Drivers again making call for protective shields

Management not sold on idea despite increase in attacks on Transpo workers

Pointing to an increase in assaults on OC Transpo workers this year, bus drivers are renewing their call for protective shields.

Clint Crabtree, the president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279, said Transpo has notified him of more than 100 assaults so far in 2017, compared to 87 assaults in 2016.

“I am at the point where I just feel it’s unacceptable,” Crabtree said in an interview. “People need to be going home to their families without being assaulted at work.”

The answer, he said, must be physically separating drivers from passengers.

“I have approached the employer about shields and barriers on all buses,” Crabtree said. “These will cut down on assaults and driver distraction.”

Transit agencies, not just in Ottawa, have long called for more protection for bus operators, who are virtually trapped in their workstations when a combative passenger is blocking the door.

The assaults are both verbal and physical. Crabtree said a common assault is passengers spitting on drivers. Sometimes it’s over the cost of a fare or a bus arriving late at a stop. Mental health issues play a part, too, he said.

A Transpo director said the safety of customers and transit operators is its top priority, but the agency isn’t sold on protective shields.

“While the possibility of installing operator shields has been discussed over the years, we have not come to the conclusion that the implementation of the shields is the most effective solution,” operations head Troy Charter said in an email.

“We have numerous measures that are currently in place that focus on providing our bus operators a safe environment to work in.”

Charter pointed to Transpo’s special constables unit, the roundthe-clock transit operations centre, emergency phone systems, training for front line staff and the agency’s close relationship with Ottawa police.

“We are aware that other cities have been piloting the use of operator shields and we will be monitoring the outcomes of these pilots very closely,” Charter said. “We are committed to safety and as such, we will continue to evaluate and reassess our safety features as we move forward.”

Transpo has also been investing in other security measures that improve the security of both drivers and passengers. The transit commission in 2013 voted to equip newly purchased buses with security cameras.

But there has been resistance to reducing contact between drivers and the public. Transpo in the past has questioned what the transitriding public might think about having their bus drivers boxed out from interactions with passengers.

Drivers need to have a thick skin when passengers lash out, sometimes for reasons beyond their control, such as collisions blocking lanes or weather-related traffic. There have been reports of abusive passengers being set off by bus drivers missing a stop or being late.

Stories from transit agencies across the country prompted action on Parliament Hill.

Under a new sentencing provision in the Criminal Code, a person convicted of assault can now receive a stiffer penalty if the victim is a public transit operator. Before the change in 2015, the Canadian Urban Transit Association estimated there were 2,000 assaults on transit employees in Canada each year.

The stronger sentencing provision isn’t enough, Crabtree said.

“I’m going to keep lobbying,” Crabtree said. “I’m going to lobby the provincial government. I’m going to lobby councillors.”

There are transit services that have installed barriers between their drivers and passengers.

Transit drivers in Toronto have the option of using an on board shield. B.C. Transit recently started testing a full door to protect drivers. The transit service in Winnipeg has shown an interest in protective barriers after one of its drivers was stabbed to death last February. Transit operators in Waterloo Region, Ont., asked the employer to try out barriers as part of collective bargaining.

The costs for the barriers, based on other transit agencies that have recently installed shields, have ranged between $1,500 and $3,000 or more per vehicle.

Transpo estimated shields for the total fleet would cost between $2 million and $4 million in 2013 when a bus operator filed a safety complaint with a federal tribunal.

Crabtree said Transpo needs to consider the well-being of its workers when weighing the costs of protective shields.

Coun. Stephen Blais, the chair of the city’s transit commission, said Transpo would need to understand the cost and legal implications of installing physical barriers between drivers and the public.

“We take safety of our employees and our customers very seriously and I know this has been an issue that has popped up from time to time,” Blais said.

Blais said he hasn’t considered what passengers would think about seeing their bus drivers behind a protective barrier.

“I think passengers realize we need to keep our employees safe and we want to keep them safe,” Blais said. “Whether a shield is the best option, I don’t know.”

It might be a discussion during contract negotiations, Blais said.

The collective agreement between ATU Local 279 and Transpo is up for renewal in 2020. jwilling@postmedia.com Twitter.com/JonathanWilling

I’m going to keep lobbying. I’m going to lobby the provincial government. I’m going to lobby councillors.