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Driver assaults rise amidst the pandemic
Every year, thousands of bus operators throughout North America are attacked while on the job. Transit workers have been spit on, hit in the head, punched in the face, and in the worst-case scenarios, killed. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, these dangerous attacks have increased, with transit operators acting as “mask police” to enforce mask mandates on public transit to keep themselves and their passengers safe.
Since many of these brutal assaults happen while the driver is behind the wheel of a 40,000-pound vehicle, these attacks aren’t just endangering transit workers but passengers, pedestrians, and other vehicles.
An ATU survey reports that more than 75% of transit workers “fear for their safety on a daily basis” due to the risk of being assaulted. Being a transit worker has never been an easy job. Long hours and dangerous conditions put workers’ lives at risk every day, especially during the pandemic.
Report after report has come in of drivers being physically, verbally, and sexually assaulted by passengers. In Atlanta, GA, 44 assaults took place on MARTA buses in six months during the pandemic, 29 of them were on bus operators, members of Local 732-Atlanta, GA. In Erie, PA, a member of Local 568-Erie, PA, working as an Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority bus driver, was assaulted by a passenger after the passenger became irate over the federally imposed mask mandate. In New York, NY, a man pepper-sprayed an on-duty bus driver in the Bronx. In Staten Island, NY, a Local 726-Staten Island bus operator was punched in the face. The ATU aggressively advocates for better safety and protection
The U.S. bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by Congress includes critical language from the ATU-backed Transit Worker and Pedestrian Protection Act that will make critical safety improvements to protect the lives of transit workers and passengers. For the first time, transit agencies will be required to take appropriate actions to ensure that workers are protected from these vicious attacks, improving safety conditions for everyone.
Also, while 30 states have passed legislation enhancing the penalties for assaulting transit operators, some transit agencies are actively undermining the efforts of the ATU to push for more protections. Local 508-Halifax, NS, has been fighting back after Halifax Transit removed mandatory shields on all new bus orders.
The ATU continues to aggressively advocate for safer bus operator workstations that have physical barriers and escape routes. It’s the very least agencies can do to protect drivers against assaults and save lives. v
