B.C. Transit鈥檚 project to put video cameras on some buses will help protect drivers 鈥� and passengers 鈥� from violence and abuse. As long as privacy concerns are addressed, the cameras will deter crime and help to convict those who are not deterred.
Transit plans to install video cameras in 75 buses in Greater Victoria 鈥� about a quarter of the Victoria fleet 鈥� and another 25 in Kamloops. The cameras are expected to be operating by early summer, and will remain in place for a one-year pilot project.
Transit officials say they won鈥檛 be watching you while you ride the bus because the cameras will be connected only to an onboard digital recorder. The recorder will switch on if the driver hits a panic button or if the vehicle鈥檚 accelerometer detects a sudden change in speed. When the bus returns to the garage, security staff will be able to remove the unit and view the recording.
Signs on the buses will warn passengers that cameras are in place.
The privacy commissioner will have to ensure that safeguards are in place because public transit is the only option for many people. Cars and taxis are unaffordable alternatives for many transit users. Those who object to being on camera can鈥檛 just hop on a competing transit system; there isn鈥檛 one.
Drivers are eager for the added security the cameras will bring. Assaults and verbal abuse have made them feel unsafe at work; over the past three years, 126 dangerous incidents were reported on Greater Victoria buses. B.C. Transit is already testing a Gorilla Glass barrier on bus No. 9375 to shield the driver from abusive passengers.
The union says it has taken at least five years to get the cameras installed, and its members are exasperated by the delay.
However, part of the holdup is because of privacy concerns. The office of the information and privacy commissioner is concerned about implications of cameras on buses. That is one reason that there will be no exterior cameras; they are too likely to record personal information from passersby without their knowledge.
For passengers on the buses, however, there is some risk that their privacy will be violated, but it is unlikely to be serious. There is no continuous monitoring or recording. Any recordings will relate to a specific event.
The cameras are a welcome step to improve safety for both passengers and drivers. The knowledge that a neutral witness will be able to testify could deter some people from abusing or attacking their fellow riders.
Of course, preventing harm is always better than punishing it. However, for those who are too impulsive to be sensible, the recordings will help ensure justice is done.
Unfortunately, Transit鈥檚 commitment to driver safety through cameras and protective shields seems to conflict with its position on another issue. In response to a human-rights complaint by the 91原创 Federation of the Blind, Transit has instructed drivers to call out all stops.
Handling a 40-foot bus in traffic is a difficult job that requires all of a driver鈥檚 attention. Having to call out stops is a distraction.
And it鈥檚 an unnecessary one. Global positioning systems connected to automated recordings are an obvious solution. Finding such a system should be as big a priority as the cameras.
Until it is found, Transit should be consistent in its safety approach and scrap the demand to call out stops.
In a city where riders regularly thank the driver as they get off the bus, cameras and glass partitions should not be necessary to protect bus drivers. People who get other people safely to their destinations should be applauded, not cursed.
For those few who insist on abusing drivers, video cameras will be watching.
