The bus drivers' union is raising safety concerns for its members, saying the tent encampment on Hastings Street in Vancouver is making the job “very difficult."
It’s been almost four months since Vancouver’s fire chief ordered tents and other structures removed from a section of East Hastings Street, citing major safety concerns.
But many tents still remain, some right in front of bus stops. The union says that’s a problem.
“It makes our job very difficult because of this stuff being in the way,” said Balbir Mann, president of Unifor Local 111.
“Sometimes drivers have to go a little bit ahead or behind (the stops) and then they get verbally abused.”
In addition, Mann said it’s dangerous driving through the Downtown Eastside because the street is so crowded and people frequently walk in front of buses.
“The fear going through that area, you’re always thinking, ‘What’s going to happen next?’” he said.
Mann said the issues have steadily become worse since January, when 26 buses were damaged by someone shooting a BB gun.
In March, a driver was bear-sprayed by a passenger, and there have been a few documented incidents of passengers being assaulted.
Just last week, Mann said, a passenger “opened a beer can and poured it all over the driver."
Metro Vancouver Transit Police say the incident happened on Nov. 10 around 7:30 p.m. on a bus travelling on Nanaimo Street at East Hastings Street – an area that is not part of the Downtown Eastside – and they are investigating.
Because of these safety concerns, Mann said last month his union requested security guards be placed on buses travelling through the Downtown Eastside, saying they could board the bus on Granville Street downtown and hop off around Gore Avenue on East Hastings Street, then travel the other direction.
That’s unlikely to happen. TransLink said about 1,300 buses go through the Downtown Eastside on an average weekday and that the number of operator assaults has “decreased this year compared to the same time last year.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Translink said employee safety is the top priority, while adding that “transit security and transit police use incident data to proportionally deploy security and police resources to best keep our employees and customers safe.”
GOVERNMENT ACTION
B.C.’s new Premier David Eby said his government would take a “leadership role” in addressing issues on the Downtown Eastside.
“This is not an acceptable state of affairs in the City of Vancouver,” Eby said Friday, saying his approach will be working with partner agencies and other levels of government.
"We’re going to do that partnership work to turn that neighborhood around. It’s not going to be overnight, but people will see the direction we’re going."
Vancouver city councillor Lisa Dominato said while the city hasn’t spoken to the bus drivers’ union directly, it is aware of the numerous safety concerns in the DTES.
“We’ve heard those concerns and share those concerns," Dominato said. “It’s really critical that we have provincial involvement and national involvement around these issues. They’re very complex. So we’re very optimistic with Premier Eby indicating his interest in working together.”
