Plastic shields could be added to Regina buses as an extra protective barrier for drivers after Regina’s executive committee approved a $2.5-million application for federal funds to help with COVID-19 safety measures.
The city would be responsible for 26.7 per cent of the cost, which works out to $686,505.
There are already vinyl sheets in place to help protect bus drivers from COVID-19 transmission.
The committee also discussed the benefits of personal safety this would provide for bus drivers from physical altercations involving passengers.
City Manager Chris Holden said there have been a few assaults in Regina involving bus drivers and passengers.
“This is a measure that will serve those two purposes and protect our drivers and ensure that there isn’t that physical interaction or contact between our customers and our staff,” Holden said.
Mayor Sandra Masters echoed those comments.
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“Of course they will assist with protection from COVID and whatever comes next, but the interest really is in the health and safety of our workers when they’re on shift and the plexiglass forms a bit more of a barrier between them and the public,” she explained.
The city also hopes to use federal funds for no-contact mobility systems for some of its buses. According to a city report, traditional securement systems require a bus driver to help secure a passenger in the bus by “physically touching and attaching securement straps to the customers mobility device.”
Self-securement systems allow the bus driver to secure a passenger with the press of a button once the passenger has positioned themselves in the device. Regina transit currently has 13 of these self-securement devices in buses, and hopes to retro fit 66 buses with this system.
Both proposals are currently moving through the review and approval process for the provincial and federal governments.
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