Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) CEO Rick Leary, Toronto Mayor John Tory, TTC Chair Jon Burnside, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw, ATU Local 113 President Marvin Alfred, and CUPE 5089 President Dariusz Nowotny met to discuss ways to enhance employee and customer safety on the TTC.
The meeting was part of ongoing work to enhance public safety on the transit system, according to TTC's news release. Several further immediate actions are being explored along with more long-term solutions to address crime on the TTC.
Discussions also focused on further actions that could be taken to strengthen safety on the TTC over the long-term.
The TTC said it is deploying additional management staff to be present across the system — approximately 80 employees a day. This includes maintenance and transportation managers who will rotate through the subway network during peak service.
Other safety improvements include:
Increasing the presence of Special Constables as well as hiring additional Special Constables.
Adding more station supervisors, chief and mobile supervisors as well as assistant managers in subway stations to audit station security on a regular basis.
Deploying more uniformed TTC employees throughout the system who can contact Transit Control directly to assist customers.
Increasing Streets to Homes workers in hotspots in the system to help individuals in need find support.
Improving and adding cameras in all stations and on all vehicles.
Having Designated Waiting Areas on every subway platform, with recently upgraded two-way communications systems that link directly to TTC staff.
“The TTC must be safe for everyone — passengers and transit employees. We're continuing to work with the TTC, Toronto Police, and TTC union leadership to make sure we are immediately addressing safety concerns. I want to thank everyone for working together collaboratively so that we can deal with these issues head-on," said Tory. "I want to thank all the transit workers who have kept the transit system moving throughout this week and who will be on the job this weekend. I know this hasn't been an easy time for any of them or their families. I also want to thank the additional Toronto Police officers who are patrolling the transit system to increase safety."
It was recently announced that effective immediately the Toronto Police Service (TPS) will be adding upward of 80 police officers throughout the city’s transit system. This would be in addition to the existing regular patrols that are already underway.
The TTC added that it is in the process of ensuring that all its chief and mobile supervisors are trained in de-escalation in order to support station staff. The TTC has also updated its schedules to ensure an increased employee presence in hotspots in the system and during peak times.
