Metro Transit will install protective shields on 150 buses early next year after recent increases in assaults on drivers.

Officials ordered the Plexiglas shields last week after testing them out on roughly two-dozen buses earlier this year. Drivers and transit personnel hope the enclosures will cut back on the assaults.

“It makes (drivers) feel better, and in their experience, causes somebody who may want to do them harm to walk away,” said Brian Funk, Metro Transit’s deputy chief operating officer for bus.

Assaults on operators have risen over the past several years, despite efforts by the agency to deter them.

A total of 189 assaults were reported through October of this year, up from 184 for all of last year. The incidents range from felony-level assaults to spitting, verbal harassment and threats.

Metro Transit employs more than 1,500 drivers and has more than 900 buses in its fleet. The agency worked with the drivers and the union that represents them to choose the new shields.

The end result is a clear acrylic shield that can be opened or closed at the driver’s discretion. That option lets drivers protect themselves without compromising their customer service, Funk said.

“One of the things we learned through this pilot program is that there were some operators who definitely felt like they wanted to have a barrier on their bus,” Funk said. “Then, there were some who did not want to have a barrier on their bus.”

The 150 shields, which cost about $375,000, will be delivered by the end of February. Metro Transit will install them on eight to 10 buses per week.

On Monday, the transportation committee of the Metropolitan Council approved $1.1 million for the purchase of up to 450 more driver shields. The proposal will go before the full Met Council on Wednesday.

A HARD-FOUGHT VICTORY

Ryan Timlin, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005, said the shields are the result of a hard-fought contract dispute between operators and the Met Council. Workers had threatened to go on strike during the Super Bowl if their safety concerns were not addressed.

“This has been a thing that’s been argued for decades … at Metro Transit. It’s good to see something finally got done,” Timlin said.

The added protection will help ease stress in a job that “is already extremely stressful,” he said.

David Stiggers has been harassed, threatened and pelted with objects during his 12 years as a bus driver for Metro Transit. He questioned whether the new shields will stop an attacker who “really wants to get at you.”

“I don’t think that it’s a bad thing to have them, but I think there are different ways to approach the assaults other than just the barriers,” Stiggers said, such as Metro Transit deploying more police in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Metro Transit spokesman Howie Padilla said the agency is adding more officers to its police force. Operators are also trained to de-escalate situations with potential offenders.

Padilla argued that driving buses in the Twin Cities is a “safe occupation” in a “safe area.” He noted that the uptick in assaults this year comes from an increase in minor offenses, and that gross misdemeanor incidents are down from past years.