Transit Operator Safety?



It has been over a month since a Winnipeg Transit Driver was killed while on duty.  The first in Canadian history.

I remember in the first week following the death there was a lot of calls for increased safety for transit operators and I was curious if this has been followed through on.  While researching this on google, here are some significant things that I have found out.

In 2000, there were 10 attacks on Transit Drivers.  In 2016, there were 45 attacks.  The most attacks came in 2009, when there were 70.  All of these statistics were reported to the press by the Amalgamated Transit Union,   Basically, I found 6 news articles which primary sourced the Transit Union or Transit Operators.  They claimed to be fearful for their lives on shift, and many were threatening to quit if increased safety concerns weren't adhered to.

The Winnipeg Transit Service itself, issued a copy of the Public Bylaw and Code of Conduct for Public Transit.  Most of this focused on the safety of passengers and reminded us all to be respectful.

If I didn't know better, it would look like the employer itself wasn't as committed to Driver safety as the members of the Union seemed to be.  I didn't think this could possibly be true.  Surely, Winnipeg Transit would be hand-in-hand with the Union in the call for increased safety for Transit Drivers, but, I really could not find evidence of this.

Doesn't Winnipeg Transit realize that if we don't have drivers then they will cease to operate.   Yet, what they are doing is to encourage the customer of their safety while minimizing concerns for their Driver's Safety.

That doesn't seem to make common sense.  Wouldn't they be better off supporting safety initiatives for bus drivers?  Wouldn't a collaboration with the Union make common sense?

Richard Branson had a very simple philosophy of management.  Don't worry about customer service. Worry about employee engagement.   If your employees are engaged, then they will take good care of your customers.

Common sense but not common practice.


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