Violence on Calgary Transit increases calls for national safety plan
Posted Apr 17, 2023 11:57 am.
Last Updated Apr 17, 2023 11:59 am.
As Calgary Transit has been the setting for a number of violent acts across the city, there are calls for a more robust and proactive solution, including a national transit safety strategy.
John Di Nino, the president of the Amalgamated Transit Union of Canada, initially called for a national transit safety task force in late January.
He said it must include transit agencies from across Canada and representatives from all levels of government.
It held its first meeting in February, inviting all provinces to participate. However, the Alberta government did not take part in that meeting.
Despite this, Di Nino says they’re not stopping until the problem is addressed.
“Not only is violence increasing across the country on public transit, but it’s becoming more severe and more violent attacks,” Di Nino said.
“My hope is that all governments and transit agencies come together under one umbrella very quickly and understand what kind of best practices we can put in place to not only keep our workers safe but to keep the riding public safe.”
Watch: Alberta government to tackle transit safety and violent crime across the province
Similar to Vancouver’s system, Calgary is looking at the feasibility of turnstiles; however, the city admits that it may not work on an open platform system.
Meanwhile, Toronto added more enforcement after a series of violent events in the city and has seen a small decline in reported incidents.
Alberta and Calgary also responded, with the former saying it will hire 100 police officers for Edmonton and Calgary, and the latter promising “immediate” action to address safety.
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The deputy chief of Calgary Transit Public Safety, Will Fossen, says while violence appears to be up, “random” acts of violence are extremely low. In addition, transit has expanded its surveillance system.
“We have increased our surveillance by about 1,600 cameras on our system,” Fossen said.
“They respond to roughly 100 calls per shift, so you’re looking at 300 calls per day.”
He says calls have increased by 53 per cent from 2019, but are asking Calgarians to report incidents to Calgary Transit.
Fossen also encourages anyone who sees anything, no matter how small, to text the city’s transit helpline.
-With files from The Canadian Press
