The union representing Winnipeg Transit drivers is urgently calling for the set up of full-height security shields on all buses following a harrowing incident the place a driver was threatened with a hatchet. This newest occasion, described by the union as a close to ‘hijacking state of affairs,’ underscores escalating issues about driver security and has prompted renewed calls for for enhanced protecting measures.
Close to Hijacking Incident Highlights Security Disaster
The alarming occasion occurred early Thursday morning on the St. Important terminal. In keeping with James Van Gerwen, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Native 1505, a passenger repeatedly demanded the bus operator drive. As soon as the bus departed the terminal, the passenger produced a hatchet from a bag and reached it across the current partial security defend, threatening the motive force. Happily, a police car was passing by, and the distressed driver was capable of flag it down for help.
Winnipeg Transit confirmed {that a} report was filed with its management centre relating to the incident. Van Gerwen expressed deep concern for the motive force, who is simply a 12 months into her profession and is now on stress go away. He acknowledged, ‘This driver is one 12 months into her profession, this may keep along with her without end.’ This incident brings the variety of drivers at the moment on stress go away to over 60, with 64 operators off work because of psychological accidents, leading to a big lack of over 30,000 days and 225,000 hours of driver time, in line with union figures.
Sample of Violence Towards Transit Operators
This near-hijacking is the third reported altercation involving Winnipeg Transit drivers in a brief interval. Simply days prior, police introduced fees in opposition to two people in separate assaults on transit workers inside a 10-hour span on Tuesday. In a single incident, a 51-year-old man allegedly threw a beer can at a driver and bit them whereas trying to restrain him after being confronted for exiting the bus with out paying. He faces fees of assault. In one other incident, a 31-year-old girl, after refusing to pay her fare, punched a supervisor who was imposing guidelines outdoors a stopped bus. She is charged with assaulting a peace officer.
These current occasions observe a stabbing incident two weeks earlier, the place a passenger used a syringe to stab a transit driver within the leg twice earlier than fleeing the scene. The union emphasizes that these aren’t remoted occurrences however a part of a disturbing development of accelerating violence directed at bus operators.
Requires Full Shields and Systemic Options
In response to rising violence, Winnipeg Transit had introduced in November its intention to discover changing the partial security shields, put in in 2019, with full floor-to-ceiling compartments. On the time, Rick Younger, Transit’s supervisor of operations, offered a preliminary estimate of $15 million for the set up of those enhanced shields. Nonetheless, a pilot challenge, for which the Metropolis of Winnipeg allotted roughly $2.7 million in its 2024 capital funds to evaluate the efficacy of such shields, has but to begin.
The Amalgamated Transit Union Native 1505 has been a vocal advocate for fast set up of full shields. Van Gerwen argues that the price of Staff Compensation Board claims associated to driver assaults may offset the expense of the shields inside two years. ‘So daily they’re holding off on placing these shields in, it’s costing Winnipeggers cash,’ he acknowledged.
Metropolis information signifies 42 recorded assaults on bus drivers in uniform this 12 months, a determine outlined by the Felony Code. In 2025, the variety of recorded assaults reached 104. Van Gerwen is urging for expedited motion, noting that metropolis officers are reportedly revising price estimates for the defend challenge to be included in subsequent 12 months’s capital funds submission. ‘I would like them to push Transit to truly do one thing,’ he implored.
Broader Security Issues Addressed
Councilor Evan Duncan has additionally voiced sturdy help for enhanced security measures on transit buses, asserting that the problem extends past bodily boundaries. He advocates for addressing the foundation causes of street-level violence, suggesting a necessity for simpler methods to handle people who pose a danger to public security, probably by means of involuntary psychiatric care or correctional services. ‘We have to sort out the the problem on our streets, and that’s holding folks, whether or not or not it’s in custody or some sort of facility, in a non-voluntary method, as a result of we can’t have people who’re victimizing folks out on the streets,’ Duncan acknowledged.
Duncan indicated his help for putting in shields on routes recognized as ‘high-risk’ and anticipates that the subject will likely be a big level of debate throughout funds deliberations following the municipal election in October. The union’s persistent advocacy, coupled with current incidents and broader requires security enhancements, intensifies the stress on metropolis officers to implement complete options for Winnipeg Transit operators.
