Andrew Bates/The Ubyssey

A TransLink bus driver was sent to hospital from the UBC bus loop this afternoon after he was overcome by fumes from a passenger who was reportedly sniffing a harmful substance.

At approximately 2pm today, “[there was] a confrontation with a belligerent passenger who…had been sniffing a substance, and eventually got off the bus,” said Drew Snider, TransLink’s public information officer.

Unconfirmed reports from transit supervisors on scene claimed that this substance was, or smelled similar to, paint thinner. 

“The bus driver, by the time he got to UBC loop, he was feeling lightheaded, so he was taken by ambulance to Vancouver General Hospital,” said Snider.

Before being taken to the hospital, the driver was given oxygen by emergency services personnel who had been called to the bus loop. 

The incident occurred on board one of the 99 B-Line buses which was was not full but still carried a number of passengers. Emergency services personnel on scene said none of the passengers required medical assistance.

“Apparently, they haven’t caught the person [who was sniffing the substance],” stated Snider.  

He said the passenger sniffing the substance got off the bus “somewhere before the end of the line…Allison or Sasamat or some place.

“The bus driver was still feeling lightheaded at the time they pulled into the loop, so it was probably close to campus.”

At 2:45pm, the bus was inspected by emergency services and transit personnel. By this time, the interior of the bus had no noticeable smell.

A transit supervisor said the bus had been declared safe to drive, and would resume service on the 99 B-Line route as soon as a new driver was available.

“We do have cameras on board that particular series of buses, so we may have some visual evidence [of the sniffer] for police to go on,” added Snider.  

According to the RCMP, the UBC detachment would not have been involved if the suspect left the bus before it came on campus.

—with files from Andrew Bates

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