Maybe LIRR cell phone vigilante John Clifford should consider relocating to NJ, say somewhere along the utopian Lakeland Bus Lines route. The company is aggressively enforcing a cell phone ban, with drivers willing to pull the bus over to shame anyone who dares chat on the phone. On one occasion a driver even called for police backup when a passenger angrily refused to get off the phone. Now the Times reports New Jersey Transit and even the chatty LIRR are following Lakeland's lead with ad campaigns urging riders to use their cell phones sparingly. But not everyone's happy with Lakeland's cellular militancy; one disgruntled customer complains, “I pay almost $300 a month for tickets to ride on these buses...and I don’t want to be ridiculed when I have to use my phone. Sometimes, I think people are being treated like we’re in kindergarten."
Published Sep 4, 2008
Modified Sep 4, 2008
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