LTC buses now on the road with barriers to protect drivers

Some London transit drivers will be sitting behind a shield of glass as part of a pilot project to protect LTCemployees from a growing number of violent passengers.

The London Transit Commission put three buses on the roads Monday, outfitted with barriers enclosing drivers.

Kelly Paleczny, LTC general manager, saidthe decision comes after assaults directed at bus drivers have increased over the past couple of years.

• Barriers to be tested to protect London bus drivers

"We've had instances where our operators have been physically assaulted to the point where they're off work because of injury," she said.

In 2017,LTCreported a total of 25 assaults on board buses, with six of them being physical attacks directed at the driver. That's five more assaults than the previous year.

"In 2018, at the halfway point, we're already at 17 in total and three physical assaults on operators," saidPaleczny.

What riders will see

The pilot project will run for approximately one year with buses equipped with the barriers rotating across different routes,and on different schedules.

"We hope that we can giveall of our employees the opportunity to drive one of the buses, as well as give customers the experience of boarding the buses with the barriers."

The three barriers cost $5,000 each. Paleczny saidif the health and safety committee decides the barriers are a success, equipping all 200 LTC buses will cost $1 million.

Bus driver assaults up outside London

It's not just London seeing a spike in bus driver assaults.

About 2,000 attacks are reported against bus drivers every year across Canada, according to the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA).

Cities such as Brampton, Vancouver, Grand River serving the Kitchener-Waterloo region, as well as Ottawa have also adopted their own pilot projects.

As of yet, Paleczny saidit remains to be seen how effective the barriers will be in curbing violence, since there is no data.

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At the end of the year, the LTCHealth and Safety Committee will decide if it's worth implementing the barriers.

Paleczny said the plan is to surveyoperators and maintenance staff,as well as to provide customers with the opportunity for feedback.

CBC News made multiple attempts to contact the LTCunion representing drivers but did not receive comment.