‘You don’t do that to a child:’ 11-year-old kicked off HSR bus twice in error during freezing temperatures

When Annabelle Williams turned 11 last summer she practised taking the HSR bus by herself to an after-school caregiver to prepare for her Grade 6 year at Prince of Wales Elementary.

It was a big step - she was nervous at first - but it also seemed like the perfect working-family solution after the city introduced free rides for children aged 12 and younger with a PRESTO card.

Mom Denise Williams said the solo afternoon bus rides worked well until the middle of February - when a driver on the Cannnon Street route told her daughter free rides were only for small kids and kicked her off the bus."

She was crying when she called me to come pick her up," said Williams. I talked to an HSR customer rep and they agreed that should not have happened. They said it wouldn't happen again."

But it did happen again, two weeks later on Feb. 28.

In an interview, Annabelle said the same driver again told her she had to pay, show student ID or get off the bus.

Then I said, OK can I call my mom? He said in order to call your mom you have to get off the bus," said Annabelle, who described feeling a bit scared" because it was freezing out and she had forgotten her gloves. (It was a high of -4 C that day and a high of -9 C the first time she was forced off the bus.)

Williams was apoplectic. She's 11, you know? You don't do that to a child... especially in the winter." She complained to the HSR again - then tracked down the bus and confronted the driver at a red light, demanding an explanation. She said the driver was unapologetic.

He was also in the wrong, said city transit head Maureen Cosyn Heath, who told The Spectator the HSR is reaching out to the family to apologize.

The incidents happened as the mom reported and we own it," she said after fielding questions from The Spectator. We will be taking steps to ensure this doesn't happen again to her daughter or any other students in a similar situation."

Cosyn Heath said she can't identify individual HSR employees or comment on whether discipline will occur. But she said HSR supervisors will reach out to the driver," review the mistakes made and provide coaching and retraining."

For the record, any child 12 and younger can ride the bus free with a PRESTO pass - and photo ID is not required. (The city has created a free child identification card" for parents who want one, but it is not mandatory.)

Cosyn Heath said drivers should not force young kids off the bus over a pass issue, regardless. Our expectation is that our drivers not engage in any kind of conflict or confrontation with minors, that they make sure the bus is a safe space for them," she said.

The transit agency will also issue bulletins to all drivers reminding them about the 12-and-under free pilot, which started last November.

Williams said she appreciates the apology, but noted Annabelle is feeling too unnerved to get back on the Cannon bus just yet. In recent days she has walked an extra 20 minutes back and forth from Barton Street to take a different bus.

Williams said she is also concerned the HSR is only now reaching out" to the driver involved. How does this happen twice? Someone should have talked to him that (first) day," she said. If this happened to someone less fortunate, who didn't have a car to go pick up their kid, where would that child be right now?"

So far, Cosyn Heath said this is the only complaint the HSR has received about a child not being allowed to board a bus during the free ride pilot.

Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at for The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com