Credit: CFJC Today

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Transit drivers deserve more protection from violent passengers

Sep 9, 2020 | 4:40 AM

KAMLOOPS —A MAN WHO ASSAULTED a Kamloops bus driver last April has been given a conditional discharge and put on probation for nine months.

The driver was punched in the face after he told the man he wouldn’t be allowed on the bus because he was drunk. There’s something haywire here.

Bus drivers are being injured by passengers way too often. In one incident, after a driver was assaulted for no obvious reason, the man responsible for it served seven days in jail on weekends, but only because he’d already racked up several other offences.

Bus drivers all over the province are being abused by passengers. In Vernon, a bus driver was grabbed and assaulted after he told a man he couldn’t smoke onboard.

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Last year, a Kelowna transit bus with 22 passengers on it crashed when the driver was spit on and assaulted. The driver was hospitalized.

In Vancouver, a passenger walked down the aisle and slugged a driver in the face while the bus was moving.

In Victoria, a driver was beaten up when he tried to break up a fight between two passengers.

By no means is B.C. alone in this. In France, a bus driver is brain-dead after being assaulted when he asked four men to wear face masks. In San Francisco, a driver was beaten with a baseball bat for the same reason.

Bus drivers aren’t always on their best behaviour, and there have been some bizarre incidents in Kamloops, but they deserve protection. There are some 30 cases a year of assault against BC Transit drivers.

Some changes have been made. Bylaw and surveillance security have been improved at Kamloops transit exchanges. A couple of years ago, a program was started to install protective barriers for drivers.

Stronger penalties for the offenders would be in order, too.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.