LTC buses now on the road with barriers to protect drivers
Three buses have been equipped with protective shields as assaults against London drivers continue to climb
Some London transit drivers will be sitting behind a shield of glass as part of a pilot project to protect LTC employees from a growing number of violent passengers.
The London Transit Commission put three buses on the roads Monday, outfitted with barriers enclosing drivers.
Kelly Paleczny, LTC general manager, said the decision comes after assaults directed at bus drivers have increased over the past couple of years.
"We've had instances where our operators have been physically assaulted to the point where they're off work because of injury," she said.
In 2017, LTC reported a total of 25 assaults on board buses, with six of them being physical attacks directed at the driver. That's five more assaults than the previous year.
"In 2018, at the halfway point, we're already at 17 in total and three physical assaults on operators," said Paleczny.
What riders will see
The pilot project will run for approximately one year with buses equipped with the barriers rotating across different routes, and on different schedules.
"We hope that we can give all of our employees the opportunity to drive one of the buses, as well as give customers the experience of boarding the buses with the barriers."
The three barriers cost $5,000 each. Paleczny said if the health and safety committee decides the barriers are a success, equipping all 200 LTC buses will cost $1 million.
Bus driver assaults up outside London
It's not just London seeing a spike in bus driver assaults.
About 2,000 attacks are reported against bus drivers every year across Canada, according to the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA).
Cities such as Brampton, Vancouver, Grand River serving the Kitchener-Waterloo region, as well as Ottawa have also adopted their own pilot projects.
As of yet, Paleczny said it remains to be seen how effective the barriers will be in curbing violence, since there is no data.
At the end of the year, the LTC Health and Safety Committee will decide if it's worth implementing the barriers.
Paleczny said the plan is to survey operators and maintenance staff, as well as to provide customers with the opportunity for feedback.
CBC News made multiple attempts to contact the LTC union representing drivers but did not receive comment.