Saskatoon budget includes safety improvements for bus drivers, passengers

Saskatoon bus drivers and transit workers will be getting some more help when it comes to keeping themselves and passengers safe.

The City of Saskatoon’s two-year budget, which was passed by council last week, included $482,000 for a targeted support program to help address common concerns.

While details are still being developed, the president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 615 said community safety officers will be present on buses and in the terminals of the routes currently experiencing the biggest issues. The program is slated to begin in mid-2024.

“This is something we’ve been trying to lobby for quite some time,” Darcy Pederson said.

To start, Pederson said there will be six officers spread out across the city during the hours when transit workers are seeing the most incidents take place.

According to Pederson, bus drivers have had to do endure a number of different issues.

“We’ve been seeing all kinds of violence on the buses and different terminals as well — everything from verbal abuse, the physical attacks, bear spray to knives,” he stated.

Pederson said the program isn’t a new idea, and other cities across the country have already implemented similar programs.

“Some cities have the ability to arrest people and give out tickets, and some have the ability to just remove the situation from the bus and call police, and some properties just don’t have anything at all, like we do right now,” he explained.

Pederson said the powers the officers will have still needs to be worked out with the city as it begins to implement the program.

He’s hopeful the move will change things for good.

“I’m hoping this is a step closer to making sure our operators can come to work and feel safe at work and go home safely to their families,” he said.

“We’re seeing assaults weekly, and it needs to stop, and this is one of the first steps to addressing it.”