Winnipeg Transit considering shield extensions or full enclosures to better protect drivers

Winnipeg Transit is exploring options for new shields to provide increased safety to drivers.

Currently, all buses in the fleet have partial shields, which the city installed in response to rising concerns about violence, including the stabbing death of driver Jubal Fraser in 2017.

The union representing drivers says safety remains a problem for both operators and passengers, after it recorded 37 safety incidents on Winnipeg Transit buses in April — the highest monthly total since it began tracking in 2020, it said.

Now, the city has put out an expression of interest as it considers whether to install extensions to the existing shields, or move to a fully enclosed safety barrier.

Chris Scott, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, says he strongly supports the latter option.

"We want the city to spend the taxpayers' money wisely," and shield extensions wouldn't do that, he said.

"To spend money on an extension at the risk of the assaults or security incidents escalating only means that in the future, they'll have to invest in full compartment enclosures anyway."

The partial barriers were installed to prevent people running up and "sucker-punching" drivers, but people have now figured out ways to get around them, Scott said.

"If we go with just the extension, that will be effective in the short term. But in the long term … [attackers] will adapt to further escalate their levels of violence."

The City of Winnipeg budgeted $2.7 million for the new shields in 2024. 

Public works committee chair Coun. Janice Lukes doesn't believe that will be enough on its own to outfit every bus in the fleet, but she hopes other funding, like the Canada public transit fund announced by the federal government earlier this year, could be used to cover the full cost.

Scott says he has heard conflicting reports about the relative costs of shield extensions versus full enclosures. Extensions can cost between $10,000 and $12,000. Some reports have indicated full enclosures would run about the same price, but others have listed prices for full enclosures as high as $25,000.

Although she hasn't made up her mind regarding which option she prefers, Lukes says she's open to purchasing the full shields if the drivers want them.

"I want what works best to keep the staff safe," the Waverley West councillor said. "If the staff feel a full shield will do the job, if we can get a full shield at a reasonable price, why wouldn't we do that?"