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Thunder Bay Transit drivers frustrated by passengers not wearing masks (2 Photos)

The Amalgamated Transit Union says a driver has tested positive for COVID-19.

THUNDER BAY — The spokesperson for Thunder Bay Transit drivers says their health and the health of other passengers is at risk because there's no mandatory requirement for all riders to wear a face mask.

One driver tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week.

However. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 966 President Fred Caputo is not aware if a contact source has been identified.

Transit manager Brad Loroff said the department has not been contacted about the case by the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.

On instructions from the TBDHU, since July 2020 riders have been requested to wear a mask even when physical distancing can be maintained on a bus.

Exemptions are permitted for those with medical conditions including breathing difficulties, cognitive difficulties, and hearing or communication difficulties.

"Right now the health unit is just doing it as a recommendation, and we are getting passengers using that as a means to get on without wearing a mask...They say they have asthma. They get on and they're coughing. Other passengers feel uneasy, and a lot of them have been are getting off," Caputo said.

He said the risks become more elevated when the number of people on a bus makes physical distancing difficult.

Describing the situation as frustrating, Caputo said the ATU has made several requests to management to make masks mandatory but the union "just gets shut down."

"Talking to transit management, it's always been a wall. There's been a divide. This is a really important issue for our drivers."

Caputo said the concerns also apply to drivers of two Lift+ vehicles which are designated as shuttles for COVID-19 isolation facilities. 

These units are equipped with shields that separate the drivers from passengers, and Caputo said there are safety precautions, but "there is still airflow going through...the drivers still feel uneasy."

He said Thunder Bay Transit drivers would like to be tested for the virus, but tests are currently not administered to people without symptoms.

The ATU as a national union has also asked that all bus drivers be vaccinated against COVID-19 as essential workers.

Caputo said the union doesn't want to jump to the front of the line for vaccines, but "every operator comes into contact daily with someone who has either been in isolation or just come out of the hospital. We don't know."

The local union has asked management to provide masks for passengers at the transit depots, but Caputo said there has been no response so far.

"We're concerned for our workers. They have to go home overnight. They have families, like everyone else."

He said he appreciates that even though "it's a difficult situation to police...at least by having that mandatory mask policy, we have a little bit of control. The spread's just going to get worse. We know it's in the homeless community."

Thunder Bay Transit management has declined in the past to comment on the issue of enforcement, but has pointed journalists to its website which has an online list of Frequently Asked Questions about the use of face masks on its buses.

Lorofff said Tuesday that transit has provisions in place to protect its drivers.

Caputo agreed that transit has done a good job in that regard.



Gary Rinne

About the Author: Gary Rinne

Born and raised in Thunder Bay, Gary started part-time at Tbnewswatch in 2016 after retiring from the CBC
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