Steve O'Brien, chair of the TTC's customer service advisory panel, got an earful from customers at Yonge-Bloor subway station as he was out to meet and greet them.
Passengers told CTV Toronto on Wednesday they are sick of the poor service, the fares and the feeling that things can't get better.
"It is a big job, but it's an important one and it's one that myself and the other nine panelists haven't taken lightly," O'Brien, a hotelier, said outside the station.
"We've been spending the last 2.5 months understanding how the TTC operates … now it's time to engage the public and ask for the ideas, observations and recommendations."
The panel has its own website: TTCpanel.ca. People can leave feedback there about all aspects of the observation, he said.
"We're going to take all this info … and incorporate it into our final report."
O'Brien said the biggest issue will likely be communications, "the way in which the TTC communicates with its riders, and the way the riders communicate with the TTC."
The technology used for communications -- for example, the public address system issue -- is one component of the communications puzzle, he said.
The overall culture at the TTC will likely be a major topic in the panel's report. "We've witnessed what's going on, so I don't think it's a surprise there may be an issue with the culture," he said.
A now-iconic photo of a TTC subway fare collector sleeping on the job, which came out shortly after the TTC boosted fares early in the new year, proved to be a lightning rod for discontent.
Another famous story involves a bus driver taking a seven-minute unscheduled break and leaving his passengers just sitting there.
Most recently, a 30-year-old driver has been charged with assault after a fare dispute with two teens escalated into a physical confrontation that left a bus window cracked.
O'Brien said a report will be coming in June, but it might be an interim one and not the final document.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, which represents the TTC's rank-and-file workers, is holding its own series fo town hall meetings to engage with the public on the customer service issue. The union isn't part of the advisory panel.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Janice Golding
