The Coast Mountain Bus Company is looking to hire 500 new bus drivers and the pay starts at $24/hour. As a result, the Coast Mountain Bus Company needs more bus drivers. Four new B-lines are being added to the transit system and the company needs 500 drivers hired and trained before next July. Metro Vancouver Transit police say on the night of Oct. 10, a man hopped on a Coast Mountain bus on Keefer Street without paying and took a seat near the front of the [] msn back to msn home.
Charges have been laid against a bus driver after he became involved in a spat with a skateboarder who missed his bus in Burnaby.
The Coast Mountain Bus Company driver was pulling a loaded bus away from a stop in the 9700-block Lougheed Highway at around 7:15 a.m. Tuesday when a man ran up to the bus and tried to get it to stop, said Nathan Woods, president of Unifor local 111, which represents Metro Vancouver transit operators.
When the driver refused to open the doors — as per company policy for moving buses — the man banged his skateboard against the front doors of the bus, breaking both glass panels.
They grappled at a bit as he tried to get ahold of the suspect. Eventually he got the suspect onto the bus and he called for assistance
“The young man was yelling profanities at the transit operator, so the transit operator, recognizing that there was some damage to the coach, got off the coach to detain the suspect,” Woods said.
“They grappled at a bit as he tried to get ahold of the suspect. Eventually he got the suspect onto the bus and he called for assistance through our communications department.”
Police had already been called and based on initial calls from witnesses, the bus driver was charged with assault, Woods said.
The driver was released on a promise to appear in court and is on administrative leave while police and Coast Mountain Bus Company investigate, while the skateboarder is under investigation for mischief, Woods said.
“It wasn’t anything more, from our perspective, than a transit operator trying to protect the better interest of the bus, the passengers, and feeling that he was doing the right thing in trying to detain the person for the police.”
Staff Sgt. Major John Buis of the Burnaby RCMP confirmed that an incident had occurred at 7:13 a.m. Nov. 25 in the 9700-block Lougheed Highway, but could not reveal many details.
“I can confirm that we’re investigating a complaint of assault and a complaint of mischief. We received a call from a bus driver and we are still in the early stages of the investigation. There was a transit bus involved.”
TransLink spokeswoman Anne Drennan said the company is investigating the mischief while Burnaby RCMP handle the case.
A 23-year-old man is in custody and awaiting a court date in connection with a screwdriver attack on a Vancouver bus driver.
Coast Mountain Bus Driver Assaulted
Metro Vancouver Transit police say on the night of Oct. 10, a man hopped on a Coast Mountain bus on Keefer Street without paying and took a seat near the front of the bus. He was asked to move toward the back of the bus after the driver witnessed the man holding a screwdriver.
He reluctantly moved back while allegedly making threatening comments, police said.
Moments later he walked to the front of the bus and struck the operator in the face with the screwdriver before running off the bus and out of the area.
The driver suffered a cut to his left eye, bruising and swelling around his eye, broken glasses and a fractured cheek in the attack.
After video of the incident was circulated among local police, a man was nabbed by a Vancouver police officer in the Downtown Eastside on Oct. 20.
Coast Mountain Bus Company
Darren Hawk Lafferty, 23, of no fixed address has been charged with one count of assault with a weapon and is scheduled to appear in Vancouver Provincial Court on Nov. 28.
It was just the latest arrest in a string of weapons offences on Metro Vancouver transit.
Passenger threatened with a knife
On Oct. 15, a female SkyTrain passenger told police that a man pulled a utility knife on her and extended it towards her abdomen as she waited to exit a train at Metrotown. She said the man extended and pulled back the knife twice before she was able to get away.
After being alerted, Transit police arrested a man at 22nd Street Station and recovered a utility-style folding knife from his pocket as well as a number of tools in his backpack.
Wayne Douglas Lyster, 44, of no fixed address has been charged with assault with a weapon and remains in custody until a Nov. 29 court appearance.
Driver hit with bear spray
Meanwhile, a 24-year-old Abbotsford man is facing multiple charges and awaiting a Nov. 2 court appearance in connection with a bear-spray attack on a bus driver last year.
The Aug. 15, 2015 incident happened in Delta at 64th Avenue and Scott Road when a man boarded the bus without fare and then sprayed the operated in the face. The man ran off the bus and allegedly threatened to spray a citizen who gave chase before leaving the area.
Following a 14-month investigation, a man was arrested by a transit cop on Oct. 11 while travelling eastbound on a SkyTrain between New Westminster and Columbia Station.
He was found in possession of a quantity of drugs, an extendable baton, a butterfly knife and a set of brass knuckles. Police say the man was well-known to them.
Allen Clifford Newman of Abbotsford has been charged with possession of a controlled substance, carrying a weapon or prohibited device, possession of a prohibited weapon and carrying a concealed weapon.
Vancouver Skytrain
“We are gratified that the courts recognize the serious nature of these offences on our transit system. Our top priority is to provide a safe and secure environment for both our passengers and our employees. Keeping these weapons and the persons who use these weapons to attack or threaten our passengers or employees off the system, is paramount,” Transit police Chief Doug LePard said in a release.