Protective barriers credited for drop in serious assaults against OC Transpo drivers
OC Transpo and the union representing bus drivers credit the installation of protective barriers on buses for a decline in the number of assaults involving Ottawa bus drivers.
However, the Amalgamated Transit Union says its members still face incidents of verbal assaults and spitting from riders on OC Transpo buses.
Statistics provided to CTV News Ottawa show there were 34 bus driver assaults in the first nine months of 2022, and 38 assaults in 2021. That's down from 65 bus driver assaults in 2020 and 87 in 2019.
"Over the years, the numbers were pretty high until we installed barriers, shields on the buses," Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 President Clint Crabtree told CTV News Ottawa.
"After doing that, we've seen the number of serious assaults drop because the operators are behind the shield and barrier, but what we continue to see is verbal assaults and spitting at the operators – so they're spitting at the shield."
In 2020, the Transit Commission approved $6 million in funding to install permanent barriers on OC Transpo buses to protect bus drivers. The installation of more than 700 barriers started in April 2021, and was finished a few months later.
"Any assault on anybody shouldn't be happening, but the assaults have come down due to the fact we have shields and barriers on the buses," Crabtree said.
OC Transpo says there has been a "consistent reduction in the rate of assaults" against bus drivers since 2018, when 105 incidents were reported.
"A more pronounced reduction is seen from 2020 to 2022 when protective barriers were installed," OC Transpo Chief Safety Officer Paul Treboutat said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.
"Staff note that while there may be a correlation between ridership levels and operator assaults, isolating the operators as much as possible with barriers has resulted in positive impacts on the reduction in assault occurrences."
The Amalgamated Transit Union is calling for a national transit safety task force, as the union says violent attacks on public transit have reached "crisis levels". The ATU says the task force must include transit agencies and representatives of all levels of government.
The call for a task force comes after a number of violent attacks on Toronto Transit Commission buses and the subway system, targeting workers and riders. Police reported several incidents, including a TTC driver shot with a BB gun and two TTC workers assaulted on their way back to work.
"We don't want to see anybody get assaulted, that's all there is to it," Crabtree said, noting the ATU is looking at "all avenues" to improve safety for riders and employees.
"We need to do something to address it and fix it immediately."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.