The in Saanich last week highlighted a surprising fact about the Capital RegionB次元官网网址檚 public transportation system.
B次元官网网址淭here is not one operating (surveillance) camera on a B.C. Transit bus,B次元官网网址� said spokeswoman Meribeth Burton.
Witnesses of the attack apprehended the suspect in the Dec. 26 incident, a situation that was not altogether isolated. Records show drivers reported 53 threats and attempted assaults against them in 2012 across Greater Victoria.
The latest incident was the third assault causing bodily harm against a driver in the region this year.
In 2013, B.C. Transit hopes to install security cameras B次元官网网址� and potentially audio recording devices B次元官网网址� on much of its 1,000-bus fleet across the province.
B次元官网网址淭here are a lot of ways that itB次元官网网址檚 demonstrated that we need that level of security, not just for our operators, but for our passengers as well,B次元官网网址� Burton said. B次元官网网址淭hat kind of empirical evidence would be really helpful.B次元官网网址�
She clarified that B.C. Transit is awaiting comment from B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner on the use of audio recording before it presents the proposal to its board this month.
B次元官网网址淲ith board approval and the privacy commissionerB次元官网网址檚 approval, then weB次元官网网址檒l go to our municipal partners and find out whoB次元官网网址檚 interested,B次元官网网址� she said.
Should privacy commissioner Elizabeth Denham identify potential concerns with audio recording on buses, video surveillance will still move ahead, Burton added.
The final price tag will sit somewhere between $4 and $6 million, depending on how many municipalities choose to buy the closed-circuit TV cameras.
In 2011, a federal government assessment estimated it would cost $10 million to install cameras on the B.C. Transit fleet in all of the 123 communities it serves.
The new price tag is due to infrastructure upgrades now completed, Burton said.
B次元官网网址淲e have the telecommunications centre that was set up a few months ago in Greater Victoria that can handle surveillance in the province. So, weB次元官网网址檝e put the infrastructure in place, including the software programs.B次元官网网址�
Buses purchased within the last five years also come with standard CCTV equipment, she said.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just a matter of turning them on.B次元官网网址�
There are about 300 buses in Greater Victoria, making it the largest B.C. Transit fleet in the province. With nearly 50 per cent of B.C. TransitB次元官网网址檚 resources devoted to the Capital Region, which has a complex cost-sharing formula, the Victoria Region Transit Commission will tread carefully when considering the buy-in cost sometime in mid-2013.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a cost factor and a privacy issue,B次元官网网址� said Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins, also a transit commission director. B次元官网网址淚f thereB次元官网网址檚 a way that we can make not only the drivers, but the passengers safer, IB次元官网网址檓 all for looking at (the options).B次元官网网址�
The majority of Metro Vancouver buses, run by TransLink, already use video surveillance, but none have audio recording capabilities, said Transit Police spokeswoman Anne Drennan.
dpalmer@vicnews.com
