TTC103

It was the union that misbehaved. They deliberately edited a video of an incident to conceal the fact that one of their members nearly killed someone. Then they falsely claimed that said member kept that customer safe (when the video clearly shows the opposite). The subway will not be safe when workers who put their ego over the customer’s safety, as there are at TTC.

You realize the aim of management is to operate a cost-efficient service? The TTC isn’t some make-work project. When it comes to safety, TTC subway operating staff are the worst in industry. These are the people who think it is safe to drag a customer from a train, which says a lot about their fitness to work. They deserve to be ignored.

The TTC makes degraded mode working look normal.

Translink was hit last year

Rotted in Cumberland Beach, to be exact

In the incident on the NY subway, the train travelled 300 feet (the length of a line 4 train) before the contact with the gate. It just takes someone losing focus in the moment. I doubt that that train conductor wanted to die on the job. The assault issue is very real risk. The most common situation for an assault to occur to a member of train staff is during dispatch.

The TTC does not require the guard to bring their body into the train before signalling to the operator that it is safe to start. During that time, they are in a vulnerable position where they could be assaulted by a customer angry that they didn't hold the doors, or where they could be hit by an object. In the NY subway, a conductor was killed about 18 years ago after being struck by a metal gate at the end of a platform. Where I live now, in continental Europe, it is not permitted for any employee to stick their body parts outside a train that is moving or about to move. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/19/nyregion/leaning-out-of-train-a-subway-conductor-hits-her-head-and-dies.html

When you have a disruption, there will be a surplus of operators available. It may take a bit longer, but shouldn't be a big issue. In any case, I'm happy that the TTC is taking steps to improve the subway. Staff will not be required to ride on the exterior of the train, which is a huge Health & Safety improvement.

Most agencies put a second operator on when a train needs to be reversed quickly, but that is only an argument for doing in those specific situations. A The vast majority of the time one person is enough. most agencies that need to turn around trains quickly (such as STM) only put two operators on when the procedure needs to be done, and take one off once the train has been reversed.

I’m now in the Netherlands. Masks aren’t required here except on public transport.

The Parisian design, with (mostly) side platforms will definitely increase the cost of accessibility. Paris has also had significant trouble with accessibility: Lines 1-13 are not accessible at all. The system with the best design IMO is Berlin. Their stations are very utilitarian. The lack of gates has allowed them to build stations without mezzanines, and the near-universal use of centre platforms has allowed them to make their entire system accessible without costing too much. Most stations have two entrances at both ends of the platform (with ticket machines and validators on the platform), and the elevator is in the middle, going directly to street level.

TTC 7976 on 124

Netherlands has finally added Canada to its safe list. So no quarantine or negative test required to enter.

Possibly on Toronto Island.

I may not have been specific when asking the question: on the yellow line, who is responsible for door control, and determining if it is safe for the train to depart?