By Tom Mark / KISS FM Vernon

BC Transit testing new driver safety doors

Nov 24, 2017 | 10:15 AM

VERNON, B.C. — Kelowna is one of three communities BC Transit has chosen to test a new safety door for drivers.

Victoria and Abbotsford are the other areas.

BC Transit’s Jonathon Dyck says a total of five buses will be equipped with a full door, one in Kelowna.

“We wanted to take this, do a limited test and see what the feedback is from passengers and our drivers so we can incorporate that into the final design that will go across the province.”

The design allows drivers to communicate with passengers.

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“The doors are steel on the bottom and then they do have a plexiglass-like material on the top so it is transparent so they can see the passengers and interact with them.”

Jonathon Dyck says the doors will be tested for six months before any thought is given to a full rollout.

“If we get enough feedback early on and know where we need to go then we might move forward quicker than that. But if it is something that the information is slowly trickling in then we would take the full six months and then move forward from there.”

Dyck says the door is just one aspect of improved safety along with closed circuit cameras, enhanced communication systems and driver training to help defuse difficult situations.