There are a couple of different ways that Transit operators are not safe in Saskatoon: the first is for their physical well-being and the second is environmental.
To address the first issue facing bus drivers, the City Administration implemented a plastic shield around them. This is somewhat effective but causes another substantial issue for drivers: excessive heat. Since many buses do not have functioning air conditioners, putting a bus driver in a plastic box with little airflow behind a large glass windshield is excessively dangerous for the driver’s health.
It has been reported to me that drivers have spent their day in temperatures exceeding 36 to 42 C with high humidity. This is dangerous for anyone, but it is exceptionally dangerous for someone operating a motor vehicle in a stressful environment.
Saskatoon emergency measures have even dictated that people with any health concerns should limit their exposure to temperatures above 26°C for a prolonged period of time. Yet, they have not acted for the substantially higher temperature range that bus drivers often find themselves in.
Why is there a double standard?
When it comes to Transit, our City has consistently failed to do the simplest of things to provide better service and to take better care of the staff providing it. After I presented an animation showing the extent of outages across the city a number of years ago, the City Council voted for an audit to be done.
Unfortunately for the City Administration, this audit proved that the Administration was not being honest about the three reasons used for why good service could not be provided (the overall age of our fleet, accessibility or availability of parts for that fleet, and the temperature in which our buses were operating at the time). The auditor directly proved all three false.
In the end, that manager went to a higher-paid job in the City of Edmonton, and we have cycled through two more managers since with no real improvement. The much more senior management was not affected by this, even though they should have been fully accountable for what went on.
As mayor, it will be my goal to finally ask the tough questions of the City Administration and demand full answers for a change.
It’s perplexing that our City is now embarking on a Bus Rapid Transit system while we have been unable to operate a legitimate basic transit system. It’s hard to envision these same people managing a more complex operation when they have not been proven to be effective with an existing simpler system.
The other part is that bus drivers should have the ability to refuse service to habitually abusive people. I hear that the driver comes into question instead of the constantly aggressive occupant threatening the driver and other riders. That will stop with me. Riding the bus is a privilege, not a right. People need to act accordingly!