Increased presence of inspectors, heavier penalties, increased funding: the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) publishes a series of recommendations to ensure greater safety in public transit networks, in the face of “an increasing number of incidents violence” across the country.
“No single solution can solve the complex problem of violence on public transport alone. So we need to bring together experts and stakeholders from different fields,” CUTA President and CEO Marco D’Angelo argued Monday, calling for an “emergency meeting” with provincial and federal governments to discuss the “causes depths” of the phenomenon.
A task force set up by the association had been working on recommendations since June 2022. In its report, this group says that “fear of violence threatens to derail the recovery that transport agencies and municipalities had hoped for”, at a time when public transit ridership is still stagnating around 73% of the pre-pandemic level in Canada.
Since the beginning of January, many violent events have occurred in the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) network, but also in British Columbia, where the West Vancouver drivers’ union recently called for stronger measures. To Montreal, The Press also reported last Friday that the worrying situation of constables and bus drivers. The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) is already working on an “enhanced” security plan.
“What happens in Toronto, it could happen here. […] We hear more and more stories of violence across Canada and here. We are always a little more fearful when we get up in the morning to come and do our job,” illustrated Pino Tagliaferri, from the STM bus drivers union.
“Stricter rules”
Faced with this, the ACTU recommends in particular “to invest more in the creation of positions in safety, security and to enforce the law” in public transport. There is also talk of “stricter regulations, so that the constables and the police have the ability to curb dangerous behavior”.
Provincial governments should then “provide transit agencies with dedicated mental health outreach staff.” Ottawa, for its part, is called upon to “strengthen the penalties for assault against all public transit personnel”, by including “all workers” and “not only operators” in section 269.01 of the Criminal Code. relating to bodily harm.
The association reiterates in passing that “public transit cannot be a solution to homelessness”, which is on the rise in several major Canadian cities.
In the eyes of Mr. D’Angelo, the provincial governments should therefore fund more “access and admission at night to social services, to warming and cooling centres, so that people in need of help avoid shelter” in public transit.
Because “substance use has no place in public transit systems,” the organization suggests “addressing the problem of substance abuse by improving support programs, law enforcement, and diverting activities to sanctioned areas”.
In the midst of a public transit funding crisis, the CUTA also makes no secret of the fact that “appropriate funding” would make the difference. All transport agencies should also “explore partnerships with mental health services, by positioning local workers in the network to help staff”.