Thread by @TorontoStar

#StarExclusive: Despite ridership sinking after COVID-19 hit last spring, service disruptions caused by assaults against employees and customers jumped significantly, according to a Star analysis of publicly available TTC subway delay data. thestar.com/news/gta/2021/…

The number of service interruptions attributed to other troubling behaviour, such as disorderly passengers and people walking on the tracks, also rose. thestar.com/news/gta/2021/…

The union representing subway operators reports incidents that have become more frequent include physical violence, verbal assaults, riders throwing drinks at workers, knife threats and spitting on operators.
thestar.com/news/gta/2021/…

Subway workers have also reported fouled subway cars, and scary episodes in which riders used an emergency switch to try to enter the drivers’ cab while a subway was in service.
thestar.com/news/gta/2021/…

The TTC says the spike in violence and other problematic behaviour is due at least in part to more Torontonians experiencing homelessness and other people in distress taking refuge on subway lines during the pandemic.
thestar.com/news/gta/2021/…

Advocates for those experiencing homelessness say vulnerable people shouldn’t be scapegoated for disturbances on transit. They warn a TTC plan to put more police and transit officers on the system won’t address the root of the problem.

More here: thestar.com/news/gta/2021/…