Information on bus driver assaults could be worth 15K

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A decision to boost the reward intended to reduce the number of assaults on bus drivers is being applauded by the men and women behind the wheel.

Three bus drivers’ unions, Coast Mountain Bus Company, and West Vancouver district are all contributing to raise the reward from $2,000 to $15,000.

The assaults are not always physical, many are verbal. In some cases, drivers are being spat on.

Gordon Dunkley, who has been driving a Coast Mountain Bus for seven years, says he has never had a problem or issue with anybody until a fight broke out on his bus one day. “She was screaming, swearing and then spitting at me. The assault was worsened by the fact that she was HIV positive and I had to go through six weeks of testing.”

Dunkley ended up testing negative for the virus. He says the entire ordeal shut him down for six weeks. “Emotionally I couldn’t leave my house, I couldn’t go anywhere. I didn’t want to interact with my wife or kids over fear of exposing them to something I was exposed to.”

There have been over 116 assaults on bus drivers this year.

You are being asked to call police if you see any violent behaviour.

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