The Hamilton Street Railway bus service will be making some changes following a confrontation between a passenger and one of its operators.
Accoridng to The City of Hamilton, the incident began the afternoon of July 4th with a minor fare dispute.
A collabrative investigation by Hamilton Police and the City revealed the customer became verbally abusive, threatened the operator and spit in her face.
The HSR operator responded with a verbal and physical reaction of her own.
As a result, HSR plans to begin having security cameras installed on its buses later this month.
All HSR buses are expected to have cameras by the end of 2017.
A statement to CKTB says there have been 88 operator assaults since July 2014 - 34 of which have been related to fare disputes.
Read the full statement from Debbie Dalle Vedove, Director of Transit at the City of Hamilton, below:
"In collaboration with Hamilton Police, the City of Hamilton has thoroughly investigated the incident between our operator and an HSR customer that occurred on the afternoon of July 4, 2017.
Witnesses have told the City that the incident began over a minor fare dispute. The customer became verbally abusive, threatened the operator and spit in her face. Our operator responded with a verbal and physical reaction of her own.
The City of Hamilton does not condone the exercise, attempt or threat of any physical force or harassment in any workplace – including an HSR bus.
Ensuring that customers pay the appropriate fare is a vital part of a bus operator’s job. Since July 2014, there have been 88 operator assaults – 34 of those assaults were related to fare disputes. It is regrettable that our operators are occasionally subject to behaviour such as this and we are committed to supporting their diligent efforts in executing their responsibilities.
HSR takes the safety of both operators and customers very seriously. In a continuing effort to ensure safety on board, HSR will begin installing security cameras on the entire fleet starting later this month. Every HSR bus in Hamilton is scheduled to be outfitted with cameras by the end of 2017 – making investigations like this one as efficient and accurate as possible."