TTC considering new 'Baby on Board' badge program for pregnant riders and those with young kids

Etobicoke Coun. Stephen Holyday wants the TTC to establish a new 'Baby on Board' badge program simialr to the one in London, U.K.

Taking a cue from London, U.K., Toronto’s transit system is considering a program that would distribute pins to people expecting a baby or those with young children in the hopes that other riders might give up their seat for them.

Earlier this week, Etobicoke Centre Coun. Stephen Holyday introduced a motion at the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)’s monthly board meeting to study the feasibility of establishing a new program where branded “Baby on Board” buttons would be handed out to those who are pregnant or with small kids in tow.

The motion, seconded by TTC Chair Jamal Meyers and passed, also called for staff to review the TTC’s communication materials, including its website, and update information available for pregnant women and customers with small children based on best practices found in other jurisdictions.

It is not known at this point when or if staff will be reporting back on the proposed plan.

Transport for London's Baby on Board! badge.

During an interview on Wednesday with CP24.com, Holyday, who is a TTC commissioner, said he visited London in the summer with his family and saw several women wearing patches with the slogan, “Baby on Board!” He said they were seen wearing them both on public transportation and on the street, in restaurants, and at various tourist attractions.

Holyday said he asked a woman about it and learned that she’d gotten the pin from that city’s Transport for London system.

“I had an opportunity to speak with some workers at the public transit station, and they told me all about the program and they gave me a sample to bring back in Canada,” he said.

“It’s just a simple little badge and it says ‘Baby on Board,’ and many women wore this proudly and it made their public transit experience better.”

Holyday said, as a TTC commissioner, he’s always looking for ways to improve the city’s transit system and felt that implementing a Baby on Board badge program could help do just that.

“I thought that this just created a positive image of public transit (…) I saw this as an opportunity for the TTC to market itself in a positive way,” he told CP24.com.

“It’s about removing barriers and making the experience on transit more enjoyable, and ultimately that means more people will choose public transit and that’s a good thing for our city.”

Holyday said when he returned from his trip, he mentioned the idea to TTC staff, who advised him that a similar initiative called “Please Offer Me a Seat” already exists.

However, he noted that he rarely saw anyone wearing that kind of badge and felt that perhaps some updated messaging could be implemented to better target more vulnerable transit users directly.

Holyday added that the Baby on Board program will be useful as a lot of people who are expecting a baby or those using the TTC with young children face challenges to get from point A to point B.

“So things to make life easier for those travelers are things that we should collectively be thinking about as a society,” he said.

Known for his fiscal conservatism, Holyday added that cost-wise, placing a few orders of “Baby on Board” buttons will be minimal and would fall well within the TTC’s marketing or accessibility budgets. He also said he wouldn’t have brought forward the motion if he knew that it would incur additional costs.

Coun. Josh Matlow speaks during the Oct. 29 TTC board meeting.

Coun. John Matlow, who also sits on the TTC board, has, however, raised some concerns about this proposal.

He said that while it sounds like a nice thing to do, the program will take away from already limited TTC resources and distract the board from what it should be focusing on.

“At a time when we the TTC has a structural deficit and when we need to be making transit more safe and reliable, I want to keep our attention and resources on that,” Matlow said, adding he’d like the board to be discussing ongoing hydraulic fluid leak issues in the system instead.

“I want to fix our transit system rather than talking about buttons and stickers.”

During Tuesday’s TTC board meeting, the Toronto-St. Paul’s rep said he believes that it’s “not a good use of staff, time, printing costs, resources.”

“At a time when I hope Councillor Holiday would agree that we want to ensure that we don’t have excessive property tax increases, that we protect every dollar that we’re entrusted with, we don’t want to see money being spent in something that may have the motivations behind it,” he said.

“It is lovely. The idea is sweet and kind, but it most likely won’t actually achieve the results that you would hope for, and therefore I don’t support the moving forward with what I would characterize, with all due respect, is sort of like a well-intended suggestion, but maybe not something that should seriously take time or resources from the system.”