# TTC did it again!



## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

Text while driving, what's next?



http://www.680news.com/news/local/a...river-caught-texting-while-driving-on-the-job


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## snaggle (Feb 19, 2010)

I was driving down town one day and saw a trolley driver reading while driving. I wish I had my camera out so I could have gotten a pitcture of that.

Also one day while in a cross walk in Belleville I was waking my daugter and almost got hit by a bus. 

Bus drivers seem to have the atitude that they can do what ever they want they are even worse then truckers on the 400 series.


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

I guess thats how stuff like this happens:
http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2011/01/11/16840516.html


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## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

I've seen Brampton transit drivers text too, I never thought much of it.


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

"The union said it will back the driver" 

F**kin stupid. Driver should _atleast_ be suspended 1 month without pay and as a regular citizen, be charged and fined according to the law. Or is the ttc union trying to imply that all ttc unionized workers are above the law and that the safety of ttc riders isn't important at all?

From now on, I'm going to be vigilant about this and take pictures not only of the event but also the face and forward all evidence to all media sources if and when it happens. Turning evidence over directly to the ttc will only encourage cover ups and a negligent work culture amongst it's employees.


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

lol what a joke...can't say I'm a fan of unions either.


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

Cypher said:


> "The union said it will back the driver"
> 
> F**kin stupid. Driver should _atleast_ be suspended 1 month without pay and as a regular citizen, be charged and fined according to the law. Or is the ttc union trying to imply that all ttc unionized workers are above the law and that the safety of ttc riders isn't important at all?
> 
> From now on, I'm going to vigilant about this and take pictures not only of the event but also the face and forward all evidence to all media sources if and when it happens. Turning evidence over directly to the ttc will only encourage cover ups and a negligent work culture amongst it's employees.


+1000 on the cover up possibility. Media first. Video would be nice as well as if the driver just had the phone on vibrate and only took it out to silence the vibrate taking half a sec. well maybe I'd think slight differently but if it's clearly the driver is texting a message then yah I say 1month min. 3month NO PAY and off the job totally would be better to give some of them a second thought.


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

gucci17 said:


> lol what a joke...can't say I'm a fan of unions either.


Unions used to be good from my understanding of them but now a days it's different.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

AquaNekoMobile said:


> Unions used to be good from my understanding of them but now a days it's different.


Unions are ran by gangsters. They are very smart and very conniving. They know how to get their way and will do whatever it takes to make sure it goes their way. At least the majority of them are like this.

Maybe the nurses union is the only exception.


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## snaggle (Feb 19, 2010)

Yet again, http://toronto.ctv.ca/, When will there be some accountability for bus drivers


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

Heard on the news last night the drivers caught have been fired. Depends on how accurate the news is....

I'm a bit on the fence, fired may be a bit too strong ....depending on if it was a first time offence, etc. Wonder if they get fired for speeding? If their employment contract states any break of the HTA gets them fired, then texting and getting fired is within reason. Otherwise I like to give ppl the benefit of doubt the first time.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Yea.. that is true. Noone said anything about how it was the pills he was apparently taking for his health issue or something? He happened to pass out from them or something along those lines. I didn't see the sun make that a front page thing.. or even his death.

Just like in everyone's workplace there are always going to be those guys out there who don't give a crap or work as little as possible. It doesn't mean they are all bad.

I for one.. hate the TTC with a passion, I rarely use it and dread when I have too but I also don't always believe every little bit they post in the news before getting a bit more of the story.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

tom g said:


> come on gang , fellow local 113 member here ,im not a bad person . we all live in a day and age where the neccessities of life take over . i do agree that what he /they did was stupid . if it wasnt for unions we wouldnt have what we have /pension/benefits , i work for my money and pay into the pension and union , agreed some of the things are b/s but hey i am working and make a good living . i go to work like everyone else , this is all publicity for our upcoming contract talks every year this happens the bashing of all employees , remember that employee that was caught sleeping in his collectors booth, two months later when he died , no one reported that he died of being sick.
> just my two cents worth
> fellow fish head
> tom


No one's bashin union members in general. TTC is being criticized because its union is holing TTC riders hostage, while they can't get their act right. Union was formed to protect the workers from abusive employers, but today it is not necessary.

What benefits and pensions, without union? Unions did not create Canada Pension, nor do they offer benefits to others (except to those union members).

TTC is run by taxes (yeah they collect fare, but TTC operation is heavily subsidized). TTC execs don't care how it's run, and they always give in to union, since there's no reason not to. In the end, they get paid big bucks for doing nothing, and people like us never riding on TTC are paying for it.

All these are done to provide secure and fair public transportation for all citizens of GTA. If they can't deliver on promises, something should be done. TTC is by far the prime example of things that need to be fixed in GTA.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

I use the TTC in the winter. But if it wasn't covered partially thru taxes....think how bad the commute would be with all those ppl having to use private transport...all the time.


