"TTC union boss says driver abandoning passengers in bus for 30 minutes ‘not that big of a deal’"

21 May 2014

"The Toronto Transit Commission says an incident involving a TTC driver who abandoned his bus and left passengers stranded for 30 minutes Tuesday is “unacceptable,” while the head of the transit workers union said it was an “insignificant” incident.

A TTC rider on the abandoned bus posted a video of the incident to YouTube Tuesday. Passenger Victor Bulario said the driver of the bus stopped at Eglinton Avenue West and Trethewey Drive and left the vehicle without making any announcement to his passengers. According to Mr. Bulario the bus was left unattended with the doors open for more than 30 minutes.

“We’re taking this matter very seriously. We can’t have buses left unattended with customers on board,” said TTC spokesman Brad Ross on Wednesday. “It is unacceptable in general terms.”

Mr. Ross said he saw the video on Tuesday and that TTC officials are reviewing the matterTTC policy requires bus operators to remain with their vehicle until a relief operator meets them, he said. Operators switch over at set “relief points” on routes when they are going on break or ending a shift.

“If that operator is late, or doesn’t show up for whatever reason, the operator who has control of the bus is to wait until that relief operator does arrive,” Mr. Ross said.

Drivers are allowed to leave their vehicle unattended and safely secured when they need to use the bathroom or get a coffee, he said. The TTC asks drivers to tell the customers the reason for the stop, he added.

NP/FilesTTC Union President Bob Kinnear

“The difference here is that the bus driver was being relieved — if the commentary on the video is accurate — and [the bus] was left sitting for some period of time. That is what is concerning to us,” he said.

TTC Union President Bob Kinnear said the incident is being blown out of proportion.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” he said. “We do this [driver relief] thousands upon thousands of times a week without any problems.”

Mr. Kinnear said the TTC union apologizes to passengers who were inconvenienced but said there are bigger problems Torontonians should be concerned about.

“It just amazes me that people get bogged down on these little insignificant incidents rather than focusing on what’s really happening in this continuing deterioration of our system,” he said. “The people are frustrated with the TTC. They’re frustrated with inadequate service, overcrowding… Those things are the direct result of upper levels of government not funding it appropriately.”

Mr. Kinnear said he spoke with a work representative of the driver in question and said there was “miscommunication” about who was taking over the vehicle. A relief operator was on site but for some reason they did not take over the bus, he said.

Mr. Ross would not speculate on what the repercussions might be."

DEFENSIVE is one word that comes to mind reading this article. Overall, it's just never acceptable to respond to a complaint dismissing a very valid concern of the safety and service provided by your organization. This also speaks to the conduct of ttc drivers, even if they were relieved and are off the clock, there should still be some sense of responsibility toward the passengers who were left stranded. The driver could have communicated this snafu to their supervisor so at least someone could resolve this matter quickly instead of just walking-off. So why didn't he? This is also an ongoing problem, that TTC service providers are not committed to the public. Yes, they undergo a lot of abuse and stress from the job but it is still not a reason to be unpleasant to the general public.

"Five TTC employees and ex-employees charged with theft, fraud"

Excerpt from Toronto Star Jun 11, 2014:

"The TTC is promising a new whistleblower policy and code of ethics for staff by the fall after police charged six men, including five current and former employees, with theft, fraud and conspiracy.

Open policard for CouncillorMaria Augimeri

Some of the men were allegedly scheming to set up a fake business to bid on a TTC contract for turnstiles worth millions of dollars.

Police also allege TTC employees used their signing authority to order tens of thousand of dollars in tools, tool boxes and supplies, such as residential door lock sets, for their personal use or resale.

Five of the men were arrested after police conducted searches in Toronto, Mississauga and Penetanguishene on Wednesday, said Toronto police Det. Royce MacDonald. The sixth is expected to turn himself in on Thursday.

Among them was Amadeo Cuschieri, 55, who retired May 30 as the TTC’s manager of revenue and security equipment maintenance. He made $107,358 last year, according to the province’s Sunshine List. He is charged with theft and fraud over $5,000, criminal breach of trust and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.

