Bus driver threatened with hatchet, sparking anger and demands for promised full shields

Darren Bernhardt · CBC News

· Posted: Aug 21, 2026 2:25 PM EDT | Last Updated: August 21

Winnipeg Transit drivers are "furious," frustrated and fearful for their safety after yet another attack, says their union, which is insisting the city begin installing long-awaited full protective shields.

"This is something that's going on way too long, and it's getting worse as time goes on. It's not just getting spit on anymore or getting slapped. This is knives, this is weapons happening now," said  James Van Gerwen, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505.

"We have to take care of them [drivers]. They need protection."

The latest incident occurred around 1 a.m. Thursday when a driver, just one year into the job, was threatened by a female passenger who reached around the half-shield with a hatchet, Van Gerwen said.

The passenger, who had boarded at the St. Vital terminal outside St. Vital Centre mall, was annoyed at the slow pace and stops of the bus, he said.

Initially, she was was unarmed and "telling the driver just continue on, go, go, go," Van Gerwen said. "But to follow the schedule, you have to keep relative points in time."

As the bus continued its pace, the passenger became more agitated and went back to a seat where she took a hatchet from a bag. She returned to the driver and repeated her demands, Van Gerwen said.

The driver pressed a silent alarm, alerting the transit control centre, which turned the onboard camera into a live feed. 

"They were able to see what was going on in the front of the bus, and that's when they they saw the woman with the axe," said Van Gerwen, who isn't sure if they called 911.

By chance, a police car was in the lane next to the bus, and the transit driver was able to signal to the officers. The officers boarded and arrested the passenger.

"The driver's off right now. She's off indefinitely," said Van Gerwen, who spoke to her by phone.

"She was terrified," he said. "I don't know how long she's going to stay. How long are [any of] these drivers going to stay when that happens?"

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At present, 64 drivers are on psychological leave, he said. If all the hours of leave those driver have taken were combined, it would amount to 225,000 hours of lost time, Van Gerwen said.

Some drivers have never been able to step back onto a bus after coming off leave, he said.

"They just, the flashbacks and the fears get into them. It's life-altering."

Earlier this month, a passenger reached around the shield and stabbed a driver twice in the leg with a syringe. And on Wednesday, police arrested two people for two separate transit-related assaults, including one in which the driver was bitten.

"We report some of the major things, but I get calls or I get emails about drivers being assaulted or threatened almost every day," Van Gerwen said.

Partial shields were installed on all city buses in 2020 to better protect drivers after a spike in violence toward them dating back to 2017, but those are no longer sufficient, Van Gerwen said.

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In 2024, the city set aside $2.7 million to install either extensions to the current shields or full enclosures, and this year in spring, the city’s transit advisory committee voted in favour of putting test shields into nine buses.

But nothing has been done, Van Gerwen said.

"It's only going to take $190,000 to get all the test shields in on nine buses so we can find out which one is best for our conditions," he said. "It's taking way too long."

The shields could have been tested during the summer and through the coming winter conditions, and by spring, the city could have determined which was best and started installation on all buses in the fleet, Van Gerwen said.

The delays have angered drivers, he said.

"They're furious … knowing that there is a solution, but transit is just, they're stalling. We know that the full enclosures would stop these [assaults]. If they can't get to you, they can't stab you or hit you."

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Many of the drivers currently on leave are being paid through Workers Compensation Board, because the injuries are workplace claims.

"The amount of money that we could save on WCB every year would probably pay these shields off in two years," Van Gerwen said. "Management at transit right now is not taking this seriously at all."

In an email to CBC News, a Winnipeg Transit spokesperson said a request for full driver shields will be included in the department's 2027 capital budget submission to the city.

"Discussions on funding for the project will be held with the budget working group in the late fall."

The spokesperson said the department is "always exploring new options when it comes to the safety of our bus operators and passengers," and cited initiatives that have been adopted or are in the process of being implemented.

The email also mentioned the police service’s anti-crime intervention strategy, which involves patrols on buses, in transit corridors and at bus stops.

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