TTC union members reached out to a frustrated public on Sunday in the first of three town hall meetings aimed to improve customer relations.
Dozens of people came out to the meeting, held at Downsview Secondary School, to air their complaints about the service and the perceived bad attitude of some public transit workers.
One woman talked about having to walk 45 minutes to a bus stop only to have service at the station delayed.
Others talked about rising fare prices, surly operators, dirty stations and a general decline in service.
"We must do better and we can do better," said Bob Kinnear, head of the transit union.
"We want to take a proactive stance. We want to do something that's going to encourage more dialogue and hopefully have something positive come out of all this negativity."
This public relations effort came about after an amused TTC user snapped a photograph of a toll collector fast asleep on the job back in January. He posted it to Twitter and the photo became a viral sensation overnight, causing a floodgate of complaints from commuters who said they have had enough of poor service on the TTC.
"I'll probably get flak for this, but operators do slack off a lot, we do," said Anthony Wallace, a TTC bus driver who sat in on Sunday's meeting. "We as individuals are here to apologize for whatever we've done so far."
The meeting was broadcast live on a local cable and radio station. John Tory, the former leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, moderated the meeting.
TTC Chair Adam Giambrone sat in the audience listening to the discussion taking place. He said afterwards that he was encouraged by the meeting.
"We can't always force everybody to have a smile on their face, so what's encouraging today is the real willingness to have that discussion and make those changes," he said.
