Saskatoon councillors consider hiring social support workers for city buses

Saskatoon’s transportation committee will consider whether to put social support workers on city buses in its meeting on Tuesday.

Administrators prepared a number of potential options for dedicated transit support workers following reports in February of escalating violence and mental health-related incidents on city buses.

Saskatoon’s local transit union President Darcy Pederson told CTV News in February the rates of unpaid fares increased sharply in the last year, and drivers were increasingly met with conflict from bus riders who were unwilling to pay.

“We’ve had people spat on. We’ve had bear spray incidents on the bus. We’ve had knives in the downtown terminal, guns on the bus — there’s a major crisis happening," he said at the time.

Bus drivers are trained to safely operate a bus, not to intervene in mental health or addictions crises, Pederson said.

Saskatoon Transit Operations Manager Mike Moellenbeck prepared the report for city councillors, which outlines options ranging from putting a support worker on every bus to rotating support on targeted routes, support workers stationed at terminals, or continuing as-is.

Moellenbeck ultimately asks the committee to let the transit department work with a review of the community support program that’s already underway — to work with existing support services and come forward with a new proposal in advance of discussions for the next multi-year budget.

“[This option] proposes that options and financial considerations for support workers for Saskatoon Transit be included for consideration through a one-city holistic approach within the current community support program service delivery review being undertaken by the Saskatoon Fire Department and Community Services,” Moellenbeck writes.

Depending on how many support workers were hired, Moellenbeck says it could cost the city anywhere from $481,300 a year to over $12 million per year, based on 20 hours of service per day on Monday to Saturday, and 13 hours on Sunday.

On April 24, the Canadian Urban Transit Association released a set of recommendations to improve safety on public transit that calls on all levels of government and partner organizations to work with transit agencies to improve public safety and deal with the upstream social issues that contribute to the increasing rates of incidents on public transit.

“Public transit systems reflect the communities they serve. Issues such as homelessness, substance use, and mental health, when left unaddressed, can impact transit systems. Addressing these broader concerns extends beyond the purview of transit agencies,” the report says.

The transportation committee will hear the options and make its recommendations to city council at its meeting on Tuesday afternoon.