On Sunday afternoon, there was an altercation on one of our buses between two passengers. The passengers at the back of the bus, a man and a woman, got into an altercation. The man stabbed the woman several times. The woman has been taken to hospital in critical condition.
We have reached out to the member who was driving the bus at the time. They were not threatened or physically hurt, and have told us they are doing okay.
ATU is concerned about increasing violence on our buses against both passengers and operators. Since the pandemic began, we have seen more cases of passengers threatening and assaulting our operators. We condemn all acts of violence against passengers and operators. We ask that the municipal and provincial government work with ATU to create a safer environment on buses for both passengers and operators.
We acknowledge that this was a traumatic event for anyone who was on the bus at the time of the assault. We would like to remind everyone of the Government of Manitoba’s free counselling service and encourage anyone who witnessed the assault to visit the website for more information here.