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

The problem is, there doesn't seem to be any sense of accountability in the TTC. "Ride the rocket"?? No. It's more like "Ride the turtle". One thing you can count on is the TTC will NEVER get you anywhere on schedule. Now they can't even guarantee customers are going to be safe riding public transit. Isn't our safety the *least* we can ask and expect in exchange for our hard earned money?? And the move/ statement by the union to counter any disciplinary action that TTC management takes against negligent TTC workers just further underscores the public impression that *there IS NO ACCOUNTABILITY in the TTC*. If citizen journalism is what it takes to ensure that TTC riders and tax payers are getting a semi fair exchange for their money - then so be it. Until the TTC and it's workers can prove to the public of Toronto that it's worth every penny we pay through taxes and fares, *TTC beware, my cellphone is audio, video and image capture capable*.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

The two texting drivers have been fired, I think that's all that need to be said on that subject.



conix67 said:


> TTC is run by taxes (yeah they collect fare, but TTC operation is heavily subsidized). TTC execs don't care how it's run, and they always give in to union, since there's no reason not to. In the end, they get paid big bucks for doing nothing, and people like us never riding on TTC are paying for it.


You are partially right. You are right in that TTC execs have very little accountability. They get paid whether they do a good job or not, and even if they do a bad job, they get paid a huge severance package if they're let go.

However, I do support tax subsidy of public transit, *provided that there is accountability*. I pay taxes, I take the TTC and I also drive on weekends. I disagree with the sentiment that people who don't ride the TTC shouldn't pay for it, based on the assumption that they don't get any benefit from it.

That's simply not true. Even if you've never take the TTC one day in your life, you still get benefit from:

1- Less traffic. Yes, Toronto's pretty bad already, but imagine if it was WORSE, because that's what happens when public transit ridership decline.

2- Less air pollution, caused by less cars on the road.

3- Indirectly: *you* may not ride the TTC, but how about your friends and your family? If your kids can go to school using the TTC, that means you don't have to drive them there every morning. If your friend can come over using the TTC, that means you don't have to go pick them up.

4- Business: there is simply no argument that business locations that are easily accessible by public transit gets a lot more customers than businesses that are less accessible by public transit.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

I support subsidized public transportation. Without a proper public transportation system in place, a large city like Toronto cannot exist. However, TTC the way it is today isn't what we need in Toronto.



solarz said:


> 1- Less traffic. Yes, Toronto's pretty bad already, but imagine if it was WORSE, because that's what happens when public transit ridership decline.


It is obvious with more people taking public transit, there would be less traffic problems in Toronto. However, what Toronto needs is more subways than buses. The public transit system has not progressed forward during last 25 years I lived in Toronto/GTA area. How do you keep ridership from declining?



solarz said:


> 2- Less air pollution, caused by less cars on the road.


Again, we need more railroad based transit system in Toronto. The subway system in Toronto is laughable, but what's worse is the future of it. Compare it with systems in other major cities around the world.



solarz said:


> 3- Indirectly: *you* may not ride the TTC, but how about your friends and your family? If your kids can go to school using the TTC, that means you don't have to drive them there every morning. If your friend can come over using the TTC, that means you don't have to go pick them up.


I now live in Thornhill, and my office is in Markham. I have no other options since I need to drive my son to school every morning. However, YRT will get me to my office in ~45+ min, while driving takes 10min.

Surprisingly, most people I know who can afford a car do not normally use TTC, even if they live in the city. My parents own only one car and live in Scarborough, so occasionally they do use TTC. You can see that many people are using TTC as secondary means of transportation, rather than primary. For some short distance, with few friends, taking a cab isn't that much more expensive than riding TTC, but it's far more convenient.



solarz said:


> 4- Business: there is simply no argument that business locations that are easily accessible by public transit gets a lot more customers than businesses that are less accessible by public transit.


I'm not all that convinced about this, especially in Toronto/GTA. For those type of businesses relying on customers whose primary means of transportation happens to be TTC, yes. However, for the rest it may not be true. They need convenient access from highways, and parking spaces rather than easy access to public transportation.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

conix67 said:


> I support subsidized public transportation. Without a proper public transportation system in place, a large city like Toronto cannot exist. However, TTC the way it is today isn't what we need in Toronto.
> 
> It is obvious with more people taking public transit, there would be less traffic problems in Toronto. However, what Toronto needs is more subways than buses. The public transit system has not progressed forward during last 25 years I lived in Toronto/GTA area. How do you keep ridership from declining?
> 
> Again, we need more railroad based transit system in Toronto. The subway system in Toronto is laughable, but what's worse is the future of it. Compare it with systems in other major cities around the world.


I absolutely agree that subways are the way to go. However, there simply isn't any will at the federal or provincial level to fund additional subways.

Toronto's subway system is indeed laughable. Many of Toronto's most popular/important destinations aren't accessible by subway: CN Tower, Chinatown, Pacific Mall, Airport, Center Island, York University, Lakeshore areas including CNE, Queen's Quay, Woodbine Beach.

Compare this with Montreal, where the subway goes pretty much everywhere you'd want to go, except the airport. How long have we been talking about extending the subway line to York university? 10 years?

It's ridiculous that the province or Ottawa doesn't want to fund development in Toronto, the hub of the Canadian economy. And what's with that ludicrous Transit City plan? Oh, we can't afford subways, so we'll build train tracks on major arteries. [sarcasm]That will work out so well![/sarcasm]


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