City
TTC Driver Caught on Mid-Route Coffee Break
The hits just keep coming for the TTC. After last month's photos of sleeping fare collectors went viral, it seems everyone with a camera is anxious to document the Commission's service failures.
Shortly after a streetcar rider captured his driver doing a little personal banking the other day, a seven-minute long video of a bus-driver taking a coffee break mid-route has surfaced on YouTube. What's particularly disconcerting is the employee's response, which demonstrated an inflated sense of entitlement and little fear of being reported to his superiors.
Although the footage itself is rather boring -- capturing what it's like to wait for seven minutes on an idling bus! -- it underscores just what a problem the ubiquity of photo and video technology has become for TTC public relations.
Reports of this type of behaviour from TTC operators were quite common in the past, but the willingness and desire to provide "ocular proof" appears to have picked up steam after the kerfuffle the fare collector photos caused.
If you can't make it through the whole seven minutes, the most interesting part comes when a rider complains about the delay (after the six minute mark). Although the footage is quite grainy, the driver's eventual response is pretty classic: he raises his finger to his lips so as to quiet her.
The video was posted by Reuven Politi after he also complained to no avail. According to a report in the Toronto Star, when Politi confronted the driver, he replied "This is the 21st century, kid, not the '60s; I can do whatever I want."
Not surprisingly, TTC spokesman, Brad Ross -- who must be the hardest working person in the city -- is doing damage control by promising a full investigation.
"It is not acceptable for a TTC operator to leave passengers on a running bus to get a coffee.... Our operators and collectors are public servants. They deal directly with customers ... in the jobs they do. They need to think about the passenger who is waiting on the bus at 3 a.m. while they're taking seven minutes to get a coffee.
"To those customers, we apologize. We have a lot of work to do here," said Ross, who must be getting pretty frustrated by all these boneheaded moves.
But, of course, they're nothing new. It's just that they're captured on camera now.
UPDATE (10:50am):
CP24 is reporting that the driver has been identified and suspended by pending further investigation. The union will say nothing more at this time.. It's not clear whether or not this suspension is with or without pay, but in all likelihood it's the former.
Discussion
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It's not a coincidence that the TTC's "customer service proposals" came about after the photo of the sleeping worker was widely spread.
We have the power in our hands to finally prove what we've all had to put up with for years, and the more we show up these idiots, the harder it will increasingly be for the higher ups in the union or Ross to essentially wave us away with the old party lines we've been fed for years.
This is the moment we've been waiting for, where suddenly almost all of us carry with us a little device that helps tip the scales of power back in favour of the average TTC rider -- we have the opportunity here to really hold the TTC and ATU113 accountable for their promises, and I suggest we use it.
Can't wait for Bob Kinnear's explanation/defence for this one. He'll probably suggest that the passenger should've run out and grabbed the driver a coffee himself, as well as holding a bucket for the driver to pee in, rather than filming the whole incident.
On a more serious note, we're seeing more and more of this because riders are being forced to take matters into their own hands by photographing or filming these various incidents - all because the TTC is bloodly clueless to just how bad it is out there sometimes. I ride the streetcar to work and take transit regularly, and to be frank, have never run into this kind of stuff - the drivers I see are either friendly or neutral (which is fine too), so I don't believe all drivers are bums.
However, the ones that show up in these photos/videos are absolutely killing the TTC's reputation and I would bet, killing staff morale. Why be motivated to work hard/be friendly, when bums who do neither get away it all the time and are even protected by their union for it? Its time for the TTC to wake up and realize that step 1 to improving service is to clear out deadweight like this.
Example (when 5 tokens were $10) I give the guy a $20 ask for my tokens, there is a looong line behind me. He puts the 20 into his register, pulls out a 10, holding it he turns to his buddy and starts having a personal conversation both of them sharing a good life about something that happened prior week. He eventually tuns back and looks at me with confusion on his face. I said he was giving me 5 tokens. So he pumps them out, looks at the $10 and put's it in the register. I say, he "that is my change", he says it's $10 for the tokens. I eventually got my money and called him something unpleasant. Rush hour giant, line and a fun conversation that leads to enough distraction to not do your job.
