TGL Is Official Corps Bus Service
Pfc. Garry J. Welch
okinawa marine staff

CAMP FOSTER — Most Marines and Status of Forces Agreement members here on Okinawa do not realize that The Green Line is an official Marine Corps bus service, said Thomas L. Ramer, the Gearrison Mobile Equipment operations officer. All passengers are required to adhere to Federal, Department of Defense and Marine Corps regulations.

“TGL was developed to improve the quality of life for service members here on Okinawa,” Ramer said. “We are responsible to the Commanding General, Marine Corps Base, Camp Butler to provide safe, dependable, reliable and efficient public transportation driven by the spirits of Honor, Courage and Commitment.”

The program started out with ten 32-passenger buses in 2001, Ramer said. Since then it has grown to include five tour buses, 11 large buses, 21 medium and eight specialty buses totaling 45 in all.

The workforce is comprised of highly-qualified civilian Master Labor Contract employees, he said. Each driver is licensed to operate heavy vehicles under the authorization of the Government of Japan Department of Motor Vehicles.

According to The Green Line ride guide, a few simple rules that passengers must adhere to are: passengers are not allowed to use inappropriate language that may be offensive to other passengers, physically do anything disruptive or offensive to other passengers, wear clothes that are not within Marine Corps regulations, stand while the bus is in motion, use windows or emergency exits to exit the bus, cause damage or vandalize TGL property in any way.
 
“People do not realize that TGL is a multi-million dollar business that is there to help them,” said Ramer. “The problem that we’ve had is that the riders have been misbehaving and vandalizing the buses.”

When the buses are vandalized, it costs the company money that shouldn’t need to be spent, he said.

“If we are constantly paying to repair the buses, then eventually we may have to cut bus routes because we won’t have the money to keep it running any longer,” Ramer said.

Doing this would impact all service members who ride and rely on the service to get them to and from work, he added.

For those other drivers on the road, according to MCO P11240.1C, passing TGL buses while passengers are getting off and on is prohibited, he said. Ramer went on to say Marines have a voice. They need to uphold Marine Corps values and respect The Green Line for the service it provides to Marines, so they can continue to help Marines get where they need to be. “The thing I would like to stress the most is; it’s your Green Line, so take care of it,” Ramer said. For more information on TGL and its services contact GME at 645-3843, or go online to http://www.mcbbutler.usmc.mil/greenline/.