, that makes BAT unsafe for

20:51elderly disabled passengers.

20:53I want to offer solutions right now. I'm

20:56asking BAT to verbally commit Well, I'm

20:58going to say on camera now, but he's not

21:00here. Uh that they will go to all

21:02Brockton Housing Authority properties

21:04and specifically address each of the

21:06items on the multilingual list of safety

21:09information to be safe on the bus that

21:11BAT themselves created and the mayor

21:14worked with me to get them out to us a

21:15few places.

21:17Uh

21:18okay, I said that that's themselves

21:20created with elderly passengers.

21:21Uh that I also want them to

21:23to post the list of safety information

21:26on its official website, at the BAT

21:28Center downtown, and at all bus shelters

21:31cuz if you go to the bus shelters around

21:33the city, you'll find advertisements and

21:35notices and so they are there to be have

21:39things posted.

21:41Uh

21:42say okay. And I also ask if they share

21:44this multilingual safety information

21:46with Brockton's immigrant community

21:48centers, the NAACP, and any other city

21:52agencies that I don't know about that

21:54that are involved in our public safety.

21:57Okay, uh that they will commit to and

21:59also that they will commit they will

22:01commit to stop violating their own

22:05written policy and respond in three

22:07business days to any concerns. That's

22:09going to be a critical thing. The buses

22:11cannot be safe if an elderly person

22:13comes to BAT and says, "Hey, you know,

22:15this or this happened, you know, what's

22:16going on?"

22:17And for 398

22:20days, they don't respond. And I know you

22:22don't believe me, but I have it all all

22:24documented.

22:25>> [laughter]

22:26>> Okay,

22:27uh the BAT Yeah, I said that. Okay, now

22:29now I want to express my disappointment

22:31and concern about the fact that our

22:32mayor, city councilors, again, not all

22:35of you cuz some of you weren't there and

22:36some of you have been new, state

22:38representatives and state senator have

22:40consistently chosen to protect Brockton

22:43Area Transit from being held publicly

22:45accountable or publicly questioned about

22:48the many documented issues, including

22:50illegal, dangerous, ongoing public

22:52safety threats to our elderly disabled

22:53community, which is proof right here.

22:56He's not sitting beside me. He's one of

22:58multiple BAT managers that BAT has. They

23:01could have found somebody somebody to

23:03show up at this important public safety

23:04meeting. Somebody. I know of five

23:07managers that could have handled this.

23:09So, I'm saying I'm not I'm saying he's

23:12being they're being evasive again. They

23:14don't want to answer questions publicly.

23:16But, that's my opinion.

23:19Okay, uh now, for example, 2 months ago,

23:22uh the mayor as chairman of the Brockton

23:24School Committee, the vice chair, and

23:25the superintendent of schools, they got

23:27together, and this is all on camera, on

23:30the BCA um they all recorded it, and

23:32exercised their authority and power and

23:34told the school committee member that he

23:36could not bring back before the school

23:39full school committee to be held

23:41accountable and asked questions, simple

23:43questions, about the safety of the

23:46hundreds of our school kids who ride BAT

23:48buses to and from school every day. That

23:51is very disturbing to me, and I'm not a

23:52parent. I don't have any kids in school.

23:54I'm fighting for safety for everybody,

23:56and I don't need to do this. I'm at 70

23:58years old. I should be enjoying my

23:59retirement.

24:01Uh that is very disturbing to me, and

24:03should be for every parent of a school

24:04kid who rides BAT buses every day.

24:07Also, it is very disturbing to me that

24:09our city councilors, school committee

24:10members, state representatives, and

24:12state senator have remained publicly

24:14silent concerning the documented safety

24:16threats on Brockton Area Transit. Let me

24:19say now to the mayor, city councilors,

24:21state representative, state senator,

24:23there is no law There's no law

24:26when you're on your own, not when you're

24:27in your committee. I understand in your

24:29committee here you have to follow legal

24:31rules, but when you're not in the

24:32committee or when they're out in public

24:34doing your jobs as city councilors,

24:36there's no law that prevents you from

24:38acting like a caring human being and

24:41speaking publicly and asking questions

24:43to protect innocent kids and the elderly

24:46disabled residents that you know that

24:48you represent. You have a God-given

24:50right to be a caring human being.

24:53In closing, I hope I have convinced you

24:55that that needs to do more to keep our

24:58elderly disabled safe when riding that.

25:00I want to say thank you and I want to

25:02ask I know I when I talked to you

25:04Councilor Thompson, I brought a friend

25:06Mr. Stephen Clay, but you guys have to

25:09vote on whether he's allowed to speak

25:10about things that he's

25:13a curse he's happened to him on the bus

25:15and things he's seen, but I left it to

25:17you guys to vote on that.

25:18>> Um before we get to that, thank you for

25:20that Mr. Ripley.