These issues that are coming to light recently are not isolated incidents and I have personally observed during the last decade that I've been a metropass subscriber. TTC workers have this ignorant sense of infallibility due to their union support. Unions ruin public service in a BIG BIG way. Toronto transit should be an essential service am the transit commission should be taken over by a more professional and financially responsible government organization.
I just started using zipcar for the past 4 months and I'm starting to use my metropass less and less. Soon I will cancel it all together. Its truly NOT THE BETTER WAY!
Keep it up!
That was hard
THERMOS. Fu*king buy one.
2
Can't wait for Kinnear's finger wagging - he'll chastise the rider for filimg this and spew out some obscure union clause that says the driver has the right to coffee.
3
Driver should be written up. This is strike 1. 3 strikes and yer fired. But of course, we're living in bizarro union world.
In addition to this tactic, make a stink to your city councillor, MPP and MP. Enough is enough.
Riding your bike in -12 is not ideal, but niether is rolling the dice at a cost of $3 on if and when you'll arrive at your destination. If someone sold you a car without an engine, a house without a roof, empty packages of food - you'd do more than just piss and moan. You'd take action.
Sad that its had to take (a) people recording TTC staff acting like jerks and (b) Giambrone's mayoral ambitions for any action to take place. Kinnear can only deflect the blame for so long.
Having said that, I give a lot of credit to TTC exployees who are courteous and helpful (they do exist!); these people don't deserve to be tarred with the same brush as this particular driver for instance.
However i do agree with biking. I have biked every single workday this winter, there hasn't been a day where it has been undoable. You never really get cold, just get the right gear, nothing heavy, just make sure there are no gaps in your armor. My bike comute is 25 minutes in winter. My TTC alternative is 50 minutes with a chance of it being much longer due to a random ef up. You also save money and get exercise.
This is entry-level managing expectations material, honestly. TTC drivers seem to have lost the ability to see the consequences of their actions through the eyes of their customers. A serious overhaul/retraining needs to happen to get their eyes back on the ball.
a note: i'm ONLY playing devil's advocate here as i have experienced more than my share of ttc driver behavior that has left me enraged.
i kinda agree with rachel here! maybe this guy was a bit rude but...it WAS the middle of the night...is he not entitled to grab a quick coffee and go for a bathroom break? its not the same as the driver i get in the mornings some times who stops for a SMOKE BREAK during rush hour!
----
NO HE IS NOT ENTITLED
BRING A THERMOS
PEE BEFORE YOU START YOUR SHIFT, PEE WHEN YOU GET BACK TO THE STATION
Fu*k this driver.
THE END.
Having said that, a quick Coffee stop isn't the end of the world. Think about it, some Subways don't have bakeries or Donut shops built in. Realistically, how else can they CONVENIENTLY grab a coffee? Banking, smoke breaks, etc., however, are not cool.
100K a year, folks.
The Warden North bus is somewhat unique in that it runs adjacent to a bus depot at one point during the route.
Unfortunately what this usually means is that at certain times of the day drivers will often put their buses out of service at one the two closet stops, kick people out and tell them to get on the next bus.
Now, if the depot was in the middle of the route or something, I could understand this if they were running late. However, the depot is about 2 minutes away from the station. It is clear it is just an attempt by the drivers to save themselves the 3 or 4 minutes it would take to drop the passengers off and return back to the depot.
If it was only happening occasionally or only when there were a few people on board it wouldn't be an issue. However, if I leave work at the same time I have about a 1/2 or 1 in 3 chance of getting left out in the cold. It's so reliable that I know if I can't get out of work on time, I might as well stay an extra several minutes, get to the station at the same time and not have to stand around in the snow.
They seem to validate their actions by assuring people that the next bus is right behind them. Which is great except when
1) The bus that is going out of service is full with a good 40 people on it and are not all able to get onto the second bus
2) The second bus isn't 'right behind them', but several minutes behind (which happens more often than not).
