EXCLUSIVE: Mom says daughter, 17, left to fend for herself after robbery, assault on TTC bus

An angry mother wants the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to change its policy about reporting crimes to police, saying her 17-year-old daughter had to fend for herself after being assaulted and robbed on a TTC bus last February.

Tracy Tieber says her daughter, Amanda, boarded a bus on Morningside Avenue and was on her way to meet friends when she was approached by two men while sitting at the front of the bus. They wrested the phone out of her hands and she was punched in the neck while resisting the theft.

The two suspects fled and the driver exited the bus to try and apprehend them. The suspects managed to get away.

Amanda remained on the bus and when the driver returned he called his supervisor at transit control. Amanda says the supervisor told the driver there was nothing that could be done, and directed him to continue on his route.

“They said ‘just continue your route, continue your night,’ ” she recalled. “He said, ‘I’m sorry, I have to listen.’ ”

Police weren’t called and the frightened phone-less girl got off the bus and had to get help from a stranger.

TTC Deputy CEO, Chris Upfold, said transit control supervisors are trusted to make a judgement call on whether police should be called.

“At transit control we have 911-trained operators…and they contact emergency services depending on the need,” he said.

“These are highly skilled and well-trained people and we expect them to make those decisions…we need to make a judgement on every (call).”

TTC union leader Bob Kinnear said the onus is on TTC supervisors.

“It’s disappointing but not surprising. It’s not unusual for the supervisory staff to have a disconnect with the human element out there on the road,” he said.

Kinnear even said the union would defend cases of insubordination where drivers buck commands from transit control for the sake of public safety.

“Our focus and emphasis should be on customer safety,” he said. “We will be advising our members…to wait for the proper authorities.”

“I wouldn’t want my mother, my sister, or my daughter having been assaulted and then dropped off at the street at nine at night. I would want assurances that they would be taken care of.”

“We will defend any employee who is out there assuring public safety.”

Tieber says she wants the policy changed so that police are called every time a crime is committed on TTC property.

“A police officer should have been called onto the bus to help my daughter,” she said. “My daughter’s well-being was neglected.”

Police say they have security video of the incident and an investigation is ongoing.

Tieber says she called the TTC complaint line and didn’t get any help, claiming she’s only coming forward now, months later, after exhausting her efforts with the TTC.

The TTC did send her a note to apologize, but didn’t address her concerns about police not being called, she said.

She also says the TTC offered her a token gesture – 10 free tokens.

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