Bus drivers across the Central Okanagan pulled over Monday afternoon and took a minute to remember Caesar Rosales, a 麻豆精选 man who was killed by a random assailant three years ago while commuting home.
It鈥檚 the second time the local transit union has taken the time to remember Rosales and Scott Lovell, president of Local 1722 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, said it鈥檚 a somber occasion they intend to keep going forward both for the man whose life was lost and for what it meant to this city.
鈥淰iolence in transit happens everywhere, but up until that night 麻豆精选 was immune to it,鈥� said Lovell.
鈥淲e are community and family-oriented 鈥�. but the specialness that we have was forever changed in that night. We became a big city transit system.鈥�
Big city protections, however, have yet to arrive to help with big city problems in the Okanagan.
Buses in the Lower Mainland have been outfitted with security cameras and an on-board emergency communication system for drivers for years.
TransLink has also implemented safety barriers and there鈥檚 a dedicated transit police force.
In the Okanagan there have been cameras put on select buses and a lot of talk about implementing security barriers for drivers. It鈥檚 been two years since BC Transit had said they would have some barriers implemented for a pilot project, though no actual barriers have arrived.
鈥淣othing has happened,鈥� said Lovell.
鈥淭he union and the company have worked really hard to get the drivers to completely remove themselves from (violent) situations. But still, even through the bits of education, word of mouth and the postings we have had on a regular basis there are still bus drivers getting assaulted.鈥�
Lovell said it shouldn鈥檛 take the death of a transit worker for BC Transit to take driver safety more seriously.
鈥淓very transit community, every transit jurisdiction has their own tragedies, their own stories of strife and sadness,鈥� said Lovell, pointing out that in Winnipeg this year, Irvine Jubal Fraser, a driver of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505 was murdered while on duty.
Rosales鈥檚 killer Tyler Jack Newton, 25, was sentenced to seven years in June 2016, but Newton received time and a half credit for the 602 days he鈥檇 already been imprisoned.
