Previously, the court had ruled that NJ Transit was not required to adhere to an enhanced standard of care that public carriers enjoy under the TCA. However, in a case brought by Anasia Maison, the court ruled that the TCA did not abrogate the common carrier standard.
Is there a way to eject passengers?
In this case, Maison alleged that NJ Transit failed to protect her when she was assaulted by a group of teenagers while riding the bus. The teens verbally harassed her and brandished a knife at her. When she tried to intervene, she was ignored by the driver and had 22 stitches in her forehead. The bus driver did not call police, and did not call an ambulance.
In the Appellate Division, the court held that NJ Transit was required to adhere to a common carrier standard of care. In addition to the duty to provide safe travel, it was also required to protect passengers from wrongful acts of their fellow passengers. Check this out : https://www.scura.com/blog/new-jersey-supreme-court-heightens-standard-of-care-for-nj-transitÂ
However, the court found that NJ Transit did not demonstrate that it was authorized to enforce regulations on its buses. Additionally, it did not provide evidence that the bus drivers were given the authority to physically eject passengers. In addition, the regulation does not identify who would be responsible to determine if a violation occurred. The Appellate Division found this to be a duplication of effort.
The court also rejected the claim that the good-faith-enforcement-of-law immunity applies in this case. In fact, the TCA’s statutory language merely imposes the same standard of care on public carriers as private carriers.