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The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is launching a new security plan aimed at boosting safety and improving rider confidence on transit, Mayor Olivia Chow announced Thursday.
The city is hoping the plan will tackle a wide variety of issues impacting rider safety and public perception of the TTC.
“Delivering a safer TTC means doing the preventive work,” said Chow at a news conference held at Spadina Station.
“It means more eyes and ears in the transit system and having the right kind of people to answer calls for help.”
The plan includes hiring additional staff — such as provincial offence and community outreach officers — to be present at stations, as well as better crisis response training for staff and improvements to security monitoring of TTC stations.
This is in addition to the already announced crisis worker program that the TTC is implementing on the “U” portion of Line 1.
WATCH | How the TTCs recently announced crisis worker program will work:
TTC is adding crisis workers to a portion of Line 1. Here’s how it will work
Commuters may start to see crisis workers around the clock on the “u” portion of the TTC’s Line 1 starting Nov. 15. CBC’s Lane Harrison has the details.
Some experts are optimistic the changes are a step in the right direction, but also say more systemic shifts are needed.
“One of the best ways to make people feel safer is to make sure that their transit vehicles are on time,” said Andrew Pulsifer, executive director of TTCriders, an advocacy group.
“People feel the least safe when they’re waiting at a platform or station for transit that’s not arriving on time.”
The TTC will also be launching a separate ad campaign to improve usage of its SafeTTC app, TTC CEO Mandeep Lali announced at the news conference.
The app lets riders submit safety concerns online via their phone, and while Lali said usage has been rising, the hope is that it will improve more with the new campaign.
There’s one key issue that needs to be addressed before the app can see widespread use, according to Pulsifer. That’s Wi-Fi.
“If the TTC wants people to use their app, they should have free public Wi-Fi throughout the subway system,” he said.
“Especially if you’re stuck between stations, it’s so crucial to have access to available free Wi-Fi, not just cell service, which also doesn’t really reach between stations,” Pulsifer said.
According to a TTC news release on Thursday, offences against customers are down by 28 per cent since December 2022, with offences against employees down 38 per cent since January 2023.
Customer safety complaints have also dropped by 56 per cent, according to the statement. According to the TTC these incident this marks a three-year low, and a return to pre-pandemic levels.
