Spokane Transit Apologizes After Trans Youth Kicked Off Bus

After three transgender youths were booted off a bus because their were discussing bisexuality, the Spokane Transit Authority in Washington State acknowledged the driver's actions were wrong and apologized for them.

The bus was empty when two 20-somethings and a 16-year-old were talking, they say quietly, about one of them being bisexual. The female driver told the group they could not continue their discussion because it offended her. When the three objected, the driver told them to get off the bus a mile from their intended destination.

The driver later filed an incident report and claimed the young people were engaging in "offensive, disgusting or insulting" language, which STA forbids. STA officials later reviewed video of the incident and found that none of the bus passengers violated transit rules by discussing bisexuality. "The findings concluded that the youth had not violated STA rules of conduct and should have been allowed to finish their ride on the bus," an STA statement read. STA CEO Susan Meyer also apologized for the incident, according to an official at the Odyssey Youth Center, a local LGBT youth center. Odyssey has offered to work with the STA on sensitivity training for drivers; the transit authority has not identified the driver nor said whether disciplinary actions will be taken. Read more here.