As of Monday, Halifax Transit will be reducing its service level by 30 per cent

As of Monday, Halifax Transit will be reducing its service level by 30 per cent.

But Ken Wilson, President of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 508 says his membership doesn’t think that’s enough.

“The membership as a whole is completely stressed out. Fearful, anxious, worried,” Wilson tells NEWS 95.7’s The Todd Veinotte Show.

Last week, Halifax Transit decided to stop fare collection, require passengers to enter through the back door, and limit the capacity of buses and ferries. But Wilson says the union suggested precautionary measures for operators as early as March 13.

“The biggest issue that we’re hearing from our members is they’re shocked how they’re being treated by the employer, they feel like they’re a second-class citizen,” he says.

As president of the union local, Wilson says he’s hearing from 30 to 40 members a day who have lost childcare or have immune-compromised family members, but are being forced to go to work anyway.

“The employer has the right to force people in through the collective agreement to put service out, and we’re not denying that, but this is uncharted territory,” says Wilson. “We asked them to relax that right, cause people are stressed. They’re worried about their kids, they’re worried about being out in public.”

Wilson says there should instead be a small group of drivers who don’t have small children and are willing to drive. He acknowledges places like grocery stores, pharmacies and hospitals still need service.

“I think we could get some operators that don’t feel the same. Not every operator has had that level of stress. There are a few that don’t have childcare issues, don’t have aging parents, don’t have any children that would volunteer and put some type of service out there,” Wilson says.

But the union president says the service reduction in place to begin Monday, March 22, won’t work for a number of reasons. First, because the schedules aren't clearly posted.

“It’s not a Saturday run or a Sunday or a holiday schedule. It’s unpublished,” he says.

Wilson says this will cause confusion and people will want to clarify with drivers, coming in close contact anyway.

“That’s going to cause mass confusion for the travelling public, which means they’re going to talk to the operator. We’re trying to avoid that,” he says.

Wilson also says people have not been obeying the 6-foot recommended rule of distance on buses.

“I’m getting reports from my members Thursday night of teenagers coughing on people when they walk of the bus in the back door laughing about COVID-19,” he explains. “I get intoxicated passengers that are saying they’ve got COVID-19 as they’re being escorted off the bus by supervisors that are licking their hands and touching the poles and the fare box. It’s unbelievable and it’s unprecedented.”

HRM Mayor Mike Savage says transit operators’ safety is top of mind, but this is uncharted territory for everyone.

“Masks have been issued to all transit operators, and I think it’s important to know that out of respect for the people who are operating the buses right now we’re working very closely with public health and following the directions of public health on this in terms of what is safe,” Savage told NEWS 95.7.

For transit operators, Wilson says he hopes to have ongoing communication with the employer going forward to work towards solutions.

“As long as transit stays on the road you can’t have social distancing,” he adds. “And we’re never going to flatten the curve with buses on the road.”