NEWTON — Transit employees gathered at Newton Exchange Friday to rally for awareness about assaults on both operators and passengers of public transit.
The rally, which began at 9 a.m., aimed to highlight the need for more security after a string of unprovoked attacks on operators, including the recent, publicized incident where a driver in Surrey was punched in the face on March 26 in Newton.
One of the organizers, Shannon Stewart, said she’s tired of hearing about people coming to work and getting injured.
According to her, the majority of those taking transit are good people, yet a small percentage of riders ruin it for everyone else. “There’s a point where I think everybody says ‘enough is enough,’†she said.
Both passengers and operators are at risk of harassment or assault on public transportation. Stewart thinks that people should be able to get on the bus without fear of being touched or accosted.
“I don’t think it’s right that anybody has to be in fear of doing a job whether you’re a cab driver, a police driver, a cashier,†she said.
“You should be able to come to work, enjoy your day and go home safe and we’re not getting that right now and it needs to stop.â€
This sentiment was echoed by Unifor president, Nathan Woods, who believes that operator and passenger safety should be everybody’s concern.
“The brother on Wednesday [March 26] was assaulted while the bus was in motion,†Woods said.
“Forty people were on his bus, 40 peoples’ lives were in jeopardy as a result of that – never mind the people in cars – because of one person and it’s got to stop.â€
On March 31, the Metro Vancouver transit police launched the Don’t Touch the Operator campaign. This comes in the wake of three violent and unprovoked assaults on Metro Vancouver bus drivers since February.
Woods said the union has been requesting an increase in security and transit police presence in the region as the numbers they have now are too low.
Currently, Woods said there are two security teams of two covering 1,800 square kilometres of Metro Vancouver’s transit system.
“If the riding public think four security people covering off over 100 routes is enough, that’s ridiculous,†he said.
Besides looking to install optional barriers for drivers, the union is strongly lending their support to Bill C-355, proposed by Ontario MP Ralph Goodale last fall.
The bill would make changes to the Criminal Code that would eliminate lighter sentences for people who assault bus drivers, and instead charge them along similar lines with those who assault police officers.
In the meantime, Woods is going to continue to press politicians and companies for better safety measures.
“We’re going to continue to raise awareness. We’re going to continue to do rallies in support of it,†he said. “And hopefully they’ll consider it a nonpartisan issue.â€