3) (I've had this happen a few times) The next bus is literally right behind and the driver makes no attempt to signal the bus behind that the people getting off would very much like to get on your bus so please don't drive away before they get a chance to approach your door, thanks.
It can be icy, snowy and cold and there could be people with mobility problems or parents with young children and infants and the drivers still do it.
Its the sense of entitlement that leads the driver to think he can do that without any consideration for the passengers on his bus, all while hiding behind his union, that is the problem. The problem is that his near-sighted union will defend this guy to the nines if the TTC tries to discipline him.
This is about so much more than a driver stopping to get a coffee - its the cumulative effect of all of these incidents, which, thanks to technology, are not just anectodal stories - we can now provide proof that it happens.
The number one reason for delays is from passengers holding doors.
-------
Despite the irrelevant nature of your post:
I have no problem with a passenger standing on the streetcar step to keep the doors open so that someone behind them can make the streetcar. That's called being human.
People standing on the step who don't know that the streetcar can't move until they get off it only do it once before they learn. Could be a tourist. Could be someone who has never taken the streetcar.
So explain again what your problem is?
Its about time
"The seven-minute video shows the driver exiting the bus and entering a doughnut shop, where he uses the restroom and then buys a drink. The bus is left idling, the door open. When a rider complains about the delay, the driver can be seen putting his finger to his lips in a gesture meant to silence her."
"Politi said he only posted the video early Wednesday after politely asking the driver Tuesday night not to take his accustomed break when the bus was already 15 minutes late. According to Politi, the operator replied, “This is the 21st century, kid, not the ’60s; I can do whatever I want.”"
That's what pisses me off the most. Their unjustified sense of Entitlement and also their completely and utter disregard for fear of losing their jobs..
http://jackandcokewithalime.blogspot.com/
I bet you won't see that happening much after that gets exposed online!
http://jackandcokewithalime.blogspot.com/
i also can't wait until good biking weather is upon us (15 minute vs. 45 minute commute). i just wish that transit was a reasonable alternative in winter months. the ttc is so expensive now that i prefer to drive myself, despite high parking costs, because it often works out to be LESS expensive than the ttc. also, my car insurance now costs less than a metropass. way to go, ttc. it truly is the bitter way.
It's every worker's law-given right to take breaks. If you aren't taking yours, either you're a sucker or your employer is taking advantage of you as well as breaking the law (maybe consider getting in touch with one of them thar' unions?). What the union <em>has</em> "given" to (actually, won on behalf of) its members is whatever framework is in place at the TTC for taking those breaks. But never mind, no one cares about the facts of such matters, as anyone who doesn't casually union-bash in a TTC comment thread is just sticking up for his union buddies. Moving right along...
I have been kept waiting on dozens of buses and streetcars over the years while operators ran off to take a whiz and/or pick up a coffee or slurpee, but it was never more than a minute or two and often it was (ostensibly at least, and in most cases at least plausibly) when the vehicle was a few minutes ahead of schedule. But like you said, this is clearly being abused frequently. Good on us riders for bringing egregious abuses to the TTC's attention for remedial action.
"...also, my car insurance now costs less than a metropass."
Who hooks you up with the free car, maintenance, and gas (I see you did at least account for parking)? Can you give me his number?
If you don't like it, don't read it. If you don't think everyone's entitled to their opinion, then you've chosen an unusual forum (ie, an open 'say what you want' comment board) to aire your views.
I feel sorry for someone who harbours so much anger. Whoever traumatized you by scraping meat of your bone as a child should be reported to the union.
https://www3.ttc.ca/feedback/individualEmployeeComplaint.action
Call as well as mentioned above:
416-393-3030
Report ALL problems with customer service and staff abandoning their duties. Period.
"Please proceed to complete the online form in full. You will be required to print, sign and return the form to TTC Customer Service"
<blockquote>And I'm actually an adjunct philosophy professor that teaches a logic class at U of T.<;/blockquote>
In that case, you should be familliar with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_authority#Appeal_to_authority_as_logical_fallacy";>the logical fallacy of appeal to authority</a>.
