Metro Vancouver bus drivers’ union calls for more security after off-duty driver allegedly punched

The union representing Metro Vancouver bus drivers is calling for improved security measures after an off-duty bus driver was allegedly punched in the face by a stranger.

In a video uploaded to YouTube, the diver says he was finishing his shift in downtown Vancouver on April 25 when a person approached him and allegedly blurted out racist remarks.

The driver says he then started recording the individual, and that’s when he claims he was struck in the face.

According to an email from the Metro Vancouver Transit Police, officers were called to the area of Davie Street and Pacific Blvd. near the Yaletown-Roundhouse Station, around 5:40 p.m.

Transit Police says officers were called by an off-duty bus operator who “was walking towards Yaletown Station when the suspect approached him, made some remarks and then punched him once in the head before leaving the scene.”

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Although the incident didn’t happen on the bus, Balbir Mann, president of Unifor Local 111, says the union has been pleading for increased security on buses for years, along with the installation of plexiglass safety barriers on all transit vehicles.

“It’s very sad. We’ve been raising these concerns…for a very long time and most recently, basically the month of April, we’ve noticed some of the assaults on the passengers. We raised that concern as well, because our members are worried ‘Who’s next?’ We do get assaults almost once a week, sometimes two, three, a week,” he said.

He says these requests are not new, just reinforced after the latest alleged incident.

Mann says the union is also requesting a stronger police presence on key transit routes.

No one has been arrested in connection with the alleged assault but investigators say they believe a suspect has been identified.

Mann says the driver has not been able to return to work and is seeking counselling following the alleged incident.

“Our member just finished his shift, and he got off the bus and someone just made some racial remarks and then he punched him in the face. He is very shaken up. Physically, on one side. his left eye is swollen,” he said.