THE CASE OF THE THREE ENGINEERS VS. BART

This article is intended to focus on the complexities of ethics and employment practices, not on the technical aspect of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system. Nevertheless, the two are related, so some of BART's history, as it is perceived by those interviewed, is included. A lawsuit was recently filed against BART by three of its former engineer-employees. As early as 1971 the three became concerned with the design of the system's Automatic Train control. These engineer's fears eventually became public and all three were fired. BART management apparently felt its three critics had made disclosures as the bugs were in the process of being worked out and such disclosures were unethical. The article is of special interest to engineering practioners.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00189235
• Corporate Authors:

  Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

  3 Park Avenue, 17th Floor
  New York, NY  United States  10016-5997
• Authors:
  • Friedlander, G D
• Publication Date: 1974-10

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 69-76
• Serial:
  • IEEE Spectrum
  • Volume: 11
  • Issue Number: 10
  • Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
  • ISSN: 0018-9235

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automatic train control; Employee relations; Engineering; Ethics
• Identifier Terms: San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation; Railroads; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00072464
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 13 1981 12:00AM