Members of the local bus drivers' union will be holding a rally outside City Hall and the Queensway Bus Exchange next week.
(JOHN MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)
June 02, 2016 - 8:00 PM
KELOWNA – Members of the local bus drivers’ union will be holding a rally in downtown Kelowna next week to call attention to the increasing threats they face on the job.
There have already been at least five serious attacks on Kelowna bus drivers this year. The first of the year happened January 11 when a man struck a driver taking a break from behind.
And on May 20, four Kelowna drivers were attacked separately on the same day.
A media release from Amalgamated Transit Union local 1722 calls it “a day in history that has never been seen before in the picturesque City of Kelowna.”
“Due to the nature of public transportation most assailants are able to flee the scene and escape justice,” the release says. “The logical next step to ensuring our members are safe is structural changes to the buses.”
The union is asking for some type of partition capable of withstanding gunfire between the drivers and their passengers as well as a “panic button” for direct communication with RCMP.
“Commercial pilots and train operators are provided with enclosed workstations and yet bus operators are left out in the open susceptible to heinous attacks,” the release says.
The rally will take place Wednesday, June 8, at the Queensway Bus Exchange and City Hall staring at 2 p.m.
The public is encouraged to attend and ask questions of the drivers and members of the union.
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