25:23I would ask number one is you bring up a

25:25few issues regarding no response from

25:28that.

25:30Mr. Lambert has assured me that he would

25:33answer any question if you direct it. If

25:35so, I'm going to ask you if you have

25:37specific questions for that, please send

25:39them to me. I will then send them to

25:43Mr. Lambert and then we can see how

25:46forthcoming they'll be with their

25:47answers, okay?

25:48>> I got Can I say something?

25:50>> Of course.

25:51>> I brought I brought with me I know you I

25:52can't give them to you, but I brought

25:55my I think from number 35 to number 186.

26:00And it's all addressed to Michael

26:02Lambert, Michael Lambert, Michael

26:05Lambert, Michael Lambert, Michael

26:06Lambert, Michael Lambert. So him saying

26:08that he may not be getting these, he's

26:10lying. I have every single email.

26:13>> Well again, all I can say is if you if

26:15you send them to me, I'll pass them

26:16along and then hopefully we'll get some

26:18answers.

26:19>> Do you want me to email all of you or

26:21just you?

26:21>> You you could email all of us if you so

26:24choose. Um councilors, anybody have any

26:27questions

26:28Mr. Ripley?

26:30>> I just have a statement at at some point

26:33uh uh but I'll

26:34>> Yeah, please.

26:35>> All right.

26:36Without getting into the different

26:38issues that Mr. Ripley has raised

26:40because I have no direct knowledge about

26:43what Mr. Lambert has done, what Mr.

26:45Lambert hasn't done,

26:47and I'm not going to impugn in any way

26:50Mr. Ripley's passion or his presentation

26:53about the issues that have been

26:55presented. The only thing I would like

26:57to make part of the record is that

26:59chapter 161B of the Mass. General Laws

27:03along with chapter 6C section 53 of the

27:07General Laws regulates regional transit

27:10authorities.

27:12We as a city council do not appoint Mr.

27:15Lambert. We as a city council do not

27:17employ any of the BAT employees. We have

27:21no jurisdiction over them whatsoever.

27:23Uh

27:24as far as having a compassionate view of

27:27things, I have a compassionate view of a

27:29lot of things, but we have a structure

27:32in government. We have for example the

27:34Occupational Safety Health Health

27:36Administration to look after violations

27:39that occur in in the workplace. We have

27:42the Department of Public Health here in

27:44Massachusetts to look after issues that

27:46arise in nursing homes.

27:48Basically what I'm suggesting is that

27:51while I understand the passion that Mr.

27:55Ripley presents, the fact is that we do

27:58not have the authority nor the

28:01responsibility

28:02to try to coerce, supervise, or

28:06otherwise force BAT to respond to what

28:10Mr. Ripley is presenting or to give him

28:13an answer in a timely manner. And I

28:15strongly urge anyone because Mr. Ripley

28:19in 11 years in this council out of

28:21105,000

28:23people, he is the only person who has

28:25ever complained to me about BAT

28:28operations,

28:29which is quite extraordinary if it's as

28:31extensive as has been presented. But, I

28:34would urge Mr. Ripley and anyone else to

28:37write to the state Department of

28:39Transportation, to write to the

28:43certainly the BAT Advisory Board, and

28:47push the issues that you think are

28:48important. I encourage that. I just

28:51don't want to leave anyone with the

28:53impression, unless I'm mistaken, and

28:55I'll I'll defer to legislative council,

28:58we just do not have the authority to

29:01regulate a regional transit department.

29:03And I think it's very important for the

29:05public to understand that. May I

29:07respond? Am I allowed to respond to

29:08that?

29:09>> Uh thank you, uh counselor. Uh quickly,

29:11please.

29:12>> quickly say that uh I agree with what

29:14you said, but there's two things. One,

29:17I found out through after many false

29:20starts, I finally worked with the

29:22mayor's office on this.

29:24Uh

29:25in fact, I worked with his deputy at the

29:27time, it was his deputy chief of staff,

29:28Nelson Fernandez. He spent a a week

29:31investigating, and he found out for me

29:33that BAT's Board of Directors has

29:36jurisdiction and supervision and over

29:39oversight of Michael Lambert, not BAT.

29:42Michael Lambert. They they

29:45I think the word was they they hire him

29:47or whatever it was, and they control can

29:49control him. Now, I've written to the

29:52mayor many times, and the mayor is

29:54chairman of the board, if he chose to,

29:56and I've I'm getting the list now of the

29:58representatives in the other nine

30:01or 10 communities that BAT operates in.