No one cares except you... way to throw around a meaningless title that only applies to the lost souls of academia.
Perhaps my ability to separate the schoolyard from the scholarly is also flawed. It would certainly explain my dismount in reply to AV!
The fact is, he did these things mid-route, at 3 am, without a word to anyone, leaving the passengers to wonder what the hell he was doing, and then dismissed any concerns raised by those passengers. That's what offensive here. No matter what you think about whether or not he should've been entitled to grab a coffee and take a leak, I don't know how you defend his behaviour in doing so. It was rude and dismissive. It's this attitude of entitlement that is causing this backlash against the TTC right now. Yes, some passengers are dinks, but guess what? These guys are not indentured servants - they're very well compensated for what they do (especially when you factor in benefits and job security that most in the private sector only dream about), and they work in a customer service industry, so sometimes you deal with people that are jerks. Bet you if they had to swtich places with most taxi drivers in this city and get by on what they make, they may feel a little more grateful for the position they're in right now.
To get his way all the driver had to say was, "sorry everyone, I've been busy and haven't been able to use the bathroom for a few hours and I really need to go, so I'm just going to stop off over here and run inside. I know it's late, but I'll be quick". Throw in a couple smiles and thank the passengers on your way back.
Then again, he's a typical union bully fucking idiot who can't see the bigger picture. Give me his job. I'd never leave my passengers stranded.
Seriously. Wouldn't it blow your mind if a driver told you he needed to use the bathroom or grab a coffee and wanted to know if you had an issue with it?
Keep up the great work! I'm sure the world will be much better off when TTC workers have to ask permission to piss. Viva La Revolution!
"an inflated sense of entitlement and little fear of being reported to his superiors"?? you bet. You can thank "Adam Giambrone".
You see right now this is problem with in TTC, Try imagining the whole City Hall working like if "Adam Giambrone" becomes mayor...
Toronto wake up... remember who not to vote for.
Can't we all just get along?
Give me a fucking break. I don't work for the TTC - I just think this is bloody stupid. Yes, I have walked out of meetings to take a leak and not said anything. No one videotaped my actions and filed a complaint. Let me ask you this - what if the driver asked permission and someone said, "No, I'd prefer you didn't stop. I'm in a rush to get home and pee." What then...what then? While we are all quick to judge the driver as being a pig-headed union bully, no one stops to think that his actions are based on best practices, experience and most importantly THE FACT HE KNOWS WHEN HE NEEDS TO PEE GODDAMMMIT!!!!!!
But you're much more concerned about the driver than them, aren't you? How many people who take that bus have a job that pays as well as his? I'd reckon none. My sympathies are with them. They deserve a quick, comfortable, courteous ride home. We all do.
Have a nice afternoon!
Is it an emergency?
Is he going to go barf?
Is there a mechanical problem?
Is he in desperate need of a washroom?
To simply get up and walk out without any explanation is rude, unprofessional and BULLSH*T.
In this case, the driver GOT A COFFEE that he had no right to get. He has breaks when he can go get his stupid coffee. (Or pee) Or, he can use whatever brain power he has in that peanut-sized blob of grey snot at the top of his skull to realize gee I should buy a thermos and I'll have as much goddamn coffee as I want for my entire shift.
Not a problem.
At the stop just after Wilson, the driver would silently exit the bus, leaving about a dozen passengers waiting for at least five minutes while he goes into Country Style and grabs a coffee and doughnut, leaving the bus idling.
I'd love to see someone take the bus for a short joy ride around the corner, just to see the look on the driver's face when he comes back to the bus only to find it gone. Sounds like an episode of a reality TV show waiting to happen.
By the by, no one suggested he needed to ask permission - all we're saying is that he needed to inform people of what he was doing, period - the passengers relying on him for safe passage to their destination are entitled to know when the driver is doing something (i.e. taking an unscheduled, unauthorized break) that can unduly interfere with that. His reaction when passengers actually called him on it only made the situation worse. Again, it starts and ends with the driver's attitude.
