Transit union, mayor to meet on security plan
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The rush-hour stabbing last week on a Winnipeg Transit bus is just the latest violent attack that underscores the need for onboard security, its drivers’ union says.
Chris Scott, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, said he is scheduled to meet June 1 with Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham to discuss the city’s plan to hire and train peace officers for its buses before the end of the year.
The union has been getting more reports of passenger-on-passenger violence across the city, he said. “It just goes to strengthen our call for a security team.”
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Chris Scott, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, is scheduled to meet with Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham to discuss the city’s plan to hire and train peace officers for its buses before the end of the year.
On May 19, an adult male passenger riding the No. 15 route was stabbed in the area of Sargent Avenue and Balmoral Street around 5:15 p.m.
Suspects fled as soon as the bus stopped. Police are seeking two or three people they believe were involved.
On Tuesday, a WPS spokesman said no other details could be released.
Scott said the bus driver involved has returned to work following the traumatic incident. The operator didn’t see the stabbing, but stopped the bus “as soon as he heard screaming,” the union official said.
“And then somebody came along, holding their wound, trying to stop the bleeding,” Scott said, adding emergency personnel took the man to hospital.
On Sunday, around 12:36 a.m., a bus driver was attacked with pepper spray on Main Street in front of the concert hall, Scott said. “There’s no indication at this time on why this assault happened. It may have been an assault of convenience, for no reason.”
Both incidents come after the Transit union asked to be directly involved in the city’s plan to hire onboard security. Putting officers on buses was one of Gillingham’s election promises in 2022, and one of his first commitments as mayor.
On May 2, Scott wrote to the mayor expressing support for the planned security, but saying he was concerned the union was only learning of the plan via news reports.
The mayor’s office agreed to meet June 1, he said.
“We need to know what’s going on, how this is being developed, what kind of training is going to be implemented, what kind of policies are going to be developed,” Scott said, adding police and City of Winnipeg management also need to be at the table.
Violent incidents are “happening all over the city, at all different times of the day — which just underscores the need for action to be taken now,” he said.
“If we want to restore Transit to its pre-pandemic levels with a boost in ridership and the ability to attract and retain employees, the city needs to demonstrate that the service is safe.”
katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com
Katie May
Reporter
Katie May is a general-assignment reporter for the Free Press.
