Back in October, In Transit printed a complaint about smoking on
TTC property. I received more emails on that column than any other.
Many wanted the TTC to do more about customers lighting up, but just
as many wrote of drivers smoking on buses during their breaks. Now
that smoking has been banned from almost every public space in
greater Toronto, is it time the transit system went entirely
smoke-free?
Sheila Burgess
wrote, “I am another one that fumes over smokers on subway and bus
platforms. I tell them so. If they can't go from A to B without a
cigarette then they are really, really addicted. What gets me is
they will stand in a crowd of people and light up.”
Talulah Li
wrote, “Part of the reason why people continue to break rules, and
smoke on TTC property is because TTC employees do it themselves.
There aren't enough fingers on my hands to count the times I've seen
transit personnel smoking while on their break -- yes, right on TTC
grounds.”
Bhupinder
Panesar wrote, “Some TTC bus drivers smoke in buses while they are
either in the yard, or waiting at the far end of the platform for
their scheduled time. Then they will bring the bus (full of
cigarette smoke) to the designated location and pick up passengers.”
A TTC employee,
requesting anonymity, wrote, “You need to have your head checked for
telling people to complain to a uniformed TTC employee about
smoking. Chances are they'll get a smoker who doesn't give a damn,
but even if they find one who agrees with them, our hands are tied.
The TTC doesn't do anything about their own employees smoking in the
work place, because it's rampant. Lots of us non-smoking employees
complain about it but it never changes.”
Many In Transit
readers echoed these grievances, yet surprisingly smoking still
ranks number 20 in complaints to the TTC. Last week I spoke to Gary
Webster, the TTC’s general manager of operations, who said that the
number of complaints has been stable over the last five years. It’s
the job of the TTC’s special constables to lay charges and give
cautions to both patrons and staff. Adding together the charges and
cautions since 1999, Webster says, “On average we took action 1307
times per year. It’s pretty constant.”
He admits that
charges were down slightly in 2003, adding, “I don’t think the
situation is getting worse -- it doesn’t seem to be getting any
better.” As for employees being exempt from enforcement over smoking
rules, the transit official says, “I think we should treat employees
the same way as we treat everybody else.” He says that if drivers
have a smoke “discreetly” while they are stopped at the end of a
line -- off the vehicle of course -- he doesn’t have a problem with
that. However it must be off TTC property, whether inside or
outside.
The union that
represents TTC vehicle operators has another view of the tobacco
problem. Bob Kinnear, the president of ATU Local 113 says,
“Unfortunately our TTC special constables have taken a position that
basically the only people they’re interested in enforcing these
bylaws on are the employees. If you go into any station, you’re
going to find four or five [patrons] smoking in the bus bays, [but]
security has been very reluctant to address that issue.”
It turns out
that TTC management and union officials are to meet and discuss a
more serious problem -- that of transit operators talking on their
cell phones while driving. Although this practice can pose a real
safety problem, it is also not among the top ten customer
complaints. Obviously security concerns have changed in recent
years, and enforcement must be prioritized – leaving smoking lower
on the list. Barring an increase in special constables, riders can
choose two practical options: accept that some smoking will always
occur, or find non-confrontational ways of asking smokers to please
butt out.
Send e-mail to
transit@eddrass.com. Include
address and phone number.