TORONTO – People in Toronto are voicing their concerns about safety on Toronto transit after several violent attacks this year.
Six people were attacked on the TTC on Monday morning along the Yonge Subway line, between Queen Street East and Davisville Avenue. The suspect was a woman in her thirties who was arrested by an off-duty Toronto Police Detective who was riding the subway.
This comes after two women were stabbed at High Park station earlier this month. 31-year-old Vanessa Kurpiewska of Toronto was killed in the attack.
Back in June, a 27-year-old woman was killed onboard a TTC bus when an unknown attacker poured flammable liquid over her before setting her on fire.
Even earlier in April, a woman was pushed onto the tracks at Bloor-Yonge station, while a man was stabbed at St. George station the same month.
Now, people are sharing their fears about taking the TTC, and why they would rather walk than take the subway.
“John Tory! Respectfully…. How can you say the TTC is safe? Ride the Bloor line twice daily and perhaps you’ll retract that statement,” said one person.
“Day by day TTC and public transit in Toronto is becoming unsafe and dangerous for regular commuters with recent random fatal attacks. How do I feel safe when I don’t see any security either on the platforms or inside the TTC compartment? Explain,” tweeted another person who also tagged Toronto Mayor John Tory and the Toronto Transit Commission.
While others feel that it’s not as bad as other large cities.
“The safety of a city’s public transit system is a reflection on the city itself. I would feel much safer on the TTC than New York City’s public transit system,” said one person.
The TTC Responds to Safety Concerns
The News You Can Use team reached out to the TTC to ask how the transit commission plans to handle the rise in assaults and attacks, and address safety concerns from riders.
“Like everyone, we are obviously concerned about incidents of violence on the TTC and we remain committed to working with police, the City of Toronto and our union partners on ways we can all make the TTC as safe as possible for customers and employees,” TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said in a statement.
Green also shared that the TTC CEO, Rick Leary, is taking part in meetings with Toronto Mayor John Tory, Toronto police, and union representatives to discuss safety on the TTC.
“We have recently added more Special Constable patrols on the subways and we are deploying even more uniformed staff around the system,” Green continued.
Green also shared that some of the safety features the TTC has in place include increased police presence, increased cameras and emergency alarms in all stations and transit vehicles, and the SafeTTC app, which can be used to report “suspicious incidents”.
Let us know in the comments, do you feel safe taking Toronto transit?
