The number of offences against both TTC riders and employees decreased slightly from January to February, a new report from the city’s transit agency says.
There were a total of 111 offences against Toronto Transit Commission customers within the transit network in February, down from 136 offences in January, according to the Chief Executive Officer’s report released ahead of a TTC Board meeting on Thursday.
The report says other incidents, including mischief and harassment, also dropped in February, along with offences against customers per day from January to February.
Meanwhile, the number of incidents against TTC employees dropped to 99 in February from 103 in January, according to the report.
The latest numbers come after Toronto Police Services increased the number of officers on patrol within the system in January, in response to a rise of violent incidents.
READ MORE: Toronto police increasing presence on TTC amid rise in violent attacks
At the time, police said there would be more than 80 officers within the transit system every day staffed with the help of callback shifts. Last month, however, police said they were scaling back the number of officers as it modified its enhanced security approach.
“The safety of customers and employees is paramount to everything we do at the TTC. We remain committed to working with the City of Toronto, the police, our union partners as well as our frontline employees and customers on ways that we can all make the TTC as safe as possible,” TTC CEO Rick Leary said in the report.
“As the weather improves, people will no longer need to take shelter in the TTC. We know this will be an issue come winter and we want to start the work now in order to find solutions on how to find shelter and support for these individuals,” he added.
Since late last year, the TTC has added additional staff to help unhoused individuals within the transit system, including Streets to Homes workers, Community Safety Ambassadors and security guards.
The TTC says it has also given de-escalation training to all TTC Chief and Mobile supervisors.
“We have also added more TTC employees throughout the system as high-visibility support for both our employees and customers. If you see something, say something – these individuals are here to help,” Leary said.
