Assaults on TransLink staff down, Metro Vancouver transit numbers show

While transit ridership goes up, perhaps surprisingly, the number of assaults against TransLink staff has been going down.

Metro Vancouver Transit Police say it’s been a priority to get the number of assaults trending downward across the city.

Now they’re beginning to see results.

In 2016, there were 157 assaults against TransLink staff; 132 in 2017, and last year, 125.

“I think we can attribute that to a few things,” said spokesperson Sgt. Clint Hampton, “one of which is Transit Police go out, and they train internal staff with TransLink on how to deal with incidents, including criminal incidents, and how to deal with individuals who may want to harm them.”

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And the new plexiglass safety shields that surround bus drivers are also helping, according to TransLink’s Jill Drews.

“It gives the operator more safety in dealing with the public,” Drews said, “and avoids any assaults on our employees.”

Transit use reached an all-time high in Metro Vancouver in 2017, with over 400 million boardings.

The numbers for 2018 have yet to be released.