Union calls for better bus driver protection

The union representing bus drivers in Edmonton is calling for better protection for its members after a vicious attack against one of its drivers on Thursday.

A bus driver in his 50s was assaulted by a passenger early Thursday morning on the No. 10 bus at 139th Avenue and Victoria Trail in northeast Edmonton. He suffered serious head and facial injuries that required surgery.

Gary Edwin Mattson, 24, has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault.  

"I'm really upset with this. There's no reason for it," said Stu Litwinowich, the head of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 569 who said he knew the driver. "I want this to stop."

The driver who was attacked was a gentle man who had been on the job for 33 years, said Litwinowich.

Edmonton Transit has been testing a Plexiglass safety shield for drivers but hasn't found a model that it likes.

But not all drivers like the idea of a shield.

"That takes away from the interaction between me and the passenger," said John Stuart, who's been driving a bus for seven years. 

"It's kind of like a barrier to me. I'd rather not have it, but we'll have to see what happens with that."

Stuart said he prefers the system of peace officer ride-alongs that the transit agency instituted in July. The agency hired nine officers to do random ride-alongs with drivers.

Despite that, attacks on bus drivers actually went up — to 66 incidents in 2009 from 53 in 2008.