Saskatoon public transit incidents result in increased safety measures

More safety initiatives are being put in place to try and make riding the bus in Saskatoon safer.

Saskatoon Transit said it is working with the Saskatoon Police Service, fire department, the transit union and other stakeholders to address concerns around safety.

It said that bus operators, supervisors and customer service employees have been exposed to more aggressive and violent incidents this spring.

1:49 ‘The violence is out of control’: Saskatoon transit union talks recent attacks on city buses

Some of the initiatives that are already underway include adding additional security patrols to the Downtown, Confederation Mall and Market Mall terminals.

New initiatives announced Thursday include:

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• Streamlined process for reporting an incident to police.
• Deployment of the Fire Community Support team to bus terminals and on bus routes with a higher number of reported incidents.
• Running a public marketing campaign featuring frontline employees from Saskatoon Transit to increase the profile of bus operators in the community.
• Developing a process to ban a problem customer from Saskatoon Transit buses and facilities.
• Exploring the feasibility of installing security cameras at the Downtown and Confederation Mall terminals.
• A new workplace violence prevention policy, updated respectful and harassment-free workplace process and introduce the new corporate customer conduct standard.
• New customer service and de-escalation training for frontline Saskatoon Transit employees.
• Enhanced mental health support for Saskatoon Transit employees.
• Advocating for tougher sentences under the Criminal Code for assaults against a Saskatoon Transit employee.

Recent incidents have raised concerns about safety on Saskatoon’s public transit.

Some of these incidents include men approaching underage girls, assaults outside of transit buses, and several bus stabbings.