The President of the Thunder Bay Transit Union advocates for increased safety provisions at buses and transit stops.
“They’re seeing everything,” “They’re being assaulted. They’re being spit at, sworn at.” Said Fred Caputo, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 966.
Transit operators in Thunder Bay consistently encounter confrontational conduct during their work hours.
The leader of the labor union that represents the transit workforce in the city envisions that a recently produced report will prompt the implementation of enhanced safety protocols both aboard city buses and at transit stops.
“Passengers are taking out their frustrations on the operators,” “Especially now with the buses being pulled, we’re noticing an influx in operators getting verbally assaulted due to people having to get to work and being late.” Caputo said, larifying that a deficit in drivers can result in alterations to route timetables.
Although these occurrences are distributed throughout the city, the majority transpire at the City Hall terminal, as explained by him.
This concern compelled the union to deliver a formal address to the city council in April. During that period, the council adopted a resolution to direct the matter to the administration, as well as the city’s Employee Safety Task Force.
A comprehensive report is slated to return to the council by October. Nonetheless, an interim progress update in the form of a memorandum was disclosed to the council members on Monday.
The memorandum from the city’s transit department outlines the adoption of various safety measures within the transit system:
- Security personnel are present at the City Hall terminal every day of the week, from noon until midnight.
- Temporary barriers for operators have been affixed to all vehicles in the transit fleet.
- Transit operations have been integrated into the city’s Employee Safety Task Force.
- Comprehensive risk evaluations are conducted on all transit positions each year.
- Every bus is equipped with a mobile video surveillance system, aiding in investigations and enhancing overall safety.
the memo was disappointing, as “it’s just going over the issues that we’ve been talking about for the past year and a half, two years.”
“There’s no real timeline on when anything’s going to get done. So it just seems like it’s just going around in a circle.”
Caputo also expressed.
“We need the safety shields, dedicated safety shields,” Caputo said. “We need permanent security at City Hall. We need better mental health services for our drivers, we need the peer support.”
Caputo noted that the challenges are impacting riders as well, leading to certain passengers opting to avoid waiting at the City Hall terminal due to safety apprehensions.
“Our concern is we’re losing passengers and we’re not going to be able to get them back, because the service isn’t there, the safety isn’t there for the passengers,” he said.
