Lethbridge transit keeping an eye on bus safety
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LETHBRIDGE – The City of Lethbridge transit department is making safety a top priority for bus drivers and riders as new security cameras come into effect next Monday (Jan. 16) for the entire fleet.
Transit buses will be equipped with 11 total cameras while Access-A-Ride vehicles have eight, inside and out. Video is recorded to a secure digital recorder, which is then automatically transferred to a secure, wireless server when buses return to the transit building.
The data, which is only kept for one month at a time, can then assist the City and police with any prosecutions if an incident is reported, and help identify issues that can be addressed proactively.
However, Conrad Westerson, transit manager, assured that the City of Lethbridge is in accordance with all Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPP) acts and regulations, as well as other surveillance policies.
“There’s nobody sitting and watching these cameras on a daily basis. We only pull the data if and when there is an incident, and we’ll only look at the data that’s pertinent to that incident.”
A majority of the $650,000 project was paid for through provincial GreenTrip funding and the federal gas tax fund, while the remaining $135,000 came from the City’s school bus replacement fund.
When asked why the money is being used for this, Westerson says it’s become an industry standard in many cities, and that it’s a necessary protection measure.
“We’ve had a number of incidents over the last few years where our drivers have been assaulted,” Westerson explained. “This is for the safety and security of our drivers as well as for our passengers. We want to make sure that if there is an incident, we have a record of it.”
