10-point safety plan

Ottawa is a safe city and transit services play a significant role in providing a safe environment for riders who use our services. Safety and security for customers and employees remains a primary focus for the department. The continued focus on safety programs and messages has resulted in maintaining a safe environment for everyone. A safe travelling and working environment is a primary focus for transit services.

There are a number of initiatives underway that will ensure that the safety of customers and staff is maintained. The increased focus on working with community partners and our union representatives will ensure that we continue to provide safety and security for all.

The development of a revised Safety Charter for Transit Services will further the work and activities completed to date. The work includes:

  1. Development of a "safety lens" that can be applied to all service, activities, programs and initiatives in Transit Services;
  2. Identifying existing programs and initiatives along with an inventory of best transit safety practices;
  3. Maintaining the Transecure program to continue staff efforts to remain the “eyes and ears” for Transit Services on the roads of Ottawa each day;
  4. Development of an initiative to expand the incident reporting system that allows customers and employees to provide information about incidents or situations that require attention;
  5. Working with key stakeholders to develop a data collection process to provide information about safety and security issues in the system and potential trends or problem area;
  6. Assessing staff training to ensure they have the knowledge, skills and abilities to handle such situations;
  7. Undertaking a public education campaign for riders, residents and employees to support them, encouraging reporting, and other initiatives;
  8. Collaborate with community and media partners to promote a safety environment that is supported by education, information and programs;
  9. Continue safety audits across transit system in collaboration with community partners; and,
  10. Develop the Transit watch safety program, which aligns the initiatives to what we are doing with the various community groups. This program is being developed by the Safety Management Unit for our patrons to address their safety concerns.