Rep. C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger said Friday that he will introduce a bill in the U.S. House requiring transit providers to take precautions to protect riders' safety and comfort.
At a news conference Friday morning at the BWI/MARC station, Ruppersberger said the legislation will be called the Commuter's Bill of Rights and will be modeled after the recent Airline Passenger Bill of Rights, which went into effect earlier this year.
The legislation follows the June 21 incident in which more than 900 MARC riders were stranded on the Penn Line in extreme heat for two hours while an Amtrak crew concentrated on making repairs.
The 2nd District Democrat's bill would require public transit operators to provide water and other services for passengers stranded on trains or other forms of transit. It would also set a time frame for transit crews to allow passengers to leave a disabled transit vehicle.
Most importantly, he said, the bill will require transit agencies and their contract operators, such as the Maryland Transit Administration, to adopt procedures to deal with incidents such as the stalled MARC train.
"We need a plan — not just for our area but for the full country," Ruppersberger said. He said transit providers would have to submit emergency plans to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The bill would also create a commuter hot line to report problems.
The congressman said he decided to introduce such a measure after a member of his staff, Jaime Lennon, was trapped aboard what became known as the "hell train" on her way home. Ruppersberger, who commutes from Baltimore County to Washington, said he too has been stuck on disabled trains.
"It became a hot topic in the office," he said.
Still to be determined are many of the details, such as the fines agencies and companies would face if they don't comply and the time transit operators would have before being required to provide water and other comforts to stranded passengers. The bill is expected to be introduced soon after the House reconvenes July 13.
Ruppersberger said such a bill of rights is needed to ensure that commuters have an alternative to their cars.
"If we don't improve the mass transportation, people will not use it," he said. "We need to get people out of cars and into mass transit."
Steve Chan, vice chairman of the MARC Riders Advisory Council, joined Ruppersberger at BWI station to endorse the effort. He said that when a train breaks down, it's much more likely to heat up than an airliner at a terminal.
"You're not allowed to keep a dog, a cat, a child or an elderly person in the vehicle more than a few minutes, even with the windows rolled down," said Chan, who was aboard the stranded train last week.