Transit police say a teenager involved in a fight at the Surrey Central SkyTrain Station released bear spray that hit several bystanders last Saturday. (CBC)

Transit police at a Lower Mainland SkyTrain station are strengthening their efforts to check passengers who might be carrying bear spray following an incident last Saturday in which bystanders were sprayed during a fight.

Const. Tom Seaman said it's the 24th time this year that transit police have seized bear spray from passengers.

"Some innocent bystanders were sprayed accidentally while others were involved in a fight and one of the combatants used it," Seaman said Friday of the incident at the Surrey Central Station.

"It's a dangerous device or substance when used improperly, and there's no place for it in our transit system," he said.

Transit police Const. Tom Seaman says officers will try hard to look for passengers who might be carrying bear spray. (CBC)

Although the spray has no long-term effect on most people, it can cause a severe reaction in those who suffer from asthma.

Some transit riders who did not want to give their names told CBC News they carry bear spray for their own protection. They said there are frequent crimes that make the SkyTrain system unsafe.

Justin Robinson, who uses the Surrey Central Station on a regular basis, said he has seen people displaying bear spray canisters, but he has never been hit by the spray.

People who are 19 or older can purchase large canisters of bear spray in B.C. but only for use on wildlife.

Karla Wattamaniuk of Skyview Outdoors, a camping and hiking store in Surrey, said about 25 per cent of the teenagers who ask for bear spray at her store don't appear to need the repellent for its intended use.

People older than 19 years old can purchase large canisters of bear spray in B.C. for use on wildlife only. (CBC)

But as long as they provide valid identification and proof that they are 19 or older, the store has no reason to turn them away, she said.

Transit police admit it's not easy to crack down on passengers who might use bear spray, but Seaman said they will try hard to root them out.

"Bear spray can be legally obtained, and it has a legitimate purpose," Seaman said.

"But when we confront an individual who is carrying it, say, in a busy, crowded transit station, we are going to question them about why they have it and what their motives are.

"If we have reasonable grounds to believe that this is going to present a danger to the public, we will take it away from that person."

With files from Alan Waterman