5 Saskatoon transit drivers step off buses over COVID-19 concerns

An increasing number of Saskatoon transit drivers have come forward saying they don’t feel safe on the job, because of COVID-19, according to their union.

Darcy Pederson, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 615 says says five operators in the last week have filed complaints with Occupational Health and Safety, concerned over being exposed to the virus.

Since the five operators filed their complaints, they’re now no longer driving buses; they have been reassigned to the cleaning staff that disinfects buses.

“It’s scary,” Pederson said. “Having all those people on the bus you don’t know what they’ve come in contact with. Are they spreading the virus? Am I catching the virus?”

“We’re in there for 8 to 10 hours a day, along with these people, and we just want to be safe.”

The city has instructed operators to load passengers using the rear door and to not exceed 50 per cent capacity, however Pederson said that protocol is often broken with passengers “standing shoulder to shoulder” in some instances.

“We have buses that are full-seated loads and operators are getting abused, sworn at, yelled at when they try to enforce what transit is telling them to do … (Members) want assurances these guidelines will be followed.”

The city suspended fares last week to prevent contact with operators. But Pederson believes that is adding to the problem.”Transit being free. (The city) probably shouldn’t have gone out and advertised it. Some of our routes that go up and down 22nd Street are getting more passengers on the bus because it’s free,” he said.

Cleanliness is another concern the local union leader is hearing. The city said buses receive daily hard surface wipe-downs with hospital-grade disinfectant and misting treatments.

Pederson believes the cleaning is not thorough enough.

“We’ve got buses that are out there for 18 to 20 hours a day, and they get cleaned once a night. If they are cleaned once a night, the first person that gets on that bus and starts touching a surface, it needs to be cleaned right away.”

He suggests having extra cleaning staff at terminals to wipe-down buses throughout the day.

City following advice of health experts

The city said it’s aware of the concerns raised by drivers and is discussing solutions with ATU.

“In general, Saskatoon Transit continues to follow the advice of disease and medical health experts on preventing the spread of COVID-19,” transit director James McDonald said in a statement.

Like other industries, the city has experienced a shortage of sanitizing products.

Wednesday afternoon, McDonald said the city had secured a new supply of hand sanitizer, which was being supplied to operators. However, Thursday morning Peterson said operators had not received any.

Other city measures include:

• Issuing a public message asking riders to only use transit buses for essential travel (work, medical appointments, medication and groceries).
• Reminding riders that buses are running to transport medical staff, first responders and other essential workers where they need to go.
• Asking passengers to ride behind the front wheels of the bus to maintain physical distancing from operators.
• Access Transit has reorganized routes to create more direct trips.