‘Alarming’ violence against transit drivers

The stories should renew debate over driver protection, and highlight the “disturbing” level of violence transit operators continue to face eight years after the near-fatal beating of an Edmonton bus driver, said the president of the union local representing ETS employees.

“It’s alarming,” said Mark Tetterington, president of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 569. “There’s got to be more that we can do to protect those operators.”

SPIT ON, KICKED, PUNCHED

According to the FOIP data, which covered Jan. 1, 2014 to July 6, 2017, there was an average of one attack on a transit operator per week in Edmonton. Across Canada, there are 2,000 bus driver assaults every year according to the Canadian Urban Transit Association, and more that go unreported.

Around one-third of the Edmonton incidents involved a driver who was punched or kicked. Cases where an operator was bitten or spit on made up another 30 per cent. Pushing or shoving incidents were the next largest category, followed by thrown objects — including coffee, liquor, garbage and, in one case, a “small block of cheese” chucked at an operator’s face by a man who was refused a free ride. Four instances were classified as sexual harassment.

Of the 193 attacks since 2014, 33 resulted in an arrest and six led to criminal charges. The No. 8 bus, which runs from Abbotsfield Mall to Mill Woods, was the most dangerous route, with 27 incidents.

SEVERE DRIVER BEATING

An ETS operator has never died on the job, but one came close.

On Dec. 3, 2009, ETS driver Tom Bregg stopped to pick up a man near Victoria Trail and 139 Avenue on his morning route.

Moments later, he was clinging to life on the ground outside the bus, severely beaten.

The attack left Bregg with facial and brain injuries and blinded him in one eye. His intoxicated attacker, who stomped on his head more than a dozen times, was declared a dangerous offender and jailed indefinitely.

The attack touched off national debate about how to protect transit operators. More recently, the stabbing death of a Winnipeg bus driver has renewed calls for better driver protections.

After the Bregg attack, some pushed for harsher penalties for people who attack transit drivers. In 2015, the House of Commons passed Bregg’s Law, a private member’s bill introduced in 2011 that allows for steeper penalties in assaults where the victim is a transit worker.

But potentially longer sentences don’t seem to be deterring attacks, said Paul Thorp, president of ATU Canada.

One problem is attacks on transit operators are “crimes of passion,” he said — many committed by intoxicated or mentally unwell people who aren’t thinking about potential prosecution.

The other is prosecutors don’t seem to be pursuing the maximum penalty available under the law.

“What I gather is the bill has not been effective in doing what we had hoped it would do,” Thorp said.

DRIVERS’ SHIELDS

Another idea is putting shields between operators and passengers.

Driver shields made of Plexiglas or heavy-duty plastic have caught on in some U.S. cities struggling with driver assaults. The shields typically slide into place or swing on a hinge to either partly or completely enclose the driver’s station.

The devices are less common in Canada. Toronto Transit Commission operators have the option of using driver shields, while transit agencies in Vancouver and Brampton are studying them, Thorp said.

Edmonton transit tested driver shields in 2010, to mostly negative reviews. Tetterington said the early model shields rattled, created glare and made drivers feel isolated. Perhaps the biggest issue was the heat — in the summer, the shields turned the driver’s seat into a sauna.

“It became like a greenhouse, almost,” Tetterington said.

That could change as Edmonton upgrades its buses. The city is buying around 55 buses a year to replace its 931-bus fleet. By 2020, Edmonton could quit buying diesel buses altogether in favour of electric models, which, crucially, are air-conditioned.

Tetterington said the new buses and the death of the Winnipeg operator has revived interest in driver shields.

“Knowing they’re going to have air-conditioning on the new buses they’re bringing in ... most operators I talk to are all for it,” he said.

Chuck Van Deel Piepers, Edmonton transit’s director of safety and security, said ETS is undertaking a “complete” safety review.

While driver shields are part of it, he said they’re not a silver bullet.

“We’re open to a discussion on available tools, including bus shields, but they’re one piece of a larger puzzle,” he said.

That includes training operators in de-escalation and improving communication between drivers, transit control and ETS peace officers.

Marcus Felson, a criminologist at Texas State University who studies crime on transit systems, said driver shields can’t be a substitute for good training.

He said drivers who are skilled at diffusing situations with unruly passengers could teach less experienced drivers.

“They may still want a shield to avoid all that,” he said. “But avoiding all that (with) the screen means they may have less control over their bus.”

WHY IT MATTERS

This month, Edmonton’s chief economist offered the new city council a seemingly straightforward idea to boost the city’s economy — expand late-night transit.

“It’s those very simple things that would make a big difference. (It) demonstrates the city welcomes young people, late-night activities,” said John Rose, adding “we need to provide a good, safe, reliable means for them to get around.”

It isn’t clear whether drivers are more likely to be assaultedat night, although intoxication appears to have been a factor in many incidents. In the data obtained by Postmedia, times and dates were redacted because the information could be used to identify drivers.

One driver who spoke to Postmedia said assaults can happen at any time and night routes aren’t necessarily more dangerous.

Regardless, Edmonton is expanding its transit system. It wants more people making more of their trips by bus or train.

Patrick Leclerc, CEO of the Canadian Urban Transit Association, said on the whole, transit “remains the safest option when it comes to mobility in the city.”

“Two-thousand assaults is way too many, but we need to keep in mind we carry two billion trips a year in Canada,” he said. “So transit is a safe option.”

That’s not always the case for drivers. Tetterington said while some drivers choose not to report being slapped or spit on, any assault has a lasting impact.

“We’re getting a lot of people, young operators, that are starting the job and they try it for a year and get assaulted or spit on, sworn at and they say, ‘No, this isn’t for me.’ You get a lot of people who quit.”