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Source: Detroit Free PressOct.self storage 21--Bus service in Detroit is at a halt today, as Detroit Department of Transportation drivers speak out again about violence on buses.About 150 drivers began protesting at 10 a.m. today in front of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. By 11 a.m., more than 200 were circling in front of the Spirit of Detroit statue, and Detroit mayoral candidate Benny Napoleon had joined them."What do we need? Protection," they chanted. "When do we want it? Now."As a result of the protest, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26's president and business agent, Fred Westbrook, said he's meeting at 2 p.m. with Detroit Police Chief James Craig and Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr's COO, former Detroit councilman Gary Brown."Apparently, I have to call a rally and get media attention so we can get the word out, that it's not our fault," he said. "The feds came in and brought money with them. But it hasn't help. It might be a long-term goal. But we need something done now as far as protection."Jarrett Holt, 25, of Dearborn, was waiting at the State Fair Transit Center just after 9 a.m., waiting for a SMART bus -- a regional transit bus. Instead of the two DDOT buses he typically takes from his home in Dearborn to his job as a host at the Soutfield Outback restaurant, he was in the process of hop-scotching across the city on SMART buses.Still, he supported the drivers."Sometimes you have to do something drastic to get everyone's attention," Holt said just before boarding.Napoleon said, if he's re-elected, he would reinstitute the practice from the 1980s and early 90s of having undercover police officers on the buses."This has gone on too long," said Napoleon, "When you got on the bus, you didn't know if a police officer was on there or not."ATU 26 represents about 470 drivers, with about 300 driving 100,000 passengers daily. Westbrook said the base salary for a driver is $32,000, and he did not know the maximum salary at the department. He denied telling drivers to call in sick to attend the rally, and that service should be running normally on Tuesday.Westbrook said drivers continue to 迷你倉e attacked after a September rally in downtown Detroit in to protest the lack of police protection, crowded buses and disorganization of routes."Last weekend, we had a couple of drivers stabbed because of the bus being overcrowded and not being on time," Westbrook said this morning. "We had a female operator with urine thrown in her face. We have solutions: put police on the bus."Westbrook said drivers are just as frustrated as riders. He said the union hoped Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr would take steps to improve safety after the September rally, which featured a march from Campus Martius to the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. Bus service was not affected.Brown said today that the situation is "as much about a labor issue as it is a safety issue."He said the city is addressing the safety issue by using $3 million of $60 million in U.S. Transportation Department funds ( recently directed to the city to install cameras on DDOT buses. Starting Nov. 1, each bus will be fitted with eight cameras to help reduce violence against drivers. The rest of the funds will be used to upgrade and maintain the fleet."I don't want to minimize safety issues," Brown said today. "If one bus driver is hurt, that's one driver too many. But we're putting measures in place to ensure drivers' safety."He said officers from Detroit Police, Wayne State University and the People Mover also have been spot-checking the buses, boarding 76 buses over the weekend.Brown said he believes today's situation is more about drivers last week rejecting a contract that proposed an 8% reduction in pay, among other things."It's bringing them in line with other city employees, who have taken as much as a 20% reduction," Brown said today. "I think it's irresponsible to leave the general public that's trying to get to work and get to school stranded over an issue that can be easily resolved."Westbrook declined to discuss the contract negotiations, saying the protest was specifically about safety.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Detroit Free Press Visit the Detroit Free Press at .freep.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesmini storage