30:04There's 11 communities that BAT operates

30:06in. Each one has a representative on

30:08BAT's Board of Directors. They can

30:10control it and and do something, but the

30:12mayor, our mayor here, Mayor Rodriguez,

30:15will not do it. Also, you when you

30:18stated that you as a city council aboard

30:20the body of the city council, now again,

30:23after many months and making friends and

30:26people sending me information, I secured

30:29a document from the state about three or

30:31four months ago. I put it online a

30:33couple of times. The taxpayers of

30:35Brockton or city money is paying

30:39Brockton Area Transit $2.9

30:42million

30:43every year for their operating budget.

30:46Now, if we're spending nearly 3 million

30:48taxpayer dollars from the hard-working

30:50people of Brockton, 3 million almost

30:53dollars, you as a body should have a

30:55right to ask questions to BAT to hold

30:57them accountable. This money is going to

30:59their operating budget. We have a right

31:01to ask You should have a right to ask

31:02questions of how they operate. If $3

31:05million of our taxpayer money is being

31:07paid to BAT every year. And I've sent

31:09you all those the same document. I know

31:11you have to suffer I send you goes right

31:13into the spam file. I understand that.

31:14And that's fine. That's your right.

31:16But those two things you should be

31:18concerned about. 3 million taxpayer

31:20dollars is being paid to is being paid

31:23to BAT to support their operating

31:25budget. Now, I don't know what the

31:26definition of operating budget is, but

31:28if 3 million of our taxpayer dollars is

31:31being used, then I don't know for a

31:33fact, but I would think you should have

31:35a right to ask questions.

31:38But I'm not a lawyer. I don't know.

31:40>> Thank you, Mr. Ripley. Counselors

31:42>> Mr. Chairman, just to just to respond

31:44very quickly, there is an offset amount

31:47that's taken from the city's uh state

31:49allotment of

31:51uh general government aid on the cherry

31:53sheet for the operation of BAT, but the

31:55structure to hold BAT accountable is the

31:58advisory board as Mr. Ripley has

32:01suggested. And those representatives

32:04from the different communities are

32:06charged with overseeing a re- the

32:08regional transit authority, not the city

32:10council.

32:11>> I understand.

32:12>> I agree. One final thing and then I'll

32:13end.

32:15My One of my final statements was, and

32:17I'd like to stress this again.

32:20You as a as an as as individuals,

32:24when you're not on your council here,

32:25when you're out in your district,

32:28you have a right

32:31to to stand up and speak up when you

32:33know there's a dangerous safety threat

32:35that affects your constituents,

32:37particularly your elderly and disabled

32:39constituents. You should be able to

32:40freely address that, and I don't

32:42understand why you haven't.

32:44And I'll end it there, and

32:46you can vote if my friend can say, I

32:48don't know, whatever he'd like to say.

32:49>> Uh thank you, Mr. Ripley.

32:51>> the time. Uh

32:52I know I get a little passionate

32:53sometimes, but let me say, I'm not a bad

32:55guy. It's just that I'm 70 years old. I

32:58don't have many years left. I want to

32:59make a little more difference for bus

33:01safety. I'm trying to do just a bit

33:03more,

33:04and then I'll go away, and you'll never

33:05hear from me again.

33:06>> Well, uh thank you, Mr. Ripley, and we

33:08do appreciate your advocacy for the

33:09elderly and other bus riders. Uh we do

33:10appreciate your advocacy for the elderly

33:11and other bus riders.

33:13Um unfortunately, we're coming up on

33:157:00. We had a little bit of late start

33:17today

33:20with this evening.

33:21Um

33:23We've We've got to start We've We've got

33:25to start our

33:26finance committee meeting.

33:29Yep. I I apologize. We did get off to a

33:31late start, but

33:32>> I guess.

33:33>> [clears throat]

33:33>> Um if if counselors there are no further

33:36questions, then I would seek

33:37>> other questions?

33:40>> Seeing Seeing no further questions, uh

33:42I'd seek a motion to adjourn.

33:44>> Motion.

33:45>> Oh.

33:46Oh, sorry.

33:47Um

33:50Uh before we make before we make that

33:52motion,

33:53um

33:53uh Mr. Ripley did uh point to a document

33:56in which that was submitted by BAT

33:57regarding uh some safety data. I would

33:59ask uh without objection this also be

34:01added to the record.

34:02>> Absolutely.

34:03>> All right. Uh and then um I would

34:05entertain a motion.

34:06>> Motion to recommend this favorably back

34:08to the full city council.

34:10>> Second.

34:10>> Motion's made, properly seconded, to

34:12recommend this matter favorably. All in

34:13favor? Anyone opposed? The matter's

34:16recommended favorably. Again, thank you

34:18for your presence, uh Mr. Ripley.

34:19>> Thank you.

34:20>> Uh I'd seek a motion to adjourn.

34:21>> Motion.

34:22>> Motion to adjourn.

34:23>> Second.

34:24>> Uh motion is made, properly seconded, to

34:25adjourn. All in favor?

34:27This meeting is adjourned.

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