The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has fired two operators for serious infraction but has reinstated a third whose use of a cell phone was found not to have violated the agency's strict prohibition on use of the electronic devices while driving.

WMATA on Friday announced the firing this week of one operator who was charged with kidnapping after refusing to let a passenger leave a bus after a verbal dispute in Prince Georges' County July 25. Another operator, who was involved in a crash with a passenger vehicle July 30 in Southeast Washington, was also fired. While  the driver of the car in the accident was charged with failure to yield the right of way, the operator was found to have been driving on a suspended license, WMATA said.

In the third incident, a bus operator was accused by some passengers of violating the agency's newly adopted "one-strike-and-you're-out" policy against cell phone use while operating transit vehicles. According to the agency, the operator was determined to have used a personal cell phone to report a mechanical problem with the bus. WMATA said investigators found that she was not operating the bus at the time she was talking on the phone. The agency said she was "re-instructed regarding operating procedures" and returned to her job.

The announcement confirms a report on the Maryland Politics Watch blog Monday that early reports of a flagrant violation of WMATA's cell phone policy had been mistaken. The article raises pertinent questions about who really needs re-instruction -- the operator or WMATA management.