TTC deploying 80 additional staff to focus on safety amid rash of violence
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is adding dozens of staff across the system daily in an effort to increase safety as it grapples with recent violent attacks that have left many riders shaken.
In a news release issued Friday evening, the TTC said 80 employees, including maintenance and transportation managers, will rotate throughout the subway system during peak service effective immediately.
"Managers will be highly visible and will conduct system cleanliness as well as health and safety audits," the TTC said.
The new measure is being implemented in the wake of a rash of violence on the TTC this week that saw two passengers, including a 16-year-old boy, stabbed and several employees attacked, one of which was shot with a BB gun.
The TTC said its CEO, Rick Leary, Toronto Mayor John Tory, Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw, TTC Chair Jon Burnside and union leaders met on Friday to discuss how to enhance safety on the transit system.
Officials also discussed possible long-term actions that could be taken to prevent crimes from happening on the TTC. In the news release, officials were also said to be considering bringing in experts from the housing and mental health and addictions sectors to address the matter.
"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," Tory said in a statement.
"As a transit agency, we find ourselves faced with complex societal challenges that are not part of our core business. They require creative, comprehensive and outside-the-box solutions," Leary said.
On Thursday, Toronto police announced that 80 extra Toronto police officers were being deployed throughout the system in an attempt to increase security and deter further incidents.
"In collaboration with our transit and city partners, we are taking immediate action to address safety issues on the TTC with a highly visible presence throughout the system, to support TTC Special Constables, and to ensure that both passengers and transit employees feel a sense of security," Demkiw said.
The TTC said the deployment of more staff is just one of the significant steps it is taking to address safety. They include hiring additional constables, increasing Streets to Homes workers in hotspots in the systems, and adding more station supervisors and chief and mobile supervisors on the subway to audit station security regularly.
The transit agency added that it is also in the process of ensuring all of its chief and mobile supervisors are trained in de-escalation.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.