3 HSR drivers fired after citizen complaints over fighting, urinating, driving mistakes
Samantha Craggs, Dan Taekema | CBC News | Posted: April 27, 2018 8:46 PM | Last Updated: April 30, 2018
The firings come as the HSR puts a new focus on service and customer satisfaction
Three Hamilton bus drivers have been fired in recent weeks, CBC has learned — one for getting into a physical fight with a customer, one for pulling away from the curb as someone was getting off the bus, and the third for urinating out of a bus door.
And sources tell CBC that cameras installed on buses last year for driver safety apparently provided some of the evidence used to dismiss the drivers.
One driver was pulling away from the curb as a rider was partway down the stairs to disembark, sources say.
In the case of the physical confrontation with a passenger, the video evidence indicates the driver instigated it.
The third case involved a driver pulling over and urinating off the bus. A resident spotted this from a nearby balcony and called to complain.
It was the union itself that pushed for cameras on HSR's 251 buses. The system cost $1.7 million and was designed to protect drivers and passengers.
Union won't say why drivers fired
The drivers are represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union. ATU Local 107 vice president Dee Osborne said the firings are currently in the grievance process.
"I'm very, very limited in what I can say," she explained. "I can't even tell you the reasons they were terminated."
When asked generally what the union would do in a case where a driver got in a fight with a customer or urinated from a bus, she said "I'm not prepared to make a comment on that," and hung up.
City working to improve HSR
A spokesperson for the city was similarly tight-lipped.
Jacqueline Durlov wrote in an email to CBC News that "personnel matters are considered private and confidential."
She added the HSR is working to be a "customer-focused service that is safe, reliable, and inclusive."
The firings come amid a concerted effort by the transit authority to improve public opinion and customer service following an emergency meeting of HSR riders in November.
That meeting was prompted after reports of hundreds of missed routes and some drivers working massive amounts of overtime because of soaring driver absenteeism.
The transit authority has announced upgrades to bus shelters and hiring more staff and a new Twitter account was launched in March to provide real-time updates about sudden changes to bus routes.
HSR has also teamed up with researchers at McMaster University to "re-envision" transit in Hamilton based data and rider feedback.