Toronto Transit Commission incidents
This article lists major incidents of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) since 1954, such as accidents and other notable unplanned events.
By late March, the TTC was operating 80 percent of its normal service with reduced ridership and lower staffing levels.
On April 23, 2020, the TTC announced it would temporarily lay off 1000 operators (after the 30 days' notice required by their union contract) plus 200 non-unionized staff.
[57] On May 24, 2020, due to reduced ridership and fare revenue, the TTC temporarily laid off 450 employees as a cost-saving measure.
[60] In December 2020, the TTC decided to take advantage of low ridership due to the pandemic and temporarily closed a portion of Line 1 Yonge–University for nine full days in order to do maintenance.
The TTC closed Line 1 between Sheppard–Yonge and Finch stations between December 4 (11 pm) and 13, replacing train service with shuttle buses.
Maintenance included installing automatic train control, removing asbestos, repairing tunnel linings, performing track remediation and station cleaning.
[63] In 2021, as in December 2020, the TTC again decided to take advantage of low ridership to shut down other portions of Line 1 Yonge–University for multiple 10-day periods for maintenance.
[64][65][66] In another 10-day period starting April 26, the TTC closed Line 1 between Wilson and Sheppard West stations for switch installation and track work.
[67] To maintain physical distancing from bus operators, boarding and fare payment procedures were changed on buses by late March.
[54] Despite the drop in ridership, there was still crowding on several bus routes, preventing physical distancing of the recommended 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) among riders.
To address crowding, the TTC deployed extra buses on affected routes by April 1, 2020, and recommended that riders try to travel after 8 a.m. to avoid the morning rush hour.
[69] In January 2020, the TTC began performing extra cleaning and disinfection of vehicles and stations with a focus on touch-and-grab points.
[54] The TTC has assigned Wheel-Trans vehicles for the transfer of Toronto Community Housing residents with COVID-19 symptoms to healthcare facilities.
[74] Initially, the TTC supplied masks only to Wheel-Trans operators and maintenance workers dealing with hazardous substances.
[80] By August 2020, the TTC had purchased 600 foot-activated hand sanitizer dispensers from Canadian Mill Nettclean Supply Inc. and distributed them throughout the system.
[80] By mid-November 2020, the TTC was having 11 vending machines installed at 10 subway stations where customers could purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, gloves, sanitizer and wipes.
[54] On June 22, the TTC restored full service on route 503 Kingston Rd that had been partly suspended on March 24 due to reduced ridership.
Passengers could pay cash, tokens and senior and youth tickets and obtain a transfer at the front door of a bus; this reversed a change made in early April.
On August 12, 2020, the Province of Ontario promised $404 million for TTC operations to compensate for reduced ridership and revenue loss during the pandemic, with more funding to come later.
[83] As a condition of funding, the provincial government is requiring transit agencies, including the TTC, to consider using privately operated microtransit such as Uber's ride-sharing services to replace low-volume bus routes.
Innisfil in Simcoe County north of Toronto conducted a pilot of such an approach, which was popular with participants but was criticized for costing more than a public transit bus service and contributing to congestion.
[85] On September 17, the TTC announced the recall of an additional 132 laid-off union employees to return to work starting October 4.
The TTC was responding to complaints of overcrowding (given the requirements for physical distancing) on buses even though the bus system was already at 95 percent capacity.
The recall would also allow the TTC to staff shuttle buses during a scheduled ten-day shutdown of Line 1 Yonge–University in December 2020 between Finch and Sheppard–Yonge stations for asbestos removal.
[87] As part of a project dubbed RapidTO, the TTC opened priority bus lanes on Eglinton Avenue East on October 11, 2020.
[101] On March 19, 2020, the TTC temporarily closed the Duncan garage at the Hillcrest Complex after a mechanic tested positive for COVID-19.
[102] On April 23, 2020, the TTC sent 70 staff at the Queensway garage home to self-isolate for two weeks after five co-workers tested positive for COVID-19.
TPH spokesperson Dr. Vinita Dubey warned that this did not mean the virus was being transmitted on public transit as the long 14-day incubation period makes it difficult to determine where and when infection occurred.
[107] The TTC's "Gatekeeper Program" is an internal course available for front line staff to learn and identify the warning signs of someone who may be suicidal, and help them or try to prevent them from doing so on the transit system.
