Listen to this article
Estimated 3 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Winnipeg’s transit union is calling for full safety shields to be installed immediately after they say a bus driver was stabbed with a syringe early Wednesday.
The union says the driver had stopped the bus at the intersection of Isabel Street and William Avenue shortly after 12:40 a.m. when a woman who got on the bus came up behind him. She reached around the partial protective shield and stabbed the man twice in the leg with a syringe, the union said in a news release.
“He’s awaiting tests to see, you know, what was in that syringe,” said James Van Gerwen, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505.
“Basically, it could be a life-altering event for him.”
Winnipeg police confirmed they are investigating an assault involving a Winnipeg Transit driver and a passenger. They have not confirmed the incident involved a syringe but said they expect to release more information about what happened in the coming days.
Partial shields were installed on all city buses in 2020 to better protect drivers after a spike in violence toward them dating back to 2017.
The transit union says there were a total of 265 security incidents on buses last year — the most since they back tracking the numbers in 2020 — and 148 so far this year. The union says the numbers include violence among passengers.
The city says that since 2017, it has made more than $9.6 million in investments in transit safety initiatives that either are in place or in the process of being implemented.
In 2024, the city set aside $2.7 million for new shields in the budget. The union suggests the city has delayed the testing and implementation of the full enclosure shields.
Van Gerwen says full enclosure shields are being installed in buses across Canada to protect drivers from instances like the one that happened in Winnipeg on Wednesday.
“We’re dealing with people who are now, you know, attacking with syringes with unknown liquids in them. Like, this is life-altering injuries now. And it could have been prevented, and it can be prevented,” he said.
“We have the money, we have the solution. Let’s implement it.”
Van Gerwen is asking for nine full test shields to be installed immediately to see how they hold up in different seasons. Given that it’s an election year, he’s hoping the new council “puts transit management to task.”
“It’s not just asking them and letting them do whatever they want. They need to be pushed to do things now because we clearly see that they’re not willing to do it,” he said.
The city says the budget for the shields are to be included in Winnipeg Transit’s 2027 capital budget submission and that discussions on funding for the project will be held this fall.
A former bus driver himself, Van Gerwen says they are facing a far more dangerous reality now, one that requires enhanced protections.
“You picked up passengers, you’re normally saying hi. You know, it was nice and pleasant,” he said of when he started that job 20 years ago.
“But now it’s become a different situation — it’s become a situation where you gotta watch your back.”