CT: Public bus drivers in Connecticut seek stronger protections, including bulletproof barriers

Leaders of local transit worker unions asked state lawmakers for better protections for public bus operators in Connecticut, saying drivers have endured incidents of riders verbally abusing them, hitting them, spitting on them and throwing objects at them.

They described those types of experiences during a public hearing Monday on several transportation-related bills, including one that would establish a statewide Public Transit Workplace Health, Safety and Violence Prevention Committee and require public buses to include security barriers with certain features.

"When we (decided) to take these jobs, we didn't sign up for assault," said Veronica Chavers, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 443, which represents CTtransit workers in Stamford. "We didn't sign up to be punched on. It wasn't in our job description. We didn't sign up to be spit on."

"People ... literally have been putting urine in water bottles, and when they ask you for a transfer at the end of the line, and you don't give it to them because you should have asked when you first got on the bus, they throw the urine on you," claimed Mustafa Salahuddin, president of ATU Local 1336, which represents Greater Bridgeport Transit workers.

"The environment that we have to work in ... we don't know at the end of the day if we're going home," said Che Cheeks, the business agent for ATU Local 281 in New Haven.

There are barriers between drivers and passengers on public buses in the state, but the union representatives claim they aren't effective because riders can reach around them and strike or pour liquids on operators.

Drivers in some areas also lack access to bathrooms on their routes, leading them to wear adult diapers during their shifts, the union leaders claimed.

The proposed committee, consisting of bus operators and transit district managers, would adopt a plan that includes uniform procedures and protocols for picking up and discharging passengers; driver breaks and access to restrooms; "risk reduction efforts" to decrease assaults; deescalation training; and reporting on incidents and unsafe working conditions.

In addition, the bill would require buses to be equipped with barriers "made of hard, durable and bulletproof materials" that extend from the floor to the ceiling.

But state Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto told lawmakers that the bill's provisions overlap or conflict with existing federal requirements and union contracts.

Most of the public transportation agencies in Connecticut, as federal funding recipients, are already required to have safety programs, risk management systems and safety committees with representatives from labor and management, Eucalitto said. Meanwhile, collective bargaining agreements cover issues such as breaks, he said.

But union leaders claimed those measures have not been enough.

"It all comes down to what (an individual transit) district is willing to do," Salahuddin said.

The state DOT contracts with companies to operate CTtransit buses around the state. It also helps fund transit districts that provide their own local bus services.

Eucalitto said he could only address issues with CTtransit. He denied that drivers for the system lack bathroom access and argued that current safety initiatives are working.

"We track all safety measures. We track what is occurring on the bus, what's occurring outside the bus," he said. "And we have invested heavily in deescalation training for operators. We've invested in the infrastructure to protect the operators."

Bulletproof barriers aren't readily available, he said, though the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has tried out a prototype as part of a pilot program that followed the fatal shooting of a driver.

Emma Cleveland from the ATU's international office said Eucalitto was right about bulletproof barriers, but said the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority has installed floor-to-ceiling barriers across its fleet, and other states have passed legislation requiring "fully protective" barriers.

The leaders of multiple transit districts submitted written testimony on the bill outlining their existing safety measures.

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