Maroon out, modernity in for redesigned TTC uniforms

The maroon and grey uniforms being worn by TTC employees are slowly being replaced by a more modern and business casual look.

On Friday, some TTC riders spotted workers sporting elements of the new uniform; however, transit commission officials said the complete ensemble is being rolled out in stages and all employees will have all of the new pieces around mid-2015.

Deputy TTC CEO Chris Upfold was the executive lead in the design and implementation process, but was quick to point out that it was a “team effort.”

He said what most people are noticing are the new blue and red five-in-one jackets and red ball caps, but that half of the staff also have new ties and shirts.

“The way we do things and most transit properties do things is we’re on a two-year cycle. So every other year, frontline employees get a new uniform. What we decided to do is to replace all the jackets this year for everybody, even though that’s off-cycle,” Upfold said on Monday.

He said the TTC was able to find savings elsewhere, so that employees “no longer need to wear that maroon jacket.”

When designs of the proposed uniforms surfaced in August 2013 — consisting of red, white-and blue striped golf tees and red and blue ball caps — they were criticized for resembling the Montreal Canadiens’ colours.

However, Upfold said those designs were only samples brought in to conduct focus groups.

“They were never the final designs. Everybody seemed to turn them into that,” he said.

The TTC wanted to incorporate colours that are being used across the system — red, blue, as well as elements of white seen in the corporate logo.

Upfold said the main colours of the uniform are “TTC red and TTC blue,” adding that the blue has been part of the uniform for a while.

“It’s a navy blue, so it’s a different blue than on the Montreal Canadiens — that’s more of a royal blue, so it is a deep navy colour and the red is also a deep red,” TTC’s communications advisor Jessica Martin pointed out.

The last uniform redesign was in the early 1990s, which was when the maroon colour was introduced. In August 2013, TTC chair Andy Byford said the current uniform is “rather dated,” and that the new uniform would be professional, modern and smart.

Upfold said the new TTC ensemble achieved that goal over the two-year process, creating a more “business casual” look in the end.

He said the jackets have a TTC crest on the right sleeve so that’s what riders will see when they get on and off buses and streetcars, as well as a crest at the back of the jacket.

The rest of the uniform consists of blue blazers and trousers, red ties with blue and white stripes, blue-and-white pinstriped shirts, red golf shirts, red ball caps and red toques – the latter three replacing the blue ones.

“All of the detailed pieces, the little accompanying pieces are typically red and the main uniform itself is typically TTC blue,” Upfold said.

In terms of the cost of the new uniforms, Upfold was not able to provide an exact figure, but added that it’s less than previous years. He said the TTC spends about $1.5 million on uniforms annually.

“We’ve actually brought the budget down. It’s less than what we’ve spent on uniforms in the past. We’ve got some pretty good procurement done … this is costing us less for a better product,” he said.

Although there wasn’t a particular designer involved in creating the new uniforms, Upfold said they “set some principles in terms of what we want to achieve.”

“We wanted them to be useable, we wanted them to continue to err on the side of business-wear, as opposed to work wear. We wanted them to be smarter looking,” he said.

The TTC also said the main focus was to simplify but modernize the attire and to make it more uniform.

Upfold said it was important to get the employees’ feedback on the new uniforms. Earlier this year, workers were asked to have their say on golf shirt designs.

“What you want at the end of the day is your employees to be proud of wearing the uniform, and I think we’ve achieved that,” he said.