Young people were caught ‘surfing’ on top of the buses of New York, us& nbsp; United States, on the city’s main thoroughfares. Videos shared on social media captured the situation, which worries authorities.
One of the images shows a man, initially sitting on the roof of the articulated bus as he films the vehicle’s journey through the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan. Then he gets up and walks the path standing.
In another footage, an individual can be seen climbing on top of the bus with a second man and then standing up in an attempt to ‘surf’. In the video, he dodges the city’s electrical wires.
What is the NYC MTA Bus President Frankie Annicaro doing about bus surfing?🤔@MTA @mtaoig @NYCTSubway @NYCTBus @nypost @NYDailyNews @fox5ny @ABC7NY @CBSNews @NBCNews @progressiveact pic.twitter.com/KhRTDdf5po
— Jonathan Eli (@EJonatha4766004) February 14, 2024
O ato, no entanto, despertou críticas por parte da população, que considerou a ação imprudente e perigosa.
Mustapha Sawaneh, who has been driving buses on routes that crisscross the city for six years, told the New York Post that young people who are doing this kind of thing could face more “unpredictable” and dangerous terrain.
“If a taxi cuts you off in traffic, you’ll have to hit the brakes abruptly. If someone shows up in the middle of the street, you’ll have to divert the bus,” she said . “If you’re surfing [on the subway], you can see the curve of the train ahead, what’s coming, [but] when you’re surfing on the bus, you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Bus drivers reported that some reckless passengers were somehow climbing aboard the vehicles while they were parked during breaks or even while the bus was stopped at a red light.
“Operators will need to check [the top of the buses] before they leave,” said operator Jason Williams, 40. According to him, it is impossible to tell if there is a passenger on the roof of the bus from the view of the driver’s seat, “unless someone tells you, and then it may be too late.”
Authorities
in the city and state of New York have tried to crack down on the attacks, which they say have become more common among teenagers who try to copy videos from the TikTok and Instagram.
In September last year, they launched a service campaign warning of the dangers of ‘surfing’ on the subway. According to the NY Post, at least two people have died riding on the roofs of trains this year, including a 14-year-old.
Last year, the death toll was at least five.
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