Riders express frustration at first-ever TTC town hall meeting

The TTC held its first-ever public town hall session on Thursday, just hours after announcing a slew of service cuts to bus and streetcar routes.

The timing led to an inevitable outpouring of frustration from riders concerned with the prospect of reduced service on the already seemingly taxed public transit system.

Around 200 people packed city hall.  Each speaker was given a minute to express their respective concerns.

“Constant and daily delays due to equipment failure are unacceptable,” one rider fumed.

Another chided the TTC for scaling back at a time when the city is growing.

“Toronto’s an expanding city, we know this by looking at all the cranes outside building condos.  It’s really too bad that the TTC is anti-expansionist.”

Newly-minted customer service officer Chris Upfold (@TTCchris) chaired the tense meeting.

The Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents TTC employees, held similar meetings last year.

“A lot of the dissatisfaction [from riders] was directed at employees,” ATU local 113 president Bob Kinnear told CityNews Thursday.

“After the town halls, we found the dissatisfaction was related to service levels. This is something that’s already been done and I don’t think they’re going to find any new information through this.”

The creation of the public town hall stems from a customer service report released last year, which recommended 78 new initiatives for the TTC including better communication, more opportunities for rider input and cleanliness.

Last month, the TTC announced it was implementing the following five changes:

  • A customer service liaison panel to be made up of eight customers, the TTC chair, a commissioner, the chief general manager, the chief customer service officer, a member of the advisory committee on accessible transportation and, during the transition period, Steve O’Brien, chair of the customer service advisory panel formed last year.
  • A series of at least four quarterly town halls, starting Nov. 24 at city hall, about areas that need improvement and how best to address customers’ concerns.
  • A customer-focused review on fares and ticketing policy.
  • The TTC will extend customer service centre hours from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Previously, it was open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The TTC will get back to customers if requested.
  • From 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., the Request Stop program will allow anyone who feels vulnerable, not just women, to get off between stops.

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