TTC suspends Wheel-Trans video surveillance program

The TTC has suspended the use of video cameras on Wheel-Trans vehicles after an investigation by Toronto ’s ombudsman concluded passengers were never warned about their use.

The TTC installed the cameras in all its vehicles in 2006 and 2007 to improve public safety and deter crime. It agreed to consult the public before expanding their use but ombudsman Fiona Crean said the commission never consulted the public when they installed cameras on Wheel-Trans and started using them in 2010 to also assess riders’ eligibility.

When a complaint about a Wheel-Trans rider is filed, the TTC begins a so-called Questionable Rider investigation. But riders being reassessed are never told the TTC has video of them boarding a vehicle so they cannot prepare an adequate response, she said.

Her report also found riders are given no information about the reassessment process or its criteria beyond the time and place of the interview and neither the appeal process nor the application is posted on the TTC website, among other findings.

“The ‘Questionable Rider’ program at Wheel-Trans lacked any elements of due process or fairness,” ombudsman Fiona Crean said in a release. “Riders whose eligibility was being questioned were never told about the video surveillance that was being used against them.”

Crean, who opened her investigation following a complaint in January, made 11 recommendations concerning public consultation, notification and an amendment of the TTC’s video recording policy.

The TTC agreed with them and has suspended the reassessment program until the safeguards have been implemented.

The report will be reviewed by city council when it meets next week.

Click here to read the full report which was released on Wednesday.

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