Paul Campbell did not think that explaining to a passenger that his bus transfer was invalid would mean a threat to his life. He had no intention of asking the passenger to the leave the bus. And in his thirteen-and-a-half years as a bus operator for the Toronto Transit Commission, it is this one passenger that stands out the most in his mind.
“‘I’m going to kill you.’ That’s what the guy shouted,” Campbell said. “I remember it so clearly.”
Campbell remained composed when dealing with his aggressive passenger. He attributes this to his experience. Maintaining eye contact with the man, he kept his voice level.
“You always have fears,” he said. “But I wasn’t petrified. It was broad daylight. I was more nervous than anything.” Despite a string of verbal profanity, Campbell called transit control.
“I [didn’t] care. I picked up the phone and offloaded the bus.” The police car arrived 10 minutes after Campbell made the call.
As the unruly passenger sat down in the bus, watched by one policeman, Campbell explained the situation to the other officer. The passenger was questioned, and his ID was run through the police car scanners.
“Next thing I know, they had him in handcuffs. Turns out he had priors. I guess he was a fugitive,” said Campbell, shrugging his shoulders.
The TTC estimates that at least one driver is assaulted every day. Campbell places partial blame on the transit system.
In 1994, the TTC set up a task force on operator assaults after an increasing trend in assault cases. In the last two years, they completed the installation of measures designed to prevent assaults.
Buses have a poster displayed near the driver that identifies assaults on the TTC as a problem, and warns riders of the consequences of any degree of assault.
“All of our buses and streetcars now have barriers that [drivers] can close,” said Brad Ross, director of corporate communications for the TTC. “They are split in two: there’s a lower barrier that always remains closed and there’s an optional upper barrier.”
The barrier is like a large door that partially walls off the driver in his seat. The two-part door has a bottom half made of metal and a top half made of Plexiglas.
“We also have CCTV cameras on every surface vehicle,” Ross added. “Those cameras record all movement to protect not just operators but passengers. They have proven very useful to police in identifying suspects and making arrests and ultimately convictions.”
According to annual TTC special constable reports, the number of reported assaults in 2009 dropped to 143 compared to 156 the year before.
But Ross admits that the measures in place may not ultimately prevent assaults.
According to Campbell, posters in the buses are not enough. He thinks that more needs to be done.
“If [the TTC] went on TV it would help. One assault a day is a lot. The TTC needs to say something so the public will understand!” he said, his voice rising.
“Our transit is half of what it should be,” said Campbell, referring to the number of riders versus the lesser number of transit vehicles. “It’s falling back on the drivers.”
A year ago, Malcolm Chalmers was put on trial for shooting and virtually blinding TTC bus driver Jaime Pereira. In 2005, Pereira was driving along bus route 116 Morningside when a fight broke out among some passengers who had just boarded his bus. He was shot after calling TTC dispatch to alert them.
Pereira lost his left eye, and the damage to his right eye left him legally blind. The jury acquitted Chalmers of an attempted murder charge but found him guilty of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Leaning against the door of an eastbound train heading to Warden Station after a shift on route 25 Don Mills, Campbell crossed his arms together as he described the reaction from other drivers after Pereira was shot.
“A lot of [drivers] were scared,” Campbell said. Several female drivers had people they knew on the buses with them for a few weeks after the shooting.
“We were all worried about him. Now we think, what happens in the long term?” Campbell wonders just how much and for how long TTC support will help Pereira.
Years after the shooting, Pereira refuses to discuss his condition and what happened that night.
“I’m not interested!” he said repeatedly when this reporter called asking for an interview.
The TTC runs an operator assault prevention and training program which provides strategies for dealing with aggressive or threatening behaviour from customers, and responding appropriately to by-law infractions.
Campbell, however, says that operators are not sufficiently trained and many new drivers do not really know what to do.
“They run a recertification program every three or five years. We get retrained, talk about issues, and that’s where dealing with assaults comes up.”
Robert Gavel, 56, has been using the TTC for over 40 years. As one of over a million people who ride the TTC every day, Gavel usually takes the 76 Royal York bus before getting onto the subway to head to work downtown. Although Gavel has not witnessed physical assault, he says he has seen a lot of drivers get shouted at. He notices that a lot of drivers do not use the barriers at all.
Gavel pointed out that in several cases he has seen passengers intervene to help the driver. He thinks that most drivers, though, seem to have things under control.
“Once, a young guy was having a conversation with the driver that got pretty confrontational. A passenger close to the front of the bus got up and went over to the driver and asked the young passenger to calm down. The young passenger told him to mind his own business.” Although the discussion got pretty heated, the driver managed to calm the angry passenger down and did not need to put the bus out of service.
Campbell thinks back to a passenger who shouted at him over a fare dispute and would not let up. He ended up putting the bus out of service. A passenger at the back of the bus walked up and asked him why the bus was out of service, saying he needed to get to work.
“The guy was tapping his watch and all I kept thinking was ‘Why didn’t you come help me out back then, man?’ Now the bus is out of service. Riders don’t get it until they’re in the driver’s seat.”
Operators who have been assaulted go through the TTC victim assistance program. They receive emotional support, help with applying for benefits, and support with returning to their jobs.
“We have a court advocate program,” Ross said. “Employees go to court with the operator and work with the Crown attorney’s office to ensure that the toughest punishment can be meted out by the court […] should there be a conviction. Victim impact statements are created.”
Campbell rolls his eyes when talking about TTC assistance after assault. He adds that when he was assaulted, he agreed to press charges, but never heard about the case again.
“It’s all a step in the right direction,” he said regarding the TTC’s safety measures. “[But] they should be more firm [to start with], like in the United States, where assaulting an operator is like assaulting a police officer. We need stricter rules.”
Despite the persistence of assaults, the TTC remains silent about most stories of assaults on their employees.
“A lot of stuff happens that doesn’t get into the media,” Campbell said.
Most drivers refuse to comment on assaults, says Campbell. Ross maintains that drivers who wish to speak to the media about assaults are free to do so. However, many drivers say that they are discouraged by the TTC and the union from commenting to the media.
The union, Amalgamated Transit Workers Local 113, did not respond to requests for comment.
“Many cases are before the courts,” said Ross in regards to the TTC’s silence. “There are many operators who have been assaulted who fear reprisal from the assailant.
“I think those are good enough reasons for us,” he added bluntly.
“Honestly, drivers won’t talk,” said Campbell, shaking his head. “They are very cautious. They’re afraid. You know the media; they will hang you and convict you! I always [want to] say to the media, ‘Come drive my bus for one month before you write an article.’”
According to a TTC release, the most common means of assault are spitting, punching, and kicking. The use of guns and knives accounts for about one per cent of cases. The motives for these assaults are usually linked to fare and rule enforcement by operators; intent to injure accounts for about three per cent of cases.
Campbell believes that 90 per cent of assaults are influenced by something that happens prior to the passenger boarding the bus.
“Sometimes it’s a bus that was delayed a few minutes, sometimes they are having a bad day and take it out on the driver,” he said, smiling and rolling his eyes. “If I get delayed giving directions [or] if someone had a fight with their husband that morning, there’s not much I can do.”
