A new Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) campaign is marketing transit vehicles as a place to make connections and it’s causing a stir amongst Torontonians online.
The campaign, called Between Stations, includes a four-part video series where four females are captured forming friendships with one another on transit.
New campaign posters are also hanging in transit vehicles, some of which feature an animated photo of a man and a woman posing with hearts on the transit vehicle behind them.
Chloe Bow, a Toronto-based influencer, posted a TikTok sharing her thoughts on the new campaign and criticizing the posters that she perceived as an encouragement for men to approach women on transit.
“Suggesting that the subway is a great place to ‘meet and connect’ completely overlooks the reality that women already experience high rates of harassment on transit systems,” Bow told Now Toronto.
“Campaigns like this that romanticize the TTC as a place to find love can unintentionally embolden the wrong kind of behaviour, making men feel more entitled to initiate unwanted conversations or advances under the guise of romance and connection.” she said.
People were joining into the discussion in the comments section of Bow’s video with varying interpretations on the video.
One TikToker agreed, writing, “Being approached while on commute is a HORRIFYING experience. Can’t get off the train, and when you do, they know what your stop is. NOPE.”
Another user said, “Omfg yes, one time a guy & his friend kept asking me for my number & i couldn’t even leave cus finch was my last station. Its hard being a girl using ttc,” the user wrote.
One woman wrote about her disappointment in investing in this campaign.
“Crazy the money there spending of this. Do they not realize how often women get harassed on the tTC. They need to b putting every penny into safety the TTC is so dangerous specifically for women,” she said.
Meanwhile, another user disagreed with Bow’s take on the advertisement.
“I think they missed the mark on the poster because girl, the videos are cute and aren’t just about men and women dating. One of the videos of this series was about female friendships!”
Now Toronto asked for Bow’s thoughts on the video series about female friendship. She said that while she understands the intention to build community on transit, encouraging people to strike up conversations with strangers on public transit under the banner of friendship can be “deeply out of touch with the lived experience of many riders, particularly women and marginalized people.”
She adds that the TTC has broader public safety issues to address before promoting the TTC as a place to “meet and connect.”
Now Toronto reached out to the TTC regarding the campaign.
“Between Stations is, first and foremost, a storytelling series that shares the meaningful and often surprising ways people connect while riding public transit. Moments of friendships, acts of kindness, moments of reflection, and chance encounters. It was inspired by real-life stories of people who have met and made connections on the TTC,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
The TTC added that keeping customers and employees safe is its “paramount concern,” and highlighted some of their safety initiatives in place including investing in more staff in stations, such as more special constables, enhanced partnerships with Toronto Police, onboard emergency alert and alarm systems, to name a few.
Bow remains adamant that the experience for women on transit is not a “neutral space.”
“Public transit should be safe, accessible, and functional. Not a dating app. Not a social experiment. Just a way to get from point A to point B without being bothered,” she said. “Let’s shift the conversation from ‘how do we get people to talk more on the TTC’ to ‘how do we make sure people are safe on the TTC.’”
Between Stations: The Connection Series, is a four-part series created by the TTC and “follows a group of young adults who get to know each other face-to-face, with our transit system as the stage.”
