CUPE Quebec’s Conseil provincial du secteur du transport terrestre (CPSTT) has thrown its support behind the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA), which has published a series of recommendations on the safety of public transit users and employees. Click here for more information.
Given the increasing numbers of violent incidents in recent years, the organization recognizes the need for immediate action to ensure the safety of users and employees. CUTA has also invited all levels of government to join the cause and offer their support.
Pino Tagliaferri has also asked the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Geneviève Guilbault, to provide transit companies with adequate funding so that they can ensure a safer system and make users feel safe again.
“Several years have gone by and we can’t help but notice that successive governments have become disengaged on the issues of mental health and homelessness and the consumption of illegal substances, which has had a huge impact on the feelings of insecurity of transit riders,” said Tagliaferri.
Although public transit ridership has been constantly increasing following the end of the pandemic, CUTA is concerned that the fear of violence will scuttle the recovery that transit companies have been eagerly awaiting at a time when they are mired in a funding crisis.
Nationally, transit ridership is 73% of what it was prior to the pandemic.