Transit plans to install better shields to protect bus drivers on city’s mean streets By: Joyanne Pursaga Posted: 7:03 PM CST Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025

Winnipeg Transit is plotting a route to providing better protection for its drivers, amid persistent threats and violent incidents on city buses.

That likely means replacing the partial driver shields installed on Transit’s fleet in 2019 at a cost of $3.15 million.

The city is exploring floor-to-ceiling driver compartments that could cost as much as $15 million according to a ballpark estimate offered Thursday by Rick Young, Winnipeg Transit’s manager of operations.

A second option offering less protection would be full-size shields to replace the smaller equipment now in use.

“A full shield goes from the door of the driver compartment to the windshield — it goes to a certain height, (but) it doesn’t go all the way to the roof,” Young said.

“A full enclosure is exactly what it says — it completely seals the driver off from the public. It’s from the ceiling to the floor, from the back of the driver’s compartment to the driver’s windshield, so there’s no opportunity for anybody to reach around or throw things over.”

As safety concerns have been ratcheted up by both drivers and riders in recent years, the currently installed shields that the union had long called for have been criticized for failing to provide adequate protection.

There have been incidents involving passengers reaching around the partition to assault a driver or grab the steering wheel.

Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of public works and a member of the city’s transit advisory committee, said the plan to replace those shields will address those threats.

“A recent report indicated that… we’re a city with (among) the top number of assaults that are occurring on the buses,” said Lukes (Waverley West).

“A full enclosure is exactly what it says – it completely seals the driver off from the public.”

A joint probe by CBC News and the Investigative Journalism Foundation revealed Winnipeg’s rise in transit violence was among the sharpest in Canada.

In September, Winnipeg Police Service announced a “targeted safety strategy” in and around buses. WPS noted 325 violent crimes were reported at Winnipeg Transit locations in 2024 alone, including on buses and in areas around bus shelters.

A union executive acknowledged the reality of the city’s financial limitations but said changes are a necessity.

“We know the city is on a limited budget, and we get that, but… our operators are going off (work) in massive amounts for the number of assaults that they are facing,” said Derek Hanley, vice-president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505.

“A lot of these can be mitigated with a full compartment enclosure, where the public can’t reach at the steering wheel, the public can’t go around the shield and punch them in the face or spit in their face.”

Young said there are potential downsides with full compartments, such as issues with air flow, glare and climate control.

Hanley said the union would love to see a type of full enclosure it viewed in Toronto, which included a window that can roll down and be quickly closed at the press of a panic button.

“It’s needed because … our members are coming to work every day and they’re fearful. We’ve seen the (incident) numbers go up. Right now, we’ve had 246 safety incidents on the bus (in 2025),” said Hanley.

According to the union, which counts a variety of verbal and physical threats to both drivers and passengers, that exceeds the 220 incidents recorded throughout 2024 and falls just short of 257 incidents in 2023.

“We know the city is on a limited budget, and we get that, but… our operators are going off (work) in massive amounts for the number of assaults that they are facing.”

Winnipeg Transit has counted 75 assaults against drivers this year so far, down from 89 in 2024 and 117 in 2023. Those numbers count only assaults against drivers, as defined by the Criminal Code. These include: applying or attempting to apply force or a threat; use of, or threat to use, a weapon to cause bodily harm; and aggravated assault by wounding, maiming, disfiguring or endangering life.

After the city studies its options, Transit expects to seek funding for some form of driver partition in its 2027 capital budget request.

Hanley urged city council to speed up the effort by providing $5 million to $9 million more in this year’s budget for the project.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said the funding would require more discussion “in future budgets,” with consideration on which equipment would work best.

“We take public safety on our transit system very seriously and we’re taking action on it,” Gillingham added.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga