Council approves $15-million plan to better protect bus drivers
Nearly two weeks after a Calgary bus driver was beaten and stabbed, city councillors unanimously approved a motion to spend millions of dollars to upgrade barriers to better protect transit operators.
Nearly two weeks after a Calgary bus driver was beaten and stabbed, city councillors unanimously approved a motion to spend millions of dollars to upgrade barriers to better protect transit operators.
Training and safety protocols will also be reviewed.
Two men face charges after a bus driver was assaulted in the early morning hours of May 14.
Darryl Flett, 22, and Curtis Baker Spence, 20, are each charged with aggravated assault in relation to the attack.
According to the union representing transit workers, the victim is now out of hospital, but 'the road to recovery is going to be incredibly long,' said Mike Mahar with the Amalgamated Transit Union.
'He is bedridden and he gets up and every day he has to go for medical treatments for his hands and for all the wounds on his head,' Mahar added.
As part of a discussion about the future of Calgary Transit, councillors voted in favour of recommending spending up to $15 million on a plan that includes installing upgraded barriers for drivers.
The city will also install safety signage to alert people to the consequences of harassing or assaulting drivers.
Although assaults are rare, Mahar says verbal abuse and threats against transit operators happen nearly every day.
The city will also review transit safety and training practices on trains and buses.
'I think it's fantastic. I think that getting it done right now, while the window is there, is so essential,' said Mahar.
The spending ask will be added to the city's high-priority requests at next month's Strategic Council Meeting.
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