Teens swarm bus driver
Bus driver Robert Grainger relaxes in his home with his wife, Ann, yesterday. Grainger was savagely attacked by a group of unruly teens on Sunday. (Jason Franson/Sun Media)
A 55-year-old Edmonton transit bus driver who was attacked by a group of teen passengers is speaking out about the dangers of the job.
"It's getting much worse out there," Robert Grainger said yesterday, still numbed by painkillers.
"Part of the problem is a lack of transit security officers in our city ... We need to be able to feel secure."
Riders shouldn't be concerned for their own safety on buses, the Spruce Grove man said. It's the drivers who are taking the brunt of the abuse.
Sunday's violent incident began at a stop near West Edmonton Mall shortly before 9:30 p.m.
While Grainger was in the washroom, a group of eight unruly teens got on his bus.
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When he returned and asked if they had paid, a few coughed up fares, but several didn't. He let it go.
A few minutes into the ride the teens, all males, began shouting obscenities and making other passengers feel uncomfortable.
"I told them, 'Please stop or you'll be asked to leave the bus,' " he said. "And they did for a few blocks."
But when the bus pulled down 156 Street near 87 Avenue, they started causing a commotion again.
Following protocol, Grainger called transit control to say there was a problem, stopped the bus, then asked the group to get off.
He also stepped out to "take the problem away from other passengers," he said. "Unfortunately, there's a side-effect (to stepping out): it brings the problem to you."
Two male passengers who were not part of the problem group also got off to help Grainger. The teens followed. The group then allegedly surrounded Grainger and one of them pushed him.
Defending himself, Grainger said he struck back. Then the teens launched an all-out attack.
"There wasn't anything you were going to do other than fight your way out of it," he said.
He said he was hit in the back of the head with a skateboard and took several blows to the rest of his body.
Horrified passengers called 911.
The two men who stepped off the bus to back Grainger up, meanwhile, blocked some hits.
"I'm fairly positive if these two individuals hadn't stepped in, I would be dead or in the hospital for a long, long time," he said.
"They need to know I send them a hell of a lot of gratitude."
The teens eventually fled and emergency crews showed up, taking Grainger to the University of Alberta hospital.
Police said several people were caught and taken into custody in connection with the attack, but there's no word on charges.
Drivers regularly get spat on, yelled at, pepper sprayed and threatened with weapons, Grainger said.
Coun. Amarjeet Sohi, a former bus driver, said he was horrified by the story.
"(Council has) approved six new positions in the last budget to hire more (security officers), but we will know in the next month if money becomes available for hiring those positions," he said.
"We are still far behind from what we need when we compare our system to other major systems in Canada."
****, the rest of the people that has nothing to do with this are going to end up footing the bill for fare hikes from more expenses.
