City to add more community support workers on buses amid safety concerns
By Lara Fominoff
More community support workers will be riding Saskatoon Transit buses in the coming weeks.
The move comes after long-time transit user Cameron McMillan and other riders highlighted their ongoing concerns about safety on Saskatoon buses.
McMillan became so frustrated and concerned with open drug and alcohol use, weapons like bear spray and machetes being brought on buses, and other disruptions that he posted a video on the “Bus Riders of Saskatoon” Facebook page last month outlining his plan to refuse to pay fares as a form of protest.
“The promises made by the City of Saskatoon and Saskatoon Transit were not kept,” he said in the video.
During Tuesday’s transportation committee meeting, McMillan outlined his concerns, noting that he’s never seen a support worker on any bus or at any terminals outside of downtown, and presented a proposal to councillors.
“At some point, security or transit police presence, I think, would be the effective solution. However, I think the redeployment or at least re-tasking of fire community support (workers) can be done immediately, and without any additional funding or resources,” he said.
McMillan asked that the workers spend a minimum of four hours a day riding buses, traveling along various routes and walking through terminals.
Mary Fedun, who often comes to city hall to watch council meetings and frequently takes the bus from the city’s west side, said she would not come to evening meetings because of safety concerns on transit.
“It’s scary. It’s unsettling. It is disturbing,” she said.
“I would never recommend Saskatoon city transit to anyone. Ever… I wouldn’t say that lightly. I will not take the bus when it’s dark.”
Rielly Knock, director of community relationships for Saskatoon Fire Department, told councilors he met with McMillan recently to provide him with context on the steps the department has been working towards when it comes to community support workers.
Doug Wegren, Saskatoon’s fire chief, said the department is aware that rider and driver safety on buses is a significant issue.
“We’re trying to resolve as much as we can with what we have,” he explained. “It’s a complex problem that we’re trying to figure out.”
As of January 6, the fire department had a full complement of 12 community support workers on the job, and aims to have more of the workers riding some of the busiest routes more often.
Mayor Cynthia Block asked Wegren whether they’d be having the same conversation if everyone was safely housed.
“Speaking as Doug and maybe not the fire chief, that makes a lot of sense to me,” he replied.
The presentations were received by the committee as information, but after the meeting McMillan said he was worried that his presentation was not completely understood or received.
“My comments were about people who are not homeless or experiencing crises, but people who’d rather choose violence and aggression, and I don’t think that message was heard at all,” he said.
Knock said community support workers could address transit safety issues and social disorder calls, as long as there was no violence or weapons involved.
“I think the two issues are quite closely linked, because the individuals that we’re offering the support to are often the ones who are causing the issues on the buses, and it’s not just a matter of responding to the issue; it’s about trying to get to the root cause and seeing if we can support them,” he responded.
Still, McMillan maintained that some kind of enforcement was necessary, but he recognized that permanent improvements could take years, while support workers could be an interim measure.
“Having fire community support would provide that stopgap solution that might reduce the number of incidents on buses,” he said.
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