Retrofitting each bus with the shields, which enclose about 75 percent of the driver's compartment, will cost about $2,220. NJ Transit's board is set to vote on spending up to $1.82 million to outfit 820 buses on Monday.
NJ Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder tells The Record newspaper the agency has already installed safety shields in 70 buses under a pilot program. Snyder says assaults against drivers have dropped from 60 incidents in 2010 to roughly 25 so far this year.
A bus driver in Newark was stabbed seven times last year.
___
Information from: The Record (Woodland Park, N.J.), http://www.northjersey.com
