Ceres Magazine Issue 2 - Winter 2016 | Page 29

know what the rules are. You know what you’re supposed to do. You know the fare. You keep on pushing… bye-bye, have a happy day!”

Ceres: Any safety concerns or issues?

Nedrea: My biggest safety concern is, as a

woman—and right now, I work nights, so we do

a lot of overnight runs—at night, we have a lot of homeless people, and crazy people that are not on their meds. I feel we should have more security, with police checking on us at night. You know in LA, it’s a lot of stabbings going on, it’s a lot of shootings going on, a lot of people getting jumped on.

Ceres: Has anything ever happened to you?

Nedrea: No.

Ceres: Do you know anybody to whom it has happened?

Nedrea: I don’t know them personally, but I’ve heard of a few people that had things happen to them. I feel as though we need to be a little bit

more protected because we are here late at night, driving overnight. We start at seven in the evening, until five, six, seven, eight o’clock in the morning.

Ceres: If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be?

Nedrea: Mmmh, one thing I would change… It would be… women shouldn’t have to work

overnight. That would be my one thing that I would change because it’s not the safest thing for women. I mean, granted some women love to work these hours—I’m not knocking them; some

love it! But, being a woman, you’ve got a family, I think you should be in the house by eight o’clock.

Ceres: But in this case, wouldn’t it be

discrimination against women?

Nedrea: No, they should have the right to choose, and do nights. It’s just that myself, personally, I don’t like to do it because I don’t feel safe at night.

Ceres: Then why did you pick that schedule?

Nedrea: I didn’t pick it. I’m on extra-board, so on extra-board you rotate; you do so many weeks of days, so many weeks of nights. As of right now, I’m on nights.

Ceres: How is your work relationship with male coworkers?

Nedrea: It’s great! I get along with everybody.

Ceres: Why do you think that men still believe that women can’t drive?

Nedrea: The men, here, don’t make us feel like we are not as good as they are. Nine times out of ten, we drive better than they do [laughter]because some men can’t drive. Be truthful [Laughter]! But here, at MTA, they’re good. They try to help you. They tell you different things to make this better or make that better, or how you

"Nine times out of ten, we drive better than they do because some men can’t drive."

29 - Ceres Magazine - Winter 2016