Scott Lansche of Toronto writes:
Who would I contact regarding smokers on the subway system? Some parts of
the system seem to have somebody smoking every time I am there. Lit
cigarettes cause fires that can trap people in the subway system. If we
can find out who to speak to, maybe we can do something about it.
Reza Rahman of
Scarborough writes:
I have seen no-smoking signs all over the TTC, but I have also found some
people smoking while waiting for a bus. In the last few months, the number
has been increasing rapidly, (and I have never seen) anyone get
fined for smoking. My suggestion is: increase the patrols and implement
the law strictly.
Now that so many
public places are free of cigarette smoke, the sight of someone puffing
away where they are not allowed can still cause consternation. Most used
cigarettes end up along outdoor bus platforms, where the threat to other
riders appears to be relatively small. I suspect that it is not the fear
of a fine, but social pressure that keeps even the most selfish person
from lighting up inside a vehicle or an enclosed area.
However, despite the
recorded announcements that regularly ring out in TTC stations, people
still break the rules.
Linda Fice,
superintendent of security with the TTC, points out that smoking is third
on the list of offenses in the by-law that lays out the rules for riders
on the transit system. The fine is $115 for smoking anywhere on TTC
property, and she says that
over the last five years, an average of 788 such charges were
laid every year, and an average of 482 written warnings were given to
offending riders. As of Oct. 4, the TTC had received 103 complaints about
smoking this year, 20th on the list of rider grievances.
TTC
security officers -- now officially
Transit Special Constables with the same authority as police
officers -- get copies of the complaints and will act on the offense while
on patrol, says Fice. No special blitz is planned, similar to a successful
recent crackdown on serial graffiti vandals. There are also more serious
security priorities -- for example, less than two weeks ago a man was shot
to death at Kennedy station.
John O’Grady, the TTC’s Chief Safety Officer says that while
fire is a concern inside the subway system, it is rarely caused by
cigarettes. Minor track fires are a “common occurrence” he says, mostly
when paper ends up on track level. The paper, which collects in metal
cages at the end of each station, can be ignited by an electrical spark
from the third rail.
“We spend a lot of time worrying about fires,” says O’Grady,
but there is a very low probability of one occurring in a tunnel. After a
serious blaze in a 1997, all subway tunnels were scoured for anything that
might pose a fire risk.
If you are bothered by someone smoking anywhere on the
system, and you do not wish to risk a confrontation by asking them to
stop, contact any uniformed employee and ask for assistance.