Two passengers arrested in relation to incident
Calgary police have arrested two men in connection with the assault of a transit bus driver last week.
The incident occurred in the early hours of May 14 in Calgary. Shortly after 1 a.m., police responded to reports of an attack near Falconridge Boulevard and Castleridge Boulevard N.E., where a Calgary Transit bus driver was allegedly assaulted by two unidentified men.
According to investigators, the suspects became aggressive when the driver refused their request to deviate from the designated bus route.
The driver was transported to hospital in critical condition. Their condition has since been upgraded to stable.
A passenger on the bus attempted to intervene during the altercation but did not sustain serious injuries, police said.
“We fully recognize that this is a highly concerning incident for Calgarians, and we are working with our partners at Calgary Transit to ensure all investigative leads are thoroughly examined and that the right supports are available for those directly impacted,” said Acting Superintendent Gerry Francois of the Calgary Police Service. “We remain committed to ensuring safe public spaces, including on transit, by taking action to reduce crime and social disorder through focused collaborative enforcement.”
Charges against the suspects are currently pending, according to the police.
Public Transit Safety Strategy
In 2023, Calgary started the implementation of Calgary’s Public Transit Safety Strategy, which provides a three-year roadmap for achieving that goal.
“Central to the strategy is an evolution of service delivery and greater collaboration between transit peace officers, security guards, community outreach teams and Calgary Police Service,” said the city government.
The strategy includes:
- An integrated response between Calgary Police Service officers and Calgary Transit peace officers, who will be strategically stationed along the transit line, resulting in quicker response time to calls for service.
- An increase in the number of transit peace officers on the transit system.
- Enhanced authorities for transit peace officers to respond to safety incidents within a targeted response time.
- Coordinated dispatch of calls of services through Calgary 9-1-1.
- Improved station experiences for riders through standards of cleanliness and community engagement that focuses on building positive environments.
- Measures to ensure transit is used for its intended purpose of getting Calgarians where they need to be.
- Measures to help connect Calgarians experiencing vulnerabilities on and around the transit system to supportive resources.
