If the TTC ever arms its special constables with tasers, I promise that I will boycott the TTC.
Increasingly, the TTC is treating its passengers like the enemy. Initially, it was passive aggressive or careless actions like not announcing stops or dragging people stuck in the doors of the subways.
Now, instead of focusing on improving service and their relationship with commuters, the TTC has become obsessed with "a desire to address health and safety concerns that the special constables have regarding their work." In recent contract negotiations, a key issue was how workers assaulted and injured on the job would be taken care of.
Arming special constables with tasers will only be the next step in this seeming war against passengers. When I ride the TTC, I already feel like a cow being herded from platform to platform. It is not a leap of the imagination to foresee frustrated TTC employees using their tasers like cow prods. Their counterparts in BC have already shown themselves all too ready to use tasers to deal with situations as minor as fare evasion.
A recent episode of The Age of Persuasion recalled the reinvention of the Paris Metro in the 1990s. They catered to their customers by adding the convenience of 300 shops and 1500 vending machines, the ambience of artwork and live concerts in their stations, and a website that provided traffic information and other useful commuter info; they became a "provider of services for mobile people" and ridership and customer satisfaction increased. If only the TTC showed the same amount of creativity and care for its passengers.
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The TTC strike that took place at midnight has pretty much broadsided many passengers who had expected to receive the promised 48 hours notice.
In defence of the decision, union leader Bob Kinnear stated:
“We have assessed the situation and decided that we will not expose our members to the dangers of assaults from angry and irrational members of the public,”
“The reports from our members of increases in threats and abuse from passengers last weekend, after we gave our original 48-hours' notice, has left us no choice but to withdraw our services immediately. We have a legal responsibility to protect the safety of our members and so does the TTC.”
Angry and irrational members of the public? There's that us vs them mentality again!
I would encourage people to boycott the TTC but not by punishing the planet (ie taking the car) but rather, by taking green alternatives (ie walking, biking, carpooling).
The TTC needs to understand that passengers are not the enemy but their reason for being.
I've always believed these TTC special constables were really a private goon squad for the TTC. They are presented at being there to keep the commuters safes, but it's not really true. Because of the "us vs. them" mentality, I almost always see them staring down transit riders at the turnstiles, making sure you're not cheating the TTC of money. For me, giving them tasers only completes the canvas. Maybe they should also give them purple TTC arm-bands and a 45-degree special salute.
You state a good point in that the TTC has always lost sight that they are in the service industry. THEY serve the public, not the other way around. Somewhere along the line, they developed some type of God-complex... and the rest is history.
The stupid thing is that they have recently been complaining about worker security. In the sense that THEY need to be protected from US. Honestly, after this strike, you may very well want to put them all in locked plexiglass boxes, because customers will not be happy. It never occurs to them that they should foster better relationships with their customer base. The TTC themselves need to get their act together and treat riders with respect before they get respect back.
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