6 Year Old Child Rides Roosevelt Island Tram "Alone"

It was bound to happen my six year old son who lately has been zoooming everywhere ahead of his mother did so into the Roosevelt Island Tram two days ago and found out the hard way that rush hour on the Tram begins before 5:00 pm when the doors closed and he was unattended during the Tram's flight from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island. Obviously he was not exactly alone as the Tram was full.

He was fine and after my wife realized what had happened, she had been walking our other child up the Manhattan Tram stairs, she notified the booth attendant that he was on board by himself. He certainly is the not the first child that this happened too and we can assume he will not be the last.

Over the course of several emails with the Director of Tram Operations (Armando Cordova), the Public Safety Director (Keith Guerra) and RIOC's President (Stephen Shane) I have learned what the protocol is for handling this type of event. Simply put once aware of the situation the Tram's operator or the booth attendant is supposed to contact PSD and an officer is dispatched to the Tram station to wait with the child until the parent makes the next trip to the station where the child is located.

As I stated at the top of this post it was bound to happen as my son, like most of the younger kids, zooms into the tram every time to claim the prize of the step stool seat behind the tram operator. He learned his lesson and so did we that this one needs to be held a little closer when approaching the Tram. Good thing it was not the subway that is all I have to say.

If this happens to your kid, stay calm as the child is safe and simply let the Tram staff know what has occured and your child will be waiting for you, perhaps chastened by the presence of the PSD officer, when you arrive on the next tram.