After two serious assaults on bus drivers in the past two months, BC Transit wants passengers to know that bad behaviour on a bus could get them banned – at least for a day.
A bus driver was seriously assaulted by a passenger on a bus in North Saanich on Jan. 29. Another driver was assaulted near Douglas and Hillside on March 21 while trying to stop an altercation between two passengers. In both incidents, the bus drivers suffered injuries and were hospitalized.
Now, the company says that belligerent, combative and misbehaving transit riders could be banned by BC Transit in order to protect bus drivers.
"The bans are a tool we have been using for many years,” said John Palmer, BC Transit Director of Safety and Emergency Management. "Our transit supervisors can use it as an immediate tool at the scene of an incident to restrict service for the remainder of the service day."
If a bus driver has a passenger who is being rude to other passengers, intoxicated or acting inappropriately, a transit supervisor will be called.
The supervisor will meet the bus and take the problem passenger off the bus and away from other passengers and the bus driver. The supervisor will then assess the passenger to determine if they are a risk to the transit system or passengers. If the supervisor determines a ban for the rest of the service day is appropriate, the passenger will be driven to their home by the supervisor.
The goal of the one-day ban is maintain safety for all people who ride transit and the bus drivers. If the incident is criminal, such as the assault of a passenger or a bus driver, BC Transit will hand the matter over to police.
“It is very important for the public to know that of our drivers are assaulted or even threatened we will pursue it and there will be consequences,” said Palmer.
The ability for transit to ban passengers is designed to resolve issues at the scene for a short period of time.
