Toronto upset after waiting for streetcars in the cold
Not only did many Torontonians have to steel themselves against temperatures dropping below -30C this frigid Monday morning, a lot of them commuting by streetcar were forced to wait out in the cold for as long as an hour.
@TTChelps @TTCnotices this is so infuriating! -30 degrees, 9 am, over 50 people waitin for a single street car in king st corner of stratchan. Not a single st car arrived in over 20 minutes!! I don’t think #ttc cares about people of Toronto! #frustbite pic.twitter.com/jWGswvnUYr
— Yollin (@UnoYushi) January 21, 2019
Streetcar routes like the popular 501 Queen and 504 King were plagued by issues.
No one has been able to get on a streetcar for an hour at Queen West and Gladstone. 7 short turn streetcars stopped their route here.
— Monika Kalicki (@monika_kalicki) January 21, 2019
This is unnacceptable in this weather! People depend on the TTC and in this weather condition can get seriously sick and horrible frostbite!
The TTC tweeting out to expect the extreme cold to affect streetcar equipment and attempting to supplement routes with shuttle buses did little to calm frustrated customers.
Spent 20 min out in -28C weather waiting for a 511 Bathurst streetcar. Now (finally) on the bus and trying to regain sensation in my pinky, my legs, and my toes. Thanks #TTC for screwing over grad students who can’t afford to drive or uber.
— Raphie (りん) (@xsakuraphie) January 21, 2019
Attempts by the official TTC Twitter account to respond to annoyed riders were also of little help.
This was the line this morning at Sudbury St & King trying to get in the #ttc. I waited 45 mins trying to get on a streetcar. 10 passed us before I gave up & went home. How do people do this daily?! pic.twitter.com/pmicbJ0iaj
— Kate L. Grant (@KateLGrant) January 21, 2019
Riders also complained that drivers were as ill-equipped to deal with the weather and streetcars as the TTC itself.
My streetcar was stopped for an extended time TWICE this morning, due to drivers not parking close enough to the curb, and therefore blocking the tracks #snowbanks #lateforwork #TTC
— Jon Mace (@jonmacelive) January 21, 2019
Plenty of those without the option to follow the acronym some joke TTC really stands for (Take The Car) opted to hoof it rather than stand still and get frostbite waiting.
@TTChelps Your poor management of TO public #transport is renowned, but leaving people outside for 30 minutes waiting for a streetcar at peak hours and with -20° should be just illegal. #ttc #toronto #weather #poorservice
— Alessio Demartis (@alessiodemartis) January 21, 2019
While vast improvements to the TTC may not exactly be on the horizon, hopefully this weather and these streetcar issues are short-lived.
