The brutal stabbing of a Greyhound bus passenger in Manitoba is prompting calls for more security for buses across the country.
The bus depot in Calgary has security officers but there is no safety screening before people board buses.
One woman who was getting on a bus says she was surprised a how little security there is. Kristen Gerwing says her bag was not searched and she says she didn't even have to show identification to get her ticket. "It's very scary now that this has happened," says Gerwing.
Gerwing is referring to the horrific death onboard a Greyhound bus heading to Winnipeg from Edmonton. The killing happened early Thursday morning near Portage La Prairie. Witnesses say a man was stabbed to death and then decapitated in what appears to be a random act of violence.
The Greyhound Bus Company says drivers are given extensive training to spot suspicious behaviour. But on Thursday, the Amalgamated Transit Union began calling for major security upgrades, similar to the kind of screening you would see in an airport. "Whether it be a wand or, whatever, a metal detector, obviously it's getting to that point where we don't know when these occurrences will happen," says Jim Higgs, the union president.
Passengers also echo the sentiments of the union saying they would be willing to go through the inconvenience of more security checks if it's a matter of safety. "There should be metal detectors...the stuff under the bus is fine but if you carry on bags you should go through something like the airport security," says passenger Ashley Murrin.
Greyhound says it's currently working on a security review with Transport Canada. But for now, there are no plans to implement a system to detect things like concealed weapons.
