Partial list of attacks on transit drivers: Assaults often during fare disputes
Winnipeg Transit is proposing a pilot project to test safety barriers for bus drivers following the fatal stabbing of one of its employees last winter. A city council committee is to consider the recommendation along with other ideas to improve safety. Union leaders across the country have voiced concern for years about attacks on transit drivers.
Here’s a partial list of some bus driver assaults:
August 2016: A video posted online appears to show a Winnipeg driver fighting back after being spat upon over a fare dispute. The driver leaps from his seat, pursues a man outside and attempts to tackle him. The man, who is later charged with assault, attempts to grab the back of the driver’s head and knocks off his sunglasses. A union spokesman says there needs to be a different way to collect money from passengers.
August 2015: A bus driver in Delta, B.C., is hit in the face with bear spray by a man who boards without paying. The man runs off and threatens to spray a citizen who gives chase. A suspect is arrested 14 months later on the SkyTrain and found with drugs, an extendable baton, a butterfly knife and a set of brass knuckles. He is charged with various weapons offences.