Transit Plus drivers petition for improved conditions

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This article was published 20/01/2020 (1704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Transit Plus drivers have added their voices to calls for improved conditions on board the city’s troubled accessible transportation service.

A petition signed by more than 30 drivers was sent to Winnipeg Transit Plus, Mayor Brian Bowman and 15 city councillors Monday afternoon, asking the city to improve working conditions for drivers who are employed by six companies contracted by the City of Winnipeg to provide door-to-door transportation for people with disabilities.

The eight-page document details concerns drivers have with their daily working conditions, including lack of scheduled breaks, flaws in scheduling and deployment, vehicle maintenance and safety, and personal safety concerns while on shift.

“Some of them are getting desperate because it’s hard to drive, but they can’t find any other employment, and others are just completely dismayed and feeling as if nothing is ever going to change,” said lawyer Chaman Badohal.

Badohal is serving as a spokesperson for the 30-plus drivers — about half of current Winnipeg Transit Plus operators — in their petition. The other half is waiting to see what happens with the petition before adding their names, she said, and another 10 to 15 drivers are content with current working conditions.

She said drivers from the six companies organized in December and reached out to her to bring their concerns to officials in Winnipeg Transit and city councillors. She said some drivers fear retaliation from their employers if they raise concerns independently.

“We want to unify under one face, one voice, and get some action done,” Badohal said. “We’re trying to gain momentum with the councillors as well because we need changes all around.”

The petition is calling on the city to establish minimum company criteria for bidding on contracts to preserve drivers’ rights; to establish proper scheduling protocols to address safety, health and transparency; to establish clear guidelines for personal safety complaints; and to bring Transit Plus Drivers under the City of Winnipeg.

The ultimate goal is to have drivers become employees of the City of Winnipeg, Badohal said.

“I’m expecting to get some dialogue going and see what the city’s position is in terms of Transit Plus and if they stand behind this method that they have,” she said. “Transit Plus drivers should be afforded the same opportunities as bus drivers.”

In late 2015, the Independent Living Resource Centre filed a complaint with the Manitoba Ombudsman about Winnipeg Transit Plus — formerly known as Handi-Transit — which resulted in an investigation and 19 recommendations from the ombudsman in January 2019. To date, just five of the recommendations have been fully implemented by the city.

Badohal said drivers felt the recommendations from the ombudsman were all client oriented and they were being overlooked as the city makes changes to the system.

“If our drivers are treated poorly and they’re not able to work in their conditions, it’s obviously going to reflect on client relations and client service,” she said.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday the executive policy committee voted to forward to the budget working group a report on the costs associated with implementing six Winnipeg Transit Plus ombudsman recommendations. Over four years, the improvements will cost $3.5 million and include the addition of seven permanent and one temporary full-time employees; the addition of a flat-rate contract for accessible vehicles to increase service capacity; and the elimination of the existing 500-metre exclusion zone.

Patrick Stewart of the Independent Living Resource Centre said Winnipeg Transit Plus service hit an all-time low last year in terms of complaints, inaccuracy and passups.

“There is still some frustration in the community that we’re just now beginning the conversations about the resources that are required,” to get the resources to implement the ombudsman recommendations, Stewart said.

“If these resources go through, the community reasonably expects to see these statistics move in the opposite direction.”

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca

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