Saskatoon bus rider takes a stand against violence, illegal activities on transit

Cameron McMillan has been riding buses in Saskatoon for the last 20 years. As his only mode of transportation, he takes them all over the city for work, to get groceries and to run errands.

But over the last few years, McMillan said the number of violent incidents, illegal activities including open drug and alcohol use and passenger disruptions have become too much.

As a daily passenger, he said situations can turn bad in an instant, and most days he’s on a bus, he feels like he’s riding that line.

“If you ask any regular rider they’ll tell you that it’s at best uncomfortable riding the buses. Sometimes it’s far worse than that,” he said.

McMillan said it can range anywhere from general aggression and intimidation of passengers and bus operators, to outright attacks.

“I see people openly carrying weapons on the bus. I’ve seen knives, I’ve seen bear spray. It’s daily. It’s not a rare occurrence.

“It’s not a comfortable way to get to and from work anymore. It almost seems month over month to get worse,” he continued.

On Jan. 9, McMillan posted a video to social media, indicating that he’d had enough.

“Saskatoon Transit has gotten completely out of hand. We all know this. Everyone puts their heads down and ignores it as it happens, but no one is doing anything about it.

“The promises made by the City of Saskatoon and Saskatoon Transit were not kept,” he said in the video.

While he paid for a bus pass in January, McMillan will not show his pass to ride anymore. Beginning in February, he will not pay to ride either.

“I have not seen a single uniform on the bus. Ever. Occasionally you’ll see a transit supervisor riding the bus, and since they began in July, I have not seen a support officer either,” he said.

According to a notice sent to bus drivers from the city of Saskatoon dated January 2025, drivers should not enforce fares if and when someone refuses to pay.

The notice outlines the duties of an operator regarding fares and services which include:

• Allow intending customers to ride whether they have fare or not
• Do not engage in fare enforcement and only provide information regarding fares when asked by passengers
• Do not escalate conversations

• Record the customer’s non-payment incident on MDT screen by pressing “Pax No Fare”

   

  
  McMillan said paying for a bus pass felt punitive – like a punishment for being respectful on the bus.

• “The city could solve this problem tomorrow. We don’t have to wait for a budget meeting … by simply re-tasking a portion of the support officers that we were promised back in July.
• “If I see that, I will happily go back to paying bus fare,” he added.

• City of Saskatoon response

• Mike Moellenbeck, director of Saskatoon transit, said the safety of staff and passengers is a top priority, and the city has been working on several solutions to ensure that, including unveiling a front-line employee safety campaign in June 2024.
• “We’ve increased the security patrols that we have in and around our transit facilities as well as the supervisory presence that’s on our buses and in those areas (terminals),” he said.
• Moellenbeck said there are also members of the Saskatoon Fire Department who are outreach and community support workers who ride buses and also help de-escalate potentially volatile situations.
• “Our staff have a direct line to Saskatoon police, and if and when disturbances occur on the bus, they make that phone call,” he added.
• As for fare evasion, Moellenbeck said city records showed that fewer than one per cent of riders engage in fare evasion, adding that he shares McMillan’s concerns about disturbances on buses.
• “Steps that we have put in place, our continued coordination with fire and the community support program, our security staff that we work with at our locations, our supervisory team and out contacts at Saskatoon police,” he said.
• He also pointed out that enforcement of fares can increase conflicts.
• “It’s $3.00 and that’s not worth necessarily engaging over,” he added.
• Year over year, Moellenbeck confirmed that the number of violent incidents on Saskatoon city buses has increased, however since the summer there have been fewer of them, but more instances of public intoxication and verbal altercations.

• Transit union response

• Darcy Pederson, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 625 President, said McMillan makes a good point in his online video, and with his refusal to show his bus pass or pay fares in the future, because drivers are also seeing more disruptions as well.
• “These are the things we’re seeing on buses daily. We’re seeing acts of violence, we’re seeing drug use, alcohol use, threatening and intimidating acts not only against operators but members of the riding public,” he said.
• He added that if the city of Saskatoon wants to enforce fare collection, they’ll have to hire someone to enforce that because he doesn’t want drivers put at further risk.
• Pederson said community support workers are not riding buses as security or fare enforcers, they’re around for outreach purposes.
• He believes Saskatoon is past the point of needing security on buses, either in the form of transit police or fare enforcers to keep order.
  
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