TTC safety

TTC data might show a drop in violence, but riders still feel unsafe

by Nisean Lorde for Post City Posted: March 4, 2024

Newly released TTC data shows that assaults against TTC customers and employees have decreased year-over-year.

In January, the rate of offences against TTC customers per 1 million boardings was 1.83—a slight increase from the number reported in December (1.78), but down from 2.34 reported for January 2023. The number of offences against TTC employees was 5.08 per 100 employees—a slight increase from the 4.51 reported in December, but a massive drop from the 8.52 reported in January 2023.

Offences against TTC customers and employees include incidents such as theft, assault, harassment, assaults, threats, and other incidents on TTC premises or during transit journeys.

The metrics are regularly updated and are being released as part of a partnership announced last year between the City of Toronto, the Toronto Transit Commission, and the Toronto Police Service to improve the well-being of the TTC, due to the plummeting ridership and increased violent incidents that occurred throughout and after the pandemic.

Last year, the TTC implemented $5 million in new initiatives and enhanced measures to improve community safety and well-being on the transit system, including investments intended to help people needing connections to housing and mental health support.

According to the tracked data, the initiatives are working. There were 2059 wellness checks conducted by TTC safety ambassadors and staff in January 2024 compared to 1312 in April 2023. About 60 people consented to receive services from the Multidisciplinary Outreach Team staff (compared to 4 in April 2023, with 14 requiring nurses.

Even with increased security and mental health support, the data shows that perceived safety on the transit system, based on customer feedback surveys, has decreased from a year ago, with 61% of customers reporting satisfaction with their personal safety during their trips (Jan 2024) compared to 67% a year ago (with the data reflecting the perceptions from the previous month).

The reason why perceived safety is rated lower year-over-year is unknown, but people sharing incidences of violence or assault on the TTC to social media might have something to do with it.

Article exclusive to POST CITY

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