Reward offered in latest attack on bus driver

The union representing Metro Vancouver bus drivers is offering a $ 2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a man who attacked a bus driver on the weekend.

The attack happened on Feb. 18 at 76th Avenue and King George Highway in Surrey on the No. 321 route.

The driver asked a passenger to step back, away from the front of the bus, said Don Macleod, president, Canadian Auto Workers Local 111, in a news release. The passenger moved back, but grabbed the driver’s throat with both hands, choking him for about a minute as he left the bus, staring emotionless into his face, Macleod said.

The driver was shocked, but is recuperating well, he said.

Macleod said recorded attacks on bus drivers climbed from 119 in 2010 to 145 in 2011. Among those was Charles Dixon, who suffered a broken bone near his right eye during an attack at the Edmonds bus loop on Feb. 15, 2011. Del Louie, 21, is awaiting sentencing in the case after pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon, for striking Dixon’s son Aaron with a 1.2metre piece of wood.

RCMP officers were called after Saturday’s attack but couldn’t find the culprit, he said. Videotapes from the bus were given to police.

The union has repeatedly called for more Transit police on buses to provide better security to drivers and passengers.