Ottawa – OC Transpo bus operator Robert Dubois is the 2006 TRANSECURE Employee of the Year. He received the award at the 17^th annual TRANSECURE awards ceremony this morning, for his role in saving a passenger’s life.  

On June 20, a very pregnant woman boarded Robert Dubois’ bus and began to experience labour pains. When Robert asked her if she was all right, the woman indicated the baby’s head was crowning and needed to attend the hospital immediately. Robert cleared the front seats of the bus and had the woman lie down and breath slowly. He contacted Control and requested to reroute his bus directly to the hospital, and proceeded to advise his passengers that he would be driving directly to the hospital without stopping. 

Since the section of road he was driving on was under heavy construction, Robert spoke to the crew and requested to proceed through the construction zone. With the assistance of Control, who had contacted the hospital prior to their arrival, Robert’s bus made it in time for the baby’s safe delivery.

“I would like to congratulate Robert Dubois and all the OC Transpo employees for their compassion and endless support in making our community a safer place to live, work and play,” said Councillor Alex Cullen, Chair of the Transit Committee. “It is extremely comforting to know that they are watching out for the well-being of our citizens.

Robert Dubois is just one of 13 Transit employees who were honoured for going above and beyond the call of duty to look out for the safety of the community, or using their buses to provide a safe haven to persons in distress.

Since the program’s inception in October 1989, OC Transpo employees have logged more than 7,844 TRANSECURE calls. Almost 384 calls were recorded in 2006. The TRANSECURE programs’ success is due to the employees who go out of their way to make Ottawa a safe and caring community.

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