Old TTC slogan The Better Way should be replaced
- Thread starter hamermill
- Start date
How about "The Battered Way" in honour of all the assaults?
I drove for them in the mid 80`s for 7 months. T ake T he C ar was the inside joke then. I`m sure it is far worse now with the level of nutjobs and lowlife scum roaming the GTA.
A university friend spent one Summer working for them. No, he wasn't a driver. One of his duties was to clean up after a suicide.
I operated bus and electric bus only, never did subway training. Lots of senior guys went underground for the winter, one of my trainers told me he had a jumper on the third stop of his first solo run following training...nice.
I was never assaulted but was confronted by a very drunk guy who wanted to return to the division garage as I went out of service at 1am on Christmas day. Stood up quickly to confront him as I told him the plan and oddly he decided to leave down the front steps. Missed a step and he ended up sprawled on the platform, face down. Attacks on operators weren`t too common then, I`d heard of a few though. There was no one else on the bus and I`d decided that this guy is getting knocked out if he touches me. I`d let fare evaders go, or if someone wanted to hand me a transfer they had in their mouth while taking off a glove. Our training was very good but a little light on real world situations. Near the end of it we went out with experienced operators observing us and were told the real deal. During our course of training we were told a number of times to not pursue it if you knew the job wasn`t for you. I`m certain I stopped a potential rape on New Years Eve too. Hot young woman passed out on the side bench across from me, dress hiked up. Totally arseholed drunk guy telling me over and over he that he would walk her home, told him to get off the bus as I luckily waved a cop down near Yonge & Steeles, let the police deal with her, the dude split. That was enough for me, resignation tendered. In honesty, I`d expect most operators have a weapon of some kind in their carry on beside them now, why not?
Curious too see how the TTC has changed since it became an essential service.
The billions spent on Shepard, Scarborough, Eglinton and the Ontario line should have been put to platform doors on at least the busiest stations. Doors keep crap off the rails and makes the stations cleaner and warmer.
The billions spent on Shepard, Scarborough, Eglinton and the Ontario line should have been put to platform doors on at least the busiest stations. Doors keep crap off the rails and makes the stations cleaner and warmer.
Wow! Stories from the front line.
Years ago when I use to frequent NYC. I hopped on a bus because it was too cold and windy to walk to the office. I only had cash but the driver said they can only accept a NYC transit ticket or token. (Anyway, not one but two ladies behind me offered to pay my fare.)
I'm curious how this is the TTC's fault. As a regular rider I see mental illness, homeless people, idiot drunks, and the pandemic recovery/bad economics as major causes of disruptions and worse.
The TTC just happens to be a public place numerous people use daily. Attempting to put security on every vehicle is impossible. So really there is no solution.
The TTC just happens to be a public place numerous people use daily. Attempting to put security on every vehicle is impossible. So really there is no solution.
Don't you just hate it when a naked woman stands next to you on the subway?
Inaction is not an excuse. Most organizations would have incident reports going back years maybe decades. It doesn't take a PHD to see where the hot spots are in the system. They can focus security efforts at the busier or transfer stations like Kipling, Finch, St George, Bloor, Eglinton, Union, Kennedy, etc. where incidents are more likely to happen. You don't need as much or any security or stations like Old Mill, Rosedale, etc. that barely see any traffic and the surrounding neighborhoods are richer.
Well they just announced 50 more Security personel, and 10 outreach workers as well. But in reality they have to be right there in the moment.
These events are imo being by mentally ill people for the most part. I see them on my commute as well. Security will not be a deterrent. Just a clean up crew.
So if there's nothing we can do to deter people from doing dumb things, we shouldn't even bother? There's obviously no way that security can be everywhere even if they are focused at the busier stations. It still stands to reason that they have to take their limited resources amd deploy them where most of the incidents occur. See if it makes any difference while also giving the changes enough time.
Another potential solution is to have people in high-chairs or raised platforms above the crowd watching the platform at all times. Their job could be to hit the power or at least radio the train to slow down immediately if they see someone being pushed on the tracks. I've seen this on the Hong Kong MTR on the surface trains that don't have platform doors at the stations. I don't know if they can hit the power off, but they do watch the platform.
It's definitely a crude and low tech solution, but at least it's something since platform doors will never be part of the TTC.
Having a defeatist mentality definitely won't reduce these problems.
