TTC union calls for new policy that would temporarily halt service during some major snow events

There were 3 busses still stuck at Finch by Brimley today (Tuesday, day after storm) when I went to work in the morning.

If there's no viable way to outfit busses to drive in this snow then suspending service makes sense.

Makes sense to me, at least for buses.

All they accomplished yesterday was stranding people for hours and blocking the road for other essential services.

Also, they should refund all fares from yesterday.

Toronto needs to learn how to remove snow, not just push it around. When I lived in Montreal, they got 5 feet of snow in less than 24 hours and had combines blowing snow from the road into trucks (7 in total) behind it collecting the snow and sidewalk plows that made paths for people who walked.

We seriously need to better protect our public transport infrastructure. Working in Downtown but living out in Scarborough, how the hell will I get home if highways, GO trains and TTC are all closed? Especially when sections of the subway are closed indefinitely.

Edit: I totally agree with the Union in the article, the TTC buses were a hinderance to others when they got stuck, and it is needlessly dangerous for drivers and riders. We just need to have a plan in place for folks to get home during these storms, and assurance that employers can't fire workers if they can't make their shift and the workers should still be paid for the day. With the effects climate change worsening, I expect these storms to become more frequent. It would be stupid if the city was still unprepared.

yes but as long as TTC rider can have job protection from being fired when TTC halts service

Just give every torontonian $1000 for cross country ski equipment

This is such a dumb idea. People still need to get to critical jobs, unless the TTC conveniently forgets about all the nurses, hydro workers, and other people that keep our services running. I think the better solution is to invest in more frequent snow plowing and consolidate routes that are difficult to drive in and make appropriate detours/​skipping stops on hills (looking at you finch east hill). Oh and snow training would help a lot.

Stop being fucking heroes people, if there is too much snow, just call a snow day.

Ike when England gets 0.5” that’s it, gridlock.

Just come to terms with the fact that weather events are going to come fierce and faster than ever going forward and give human workers a break. No one should be expected to trudge through that level of trash for a paycheque. Just give workers a break.

Hot take. Why not have snow removal services that remove snow?

I agree with this. I saw dozens of stuck busses yesterday, two of which I had to wait hours for so I could continue.

honestly the whole situation bothers the shit out of me. TTC SHOULD be able to shut down, but people insist on coming into work and bosses demand that people risk their lives to do so. The OPP literally said "Stay home from work, don't go out on the roads." and nobody listens because they can't. I'm not like, a big time police lover or anything, but if the police tell me to stay home for my own safety then that should mean something.

ok. will they also temporally halt my job duties, with pay, which i can not do because i cant get to work?

Would be better for most workers too. No pressure to wade through snow just to get stranded by your bus not running. If TTV service is cancelled your boss probably won't pressure you to try to get to work. I felt so bad for all the people waiting outside for shuttles that weren't coming yesterday, they should have just been able to stay home

My husband is a subway operator and was forced to work 16hrs straight yesterday as almost the entire afternoon shift did not come in to work. He started work at 5:30am and didn't get a break until 6:30pm. Got off the train at 9:30pm and was stranded because he finished at a different station than where he parks and had to wait for a bus to get to his car. Another 2hrs. We live in Barrie. Because of emergency situation he was required to show up for his shift today at 5:30am. He opted to sleep at work, rather than drive home to wake up at 3am to drive back. It completely unreasonable to expect these operators to work in these conditions. Nevermind the bus drivers on busses stuck in the snow. The whole system was at a standstill. We can't expect TTC workers to put themselves at risk just to ineffectively try to move people around a city in a weather crisis. If they hadn't started in the morning far less people would have been stranded in the afternoon. And yes, as someone who lived in TO for 16 years, they need to get better at snow removal.

I've seen at least 15 buses absolutely buried in today.

Within a ten minute drive of my house, I saw 8 buses stuck at around 11pm. Its like a twenty year storm but probably should reserve busses for major plowed routes

Pretty reasonable request considering the last major events might be considered the 2013 ice storm and snowstorms of 1999. No sense in forcing public transit to work in such conditions which will just strand people.

If this becomes a thing, can we make some major snow events stat holidays? There was so much misery yesterday with people who were expected to show up at work but were unable to

If the TTC agrees to pay my days' wage because they didn't want to show up to work, go for it.

When people rely on a service, it has to run.