MPs consider stiffer penalties for attacks on transit drivers

It's been five years since bus driver Tom Bregg was savagely beaten by a drunken man who refused to pay his $2.50 bus fare.

On that day, Bregg was driving his route during the morning rush hour when he was pulled from his seat by a drunken man, punched and dragged off his bus. The attacker then stomped on his face fifteen times. Bregg suffered brain injuries and lost the sight in one eye.

Much has changed since Dec. 3, 2009. And yet, much hasn't.

• Man pleads guilty to attack on bus driver
• Bus driver suffers brain damage, vision loss
• Bill named after injured ETS driver
• Bus driver attacker to be jailed indefinitely

The Amalgamated Transit Union local says 53 assaults on Edmonton bus drivers have been reported so far this year.

According to the union, spitting, hitting and verbal abuse are the most common kinds of attacks Edmonton Transit Service drivers face from passengers.

Bus driver Debra Pardue is a member of a new task force that wants to get more drivers to report assaults suffered on the job.

"It's pretty scary, definitely," she said of the violence she and her colleagues face. "Any assault is not good. Whether it's one or one hundred."

Union statistics show disagreements over bus fares are to blame for 80 per cent of such assaults.

The group thinks such attacks would drop dramatically if passengers used pre-paid plastic cards rather than cash – but that's a change the city has said it can't afford right now.

Steve Bradshaw is the union president. He wants more drivers to speak up if they've been mistreated. His advice to union members is, "don't let it go."

"I think more people are reporting them. I don't think it's completely reported yet. But I think we're getting there. It's very important."

A federal bill inspired by the attack on Bregg is currently before a committee in the House of Commons.

The bill is designed to bring more severe penalties for people who attack bus drivers anywhere in Canada. 

The attack on that December morning five years ago also started as an argument over bus fare. Bregg ordered heavily intoxicated man off his bus when the man refused to pay the $2.50 fare.

Gary Mattson pleaded guilty in May 2010 to aggravated assault for the vicious attack. He was declared a dangerous offender and will remain in prison until it's determined he is no longer a risk to the public.