ttc bus driver

TTC disciplines bus driver for ignoring waiting passengers

Toronto bus drivers take a lot of flack from the public every day, often for reasons beyond their control or because of misunderstandings.

Sometimes, though, they really do deserve to be called out for bad behaviour, as evidenced by a now-viral video clip shot last Wednesday at Yorkdale Station.

A TTC rider managed to catch on camera something that many of us have experienced while waiting at a bus stop, but have never been able to prove: A bus driver flat out ignoring customers who want to hop aboard.

Several commuters can be seen in the video pleading with the driver of an idling 47B Lansdowne bus to open the door and allow them inside.

Instead of opening the door, or even acknowledging his would-be passengers, the driver stares straight forward. He then pulls away with an empty vehicle leaving the crowd completely bewildered.

Wondering what the heck just happened, one passenger tweeted out video footage of the encounter and sparked a conversation among commuters.

"So this is the reason our prices are going up? For drivers like this?" the person wrote. "We were all standing there and he couldn't care less. The bus was operational, all he had to do was open the door."

The TTC's customer service account was quick to jump in and admit that there wasn't an obvious reason for the driver to have skipped that stop.

"It looks empty so it could be that it was going out of service, but for a full investigation call us on 416-393-3030 or submit a report here," wrote the agency on May 1.

That investigation found that the driver was, indeed, in the wrong.

"This is one of those cases where unfortunately something that shouldn’t have happened, happened," said TTC spokesperson Stuart Green to CTV on Tuesday. "We have to apologize to any customers who were caught by this."

Green said while there are legitimate reasons for a bus driver to disallow boarding, such as overcrowding or when an employee is off shift, but the driver in this particular incident had no excuse not to pick up passengers.

The TTC confirmed that the driver has been disciplined but that he is still employed with the commission.

Lead photo by

Hypnotic Eyez


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