You keep harping on the fact that he was only gone for 7 minutes. I ask you - how the hell would any of the passengers know how long he would be gone for, given that he just walked off the bus without a word? He could've been running off to Mexico for all the passengers knew.
Seriously, if this is how you apply logic to your arguments, you have no business teaching it to others.
Anyway, you know you can't cause drama when Police jump to the front of the line and get their coffee for free, cause the next thing you know, they'll say you were resisting arrest and will then proceed to beat and taser you non-stop!
Now the TTC Drivers, that a whole other issue... :)
http://jackandcokewithalime.blogspot.com/
Adding this latest one to my top reason to ride a bike...
At this rate, the TTC will help change our urban ecology one way or another !
http://thumbshift.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/1st-reason-to-ride/
peace
Jo
DID ANY ONE CHECK TO SEE IF THE DRIVER WAS OK!?!??!?!?!?!?
Crazy. I just assumed it was part of the deal.
I want to remake the NWA song so that instead of F*** The Police, it's F*** The TTC.
Also, if you can get me a TTC jacket, I will start a youtube channel.
I am NOT employed by the TTC. I love taking the bus. My buses are on time, I get to work and back home safely every day. I'm greeted with a "good morning" on an almost daily basis. Your bus drivers are human beings. If your that upset with the service, apply for a job and make a change. Turn off your Iphones and mp3 players. Pick up a book. If you don't like the TTC, stop complaining, buy a car, a motorcycle,a moped(or motor-assisted bicycle), a scooter, a regular bicycle(bring mitts and a toque for the weather), a unicycle, good stout walking shoes or call a taxi. And for those of you socially awkward people playing distorted music from your cell phones, if your on my bus, I will destroy your sound and read aloud from the pages of the book I am currently engrossed in. Shut up and sit down!
Is there another "TTC" I am not aware of?
Thanks,
Dude
P.S.: What does listening to music have to do with the TTC's poor service?
The bus driver has a job - to drive the bloody bus. Not to shuttle people to his favorite donut shop or give his riders some more "alone time" with their thoughts. No one wants to be sitting on a bus at 3 am.
I don't care if he is thirsty in the middle of his shift - bring a goddamn Thermos.
I know I am being very harsh and I do realize there are always exceptions to the rule but I've witnessed enough of this crap from TTC employs over the years and I've had enough. I am glad people are finally calling them on their shit.
I guess when you leave the downtown core it's a different story. Oh, and unions - and union workers - are a load of bullshit. They are corrupt and work against logic by paying someone doing a minimum wage skill level job ten times what they deserve.
Second, if drivers did their job properly and if the TTC made definite and obvious improvements, they would never get that kind of treatment or hassle from their passengers.
I've met some really great TTC employees who go out of their way to serve their customers (that's right, we pay for this service), but there are also a lot of entitled assholes who need to be fired.
I'd like to see a significant turnover of the top brass, federal transportation subsidies to off-set ticket costs, and the prioritization of customer service.
I have asked the TTC about this, and they said the driver was likely "in training." B.S.! I recognize these guys, and they stand there next to their buddy, yakking away while people are trying to board the streetcar during morning rush hour, with the one standing there blocking the way. I remember seeing this last year with one goof standing there blocking not only the enterance, but the seat behind the driver, refusing to move so an elderly woman could sit down.
One time I had enough, and said to the blocker, "Can you move, and talk to your girlfriend somewhere else?" The driver was male, and so was the blocker. My comment wasn't appreciated, but the blocker moved... finally.
I'm quite certain his passengers wouldn't have a problem with that -- unless he decided to order a coffee and a sandwich without the good grace to grab a big box of Timbits for the passengers to pass around.
i was so mad that day cuz he made me miss my test. i was half an hour late to my 1 hour test and the test was like 20%
Great Audio info, i'm bookmarking the page for the great content.
Daniel ........... Toronto
http://dandmb50.tumblr.com/
see if this one appears?