Bus driver barriers coming

Photo: CTV News

Transit buses in the Okanagan and across the province will be equipped with full driver-protection barriers by 2022.

BC Transit has officially committed to the safety feature after a successful pilot project in three communities, including Kelowna.

John Palmer, safety and emergency manager for BC Transit, says they received enough feedback to move ahead with the entire fleet.

"We had over 100 operators from three locations in the province ... that provided feedback on the prototype doors," said Palmer.

"Based on that feedback, we've been able to narrow down what we feel is a good design that will balance out protection for the operators, but still allow for ongoing customer service."

However, the feedback was not overwhelmingly positive from drivers.

"I would prefer not to have one because I like interacting," was a common theme.

"Overwhelmingly, we heard from the drivers, 'Please don't impact my ability to interact with customers. If you have to give me a full driver door, make it so I can still interact.' We are going to do just that."

The challenge, says Palmer, is to find a manufacturer to accommodate the variety of platforms and buses BC Transit has across the province.

He says that will determine the schedule in retrofitting the entire fleet.

New buses will also come with a driver door as standard equipment.