Toronto public transit facing spate of violent incidents

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Toronto Mayor John Tory recently announced plans to increase the police presence on subway trains, buses, and streetcars in the city. As such, the daily police presence in the Toronto Transit Commission's (TTC) stations and vehicles will now include up to an additional 80 officers who will be tasked with patrolling Toronto's increasingly unpredictable transit system.

I joined @torontopolice Chief @tpsmyrondemkiw and TTC CEO Rick Leary and TTC Chair @jonburnside_dve to announce immediate action we’re taking to improve safety: increasing Toronto Police daily presence (upwards of 80 police officers across all 16 divisions) in the transit system.

— John Tory (@JohnTory) January 26, 2023

The move comes amid a wave of seemingly random violent incidents occurring on the TTC. From the unprovoked stabbing of a 23-year-old student on a downtown streetcar to the swarming and assault of two TTC employees by four 13-year-olds, recent events have some passengers reconsidering their transportation plans.

Just last week, a 16-year-old boy was stabbed at Old Mill station "for unknown reasons." Police are still looking for the suspect in that case and have released images of the purported assailant.

In another scary incident from last week, two TTC employees were chased by a person holding a syringe inside Dundas subway station. Police say the employees were able to escape the incident without injury, as reported by the Toronto Star.

Over the weekend, a man on a downtown streetcar allegedly randomly assaulted three passengers causing all of them to sustain minor injuries. As reported by the Toronto Sun, a short time after this incident occurred on Saturday evening, a man was robbed at knifepoint at Yorkdale subway station.

This string of violent incidents has created cause for concern among TTC employees and frequent riders, with some questioning whether using the transit system is still a safe way to travel.

As reported by CityNews, one Toronto resident named Adrian Ruiz commented on the situation saying in part, "It’s not the Toronto that I grew up in. I’m very worried about my wife and my kids walking at night, riding the TTC. I hate driving, but now riding the TTC … it’s very, very dangerous. I think the city is going down the drain.”

The uptick in violence will certainly not help the TTC regain the ridership it lost during the pandemic, which fell to 37.1% of pre-pandemic levels at its lowest point. As reported by the Toronto Star, "The transit agency’s forecasts show ridership will be 75% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023, a modest increase from 69 percent in December 2022."