Halifax’s road safety regulation ‘just a piece of paper with no enforcement’: drivers’ union

HALIFAX, NS — Shane O’Leary appeared at Halifax City Hall on Tuesday, dressed head-to-toe in black, hoping someone would ask him why.

“I would say I’m dressed here like I’m going to a funeral, because someone is going to have to be killed for Transit (management) to understand how bad it is out there,” the president of Amalgamated Transit Union 508 said.

Drivers are increasingly confronted with violence as they are threatened, beaten, verbally abused and spat on.

From 2018-2022, incidents have increased by 107 percent, Phil Herritt of Halifax Transit Operations told the council. As of June 30, there were more than 1,500 incidents and he said he expects that number to exceed 2,600 by the end of the year.

But the council day was long, so O’Leary left before the council began debating (in the late afternoon) the first reading of a new ordinance to improve driver and passenger safety in transit.

Adoption of the (by) law

The Transit Ordinance (Ordinance T-1200) is a first for HRM public transportation with the goal of establishing security and safety standards and a framework for overseeing and enforcing compliance. According to the personnel report the bylaws would “provide important protection for workers’ safe working conditions during transportation and add workplace safety measures.”

An ordinance was needed because the Protection of Property Act only applies to a property, it cannot be used to prohibit a passenger from boarding a bus or ferry, or determine how long someone stays in a terminal or bus shelter may remain.

“This currently results in banned passengers boarding transit vehicles to repeat the same violent behavior,” the staff wrote.

Sounds good, but it won’t do anything without teeth, O’Leary said. Back in the spring budget deliberations, council members considered adding four transit supervisors to help with the increase in violence, particularly at terminals, and O’Leary said at the time he thought they would have enforcement powers under this new ordinance, but that is not. the case.

“They will still just be eyes and ears and call the police if something needs to be done,” he said. “It’s just a piece of paper with no enforcement.”

Herritt said the four supervisors will be stationed at the busiest terminals in the late afternoon and evening to be on site to answer questions, assist passengers and have the authority “to take the service.”

But HRP and RCMP officers will be able to use the ordinance to remove unruly passengers and ban people from using public transportation, he added.

“What the statutes don’t do, it’s not a quick and easy answer to everything,” Herritt said.

What’s in it, fines and removal

Management is working on a safety program that involves developing a team focused on support and enforcement, which is not the role of regulators, Herritt stressed.

The road safety regulation prohibits, among other things, litter, graffiti and disrupting the flow of traffic on and next to the vehicle. It also states that passengers cannot linger in a shelter, station or terminal for longer than is reasonably necessary to board a transit vehicle.

The regulation relies on voluntary compliance and police enforcement, including tickets, removal of an individual and/or a ban on public transport use for up to 180 days, which can be appealed.

As for the tickets, the fine for the first offense is between $100 and $10,000.

The Council voted unanimously to approve the first reading.

Guardrails for drivers

On Tuesday, the council also approved a request from staff to move money to pay for a bus driver crash barrier contract.

There are shields on buses now, but they were put in place in response to COVID-19 and not intended to protect drivers from violence. The staff said in their report, the collision protections have a fixed door with two sliding glass pieces that can be locked from the inside.

When the contract was announced this spring, they chose the only qualified bidder: NFI Parts, with a total cost of $3.4 million to retrofit 370 conventional buses. Installation will begin this Fall/Winter and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2024.

Suburban transport plan and rapid transit corridors

On Tuesday, even more transit was on the agenda, as HRM planner Kasia Tota presented a plan for suburban transit and future rapid transit corridors.

She said most of the current 21 plans in this area were made before the merger and need to be updated. Planning for transportation with suburban growth, staff will focus on incorporating open spaces, entire communities, as well as a pedestrian-first and “people-centered design.”

She said extensive public consultation will be needed.

Fellow planner Kate Greene said they will be focused on public engagement this year, before moving on to the overall land use framework and identifying areas for “intensification and community amenities.” All of this will require more staff, she said.

“With the level of growth we have, we just need to accelerate in all of our areas and that’s going to take staffing capacity.”

It’s about “being smart where we grow,” Coun said. Patty Cuttell (Spryfield – Sambro Loop – Prospect Road).

She said this plan is important in helping HRM meet climate change targets because urban growth patterns are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. She said she was also pleased to see the emphasis on adapting plans to communities.

“This is a change in the way we develop our suburbs, but I also think it’s a big social change.”