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Saskatoon bus drivers union says recent stabbing part of larger trend

An 18-year-old man was stabbed on a bus in Saskatoon Wednesday around 5:30 p.m. CST on Broadway Avenue.

1 person stabbed on bus in Saskatoon

Union President says violence towards drivers, public on transit is growing

Saskatoon transit drivers' union calls for better safety policies amid violence on buses

Drivers afraid to come to work, says local union president.

Saskatoon transit drivers say they are subjected to a litany of abuse by their pa

Saskatoon transit drivers latest to call for vaccine priority

ATU Local 615 is the latest group to call for access to vaccines in the second phase of the province's mass immunization campaign.

SASKATOON TRANSIT UNION LOCAL CALLS FOR PRIORITY VACCINE ACCESS FOR FRONTLINE TRANSIT WORKERS

President of Local 615 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, Darcy Pederson, is calling upon the Moe government to give priority vaccine access to transit workers as the government announced its next phase of vaccine rollouts last week. They once again failed to include transit workers. 

Transit professionals are some of the most vulnerable when it comes to the COVID-19 virus as a result of their interaction with millions of riders per day. The high volume of interaction has led to more than 3500 ATU transit workers being infected in both Canada and the US. 

Council backs phasing in compartments to protect bus drivers

The drivers' union has long called for more protection for its members; 28 assaults on drivers were reported over the last three years.

Saskatoon city bus drivers are set to receive the protection from violent passengers their union has long been calling for.

City council voted unanimously in favour of allocating $500,000 to begin outfitting buses with enclosed driver compartments. The goal is to find more money to retrofit the entire fleet of 140 vehicles beginning in 2022.

Council backs phasing in compartments to protect bus drivers

The drivers' union has long called for more protection for its members; 28 assaults on drivers were reported over the last three years.

Saskatoon city bus drivers are set to receive the protection from violent passengers their union has long been calling for.

City council voted unanimously in favour of allocating $500,000 to begin outfitting buses with enclosed driver compartments. The goal is to find more money to retrofit the entire fleet of 140 vehicles beginning in 2022.

Transit drivers report spotty mask use, seek more enforcement

The union representing bus drivers says compliance with the mask rule is as low as 50 per cent on some routes.

Masks have been required on Saskatoon Transit buses for almost two months, but not everyone is donning a face covering before paying their fare and taking their seat.

Now, with COVID-19 cases spiking, the union representing the city’s bus drivers and a grassroots passenger group say more should be done to enforce the rule.

Masks now mandatory on Saskatoon transit buses

Under the policy, city hall will concentrate on "educating and informing" the public while Saskatoon Transit staff will monitor and document compliance.

Darcy Pederson says he welcomes a new policy requiring everyone riding city buses to wear non-medical face masks — and that the drivers he represents will not be tasked with enforcing it.

“Operators not enforcing it is great as it will only cause conflict, and that’s the last thing we want,” the president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 615 said Monday afternoon.

Council backs mandating masks on Saskatoon Transit buses, but rule not official until vote next week

Councillors also back continuing to recommend, but not requiring masks, at city-owned buildings

Saskatoon city councillors have preliminarily backed the idea of mandating masks for Saskatoon Transit riders starting on Sept. 1.

The city had laid out three options and recommended option two, which would mandate masks on buses.

That option also has the city continuing to recommend that people wear masks when they visit such city-owned facilities as Shaw Centre and the Lawson, Cosmo and Lakewood civic centres. 

Transit drivers, union frustrated with vinyl shields on city buses

Around a dozen drivers have refused to use them, arguing they obstruct the passenger-side mirror when installed on the city's New Flyer buses

Saskatoon Transit drivers are not happy with the plastic curtains installed to shield them from passengers, devices the head of their union says only work properly on some buses in the fleet.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 615 president Darcy Pederson said the curtains were measured and cut for the city’s Nova buses and can obstruct the right-hand mirror when installed on New Flyer models.