It’s not known how long the alleged theft and fraud had been occurring but the TTC investigated an anonymous tip in 2008 that did not lead to charges.

“Last summer, information came to our attention that allowed investigators to look into this further,” said TTC spokesman Brad Ross, who did not rule out the possibility of further charges in the ongoing investigation."

Earlier in June, TTC promises a new whistleblower policies that are aimed to promote a robust code of ethics for TTC employers. This is implemented after a series of reports of attempted thefts by TTC employers. Most of which are done by senior employers, as they might have a deeper insight to avoiding security measures. There is still no details to the policies but at least this show initiatives from the TTC to protect their employees, and decrease crimes within the organization. 

TTC dismisses red-light running bus driver

Excerpt from Toronto Star Article, July 28 2014:

"The TTC has fired the driver of a bus that ran a red light and nearly hit a pedestrian in Scarborough.

The incident was caught on video by a dashboard camera and posted on the internet last week. It shows a bus going through the intersection of Ionview Rd. and Eglinton Ave. E. on a yellow light about 9:15 a.m. last Monday.

Even though the light has turned red, a second bus moves into the intersection, swerving to narrowly avoid a pedestrian stepping into the road.

“Our operators know, like every motorist and everybody who drives, that the highway traffic act applies to everybody so running a red light is not acceptable,” said TTC spokesperson Brad Ross.

The head of the transit workers’ union has suggested that occasional aggressive driving is a result of the TTC’s tight scheduling.

But Ross said, “No schedule excuses running of red lights or any unsafe driving practice by any employee of the TTC.”

TTC drivers are supposed to “lead by example,” said Ross.

If a driver has a problem with the route schedule that should be raised within the TTC, he said.

The dismissed driver was a relatively new employee who had only just begun her shift, according to Star sources."

It is interesting to see the aftermath of the video that was last posted. The driver has been fired and we know that it is pretty hard to fire an employee in a unionized environment. I feel like because of all the scrutiny the TTC is under, they have to resort to the last end of the disciplinary action. Normally, since noone is injured, the TTC would be more inclined to give a warning and then suspending the employee. However, it may also be that the employee is still under probation so any wrongdoings may result in termination of the employee. I would like to see TTC provide more trainings to their bus drivers and operators. Despite their claim that they provide multiple trainings to ensure drivers meet the highest qualifications, it is still often not reflected by a lot of operators. 

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/07/28/ttc_dismisses_redlight_running_bus_driver.html

"TTC investigates after bus caught on video nearly hitting pedestrian"

Excerpt from the Toronto Star Article July 23, 2014:

"The TTC is investigating after a video was posted on YouTube that shows a TTC bus running a red light and just missing a pedestrian.

Steve Taylor, 20, was heading out for a job with his father’s asphalt-repair company along with co-worker Dan Hueston at around 9:15 on Monday morning, when he says he saw two TTC buses approaching the intersection of Ionview Rd. and Eglinton Ave. E. in Scarborough. The dashboard camera on the company truck captured the incident and Taylor then posted the video on YouTube.

In the video, one bus drives through a yellow light. The light turns red in front of the second bus but it drives on, swerving to avoid a woman crossing."

This incident highlights the many controversy surrounding the TTC operators and their conducts. If you go through the @TTCHelps twitter account, many complaints are lodged through their social media account daily. The person was left unharmed, but report says it was a close-call. The Amalgamated Transit Union that represents TTC workers has released a statement claiming that the bus drivers are under a lot of pressure to meet the intense and often chaotic TTC schedules. The question that arises from this is: does the TTC need to amend their scheduling, due to the many complaints against speeding bus drivers, and also this close-call incident? Also, what does it say about the management of TTC that the bus drivers are forced to neglect safety in order to meet these deadlines? Would they need to train drivers better in safety measures and to cope with scheduling? 

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/07/23/ttc_investigates_after_bus_caught_on_video_nearly_hitting_pedestrian.html#