I’ve been busy lately with work and such — so being able to blog about the issues I take note of has been difficult.  I try and post anything interesting via twitter.

That said, I noticed a very interesting article in the Toronto Star, one of the newspapers in my home city and it documented numerous complaints from the public and former Toronto Transit employees about Toronto’s public transit system.  Apparently people are complaining about how the stations are unclean and appearances have deteriorated to all time lows.  Shots are taken by both TTC employees and the public at one another and I think it’s important to understand that both sides have significant views to express.

The public is right in the sense that the buses, subways, and stations are for the most part poorly managed and there is a level of uncleanliness.  The TTC has failed to do manage expectations because those who understand the TTC’s position will understand there are many funding issues that Toronto’s transit system is facing.  There are a lot of issues that go beyond funding and it is essentially on the operation side.  How often do we hop on a bus while all bundled up in the cold climate — only to experience extreme tropical weather inside the bus and feeling like we’re going to pass out from the heat?  All too often, I notice the driver has their window open while blasting the heat.  Sorry but if there’s ever a waste of energy … that would be it.  It’s also very inconsiderate to expect fellow citizens and TTC customers who are dressed for the middle of winter to endure such a high temperature while the driver has shed his or her winter clothing.

Most people regard this as a minor issue but if we think about it, every action like this has serious implications.  It is an action like this that would likely make someone choose driving their car to work over taking public transit.  Do we want to help the environment or not?  Because if we do — it involves more than funding and changes in attitude — we need public collaboration.  TTC employees need to realize that their job involves more than their job.  I don’t know if that’s possible but perhaps minds can be opened and actions can be changed.

That leads me to my point that the public also has responsibility for the public transit system.  We vote for our city council member.  We can push for a public agenda and we should be responsible for our public space.  We can complain about how dirty the subway train is or how badly the washrooms are, but do we take care of the problem?  We the public decide that a public organization should take care of this infrastructure, we depend on this public organization to make sure it runs but do we treat the people and the infrastructure properly?

I see people yell at drivers for small mistakes like missing a stop, spit at drivers, put up their feet on empty seats, leave their garbage around, and leave newspapers accumulating in the crevasses of bus and subway seats.  We may treat our home like that but public space is also the property of others which means we cannot treat it like our own home, we have to treat it like someone elses home — we are continually a guest.  We can criticize TTC employees for their errors and mistakes but we also need to look at how we treat them — they are just individuals and human beings like ourselves.  Having worked in customer service before, who would you want to actually provide better service to?  Someone who treats you like crap, talks down to you, insults you and expects you to deliver excellent service?  Or someone who respects you and believes that you will do your best to assist them in their problem?

Of course everything I state here is pure idealism — but it should be stated nonetheless attitude is an underlying factor in public transit and the first step towards public collaboration is to change attitudes on both the public and those who serve the public.