Transit asked to tweak well-being checks for safety reasons

A city councillor is pushing Winnipeg Transit revamp its policy in the face of complaints that a new end-of-line bus stop has sparked a crime increase.

“I do believe that this change in the Transit system has created a new issue with people who are experiencing… various levels of mental distress, addictions issues, potentially, finding their way into a very northern part of the City of Winnipeg … that did not have this issue prior to the changes of the primary transit network,” said Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan).

Browaty is asking Winnipeg Transit to change a protocol for a new bus stop in North Kildonan. The stop was added when transit switched to a new primary network at the end of June.

Specifically, he wants Transit to end the practice of having bus operators check the well-being of passengers at the stop at Raleigh Street and Knowles Avenue and instead wait until the bus returns downtown to do so, in cases where passengers don’t exit the bus on their own accord.

Passengers in distress are more likely to leave a bus when the driver approaches them to check in or wake them up, Browaty said.

If that takes place downtown, a driver can also easily reach out to a Transit inspector, community safety team member, police or another community partner to help remove a person from a bus when needed, he said.

Some North Kildonan residents say the route change was paired with a spike in crime, which has already included a break-in attempt, open use of hard drugs and one individual sharpening a knife and waving it at passersby.

“We’ve had stories of (a person) going into someone’s home, thinking it’s their own home, because they’re mentally unwell. We can’t have that in this community. That, in my mind, is completely unacceptable,” said Browaty.

The FX4 route passes through downtown and ends at the north end of Raleigh.

If safety concerns don’t improve, Browaty said he would try to get the bus route changed as a last resort.

An area resident who endured a break-in attempt said he supports Browaty’s call for change.

“Having that (happen) downtown is much better for access to resources… If (an incident requires a) police call or an ambulance call, they’re not near us. We’re at the edge of the city,” said the man, who did not want his name published.

The man said community safety team officers recently escorted someone who appeared intoxicated and dishevelled off the bus at the stop before leaving them alone.

He said the incidents have left him on high alert in his once-quiet neighbourhood.

“Now, it’s gotten to the point that I lock my door and I’m constantly looking out the window to make sure nobody’s going to be walking up to my house,” he said.

In an email, a Winnipeg Transit spokesman said the current protocol requires bus operators at an end-of-line bus stop to perform a well-being check for passengers who need assistance, though checks can also take place at other locations.

“If there are signs of distress, 911 is called and the appropriate emergency responders are sent out,” wrote Brandon Logan.

“In many cases, operators encourage those passengers to stay on the bus until they are downtown and able to (more easily) access the resources they need,” Logan added. “Our goal is to help these passengers reach a safe and supportive environment, which is not end-of-line bus stops.”

Transit cannot prevent passengers from leaving the bus at any location or compel them to travel to another stop, he noted.

The head of the union for Winnipeg Transit drivers expects the proposed change could boost safety.

“If they’re not being asked to check (on well-being for passengers) at the end of the line when they’re alone, they … would be able to (access) resources to deal with the individual, should they still be on the bus when they get downtown,” said said Chris Scott, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505.

Scott said intoxicated passengers can become aggressive when startled by a bus driver.

He said a driver is not required to ask someone to leave a bus, though a passenger could be told to exit and wait for the next bus when the initial bus is no longer in service.

Buses taken out of service head back to a transit garage, so the location change for wellness checks wouldn’t be possible in those cases, said Scott.

Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of public works, said she believes the change is worth exploring.

“I do think this whole end-of-the-line (well-being check)… should be where resources are… But we don’t know (when passengers are) going to leave the bus,” said Lukes (Waverley West).

She said crime complaints also increased after the Southwest Rapid Transitway was completed in her area. Lukes said that made travel easier for all riders, including some who may be distressed or otherwise more likely to commit crimes.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga