[nfitz]

Back in the early 2010s, if someone is spread out on a subway seat, people would check on that person to make sure they are ok.
People didn’t feel threatened.

Just in 2025 alone, I saw/experienced these. All on line 2:
- two teen girls screaming at the top of their lungs in a crowded subway in an obnoxious manner, When confronted and asked to not disturb others, they rained verbal assault on the person confronting them.
- 30 something woman came on to another busy car with her Bluetooth speaker blasting music, sat down and proceeded to vape. No one including myself wanted to get involved.
- a person possibly experiencing homelessness and who looked to be having liquid on his face. A good hearted passenger offered him a Kleenex and was unfortunately spat on and verbally assaulted.
- a stranger tried to follow me in through the fare gate at Sherbourne station, I stopped and didn’t let him, he verbally assaulted me. I waved at the fare collector and she said she couldn’t do anything about it.

Multiple examples where people choosing to ignore or engage. The end result: nothing.

So why engage? Why risk being physically attacked on top of the verbal assault?

It's so sad that so many have become so complacent and chicken that they won't say something to someone vaping on the subway. And even more annoying that they have the temerity to talk behind the person's back!

The way to fix the problem is to take back the streets. Not cower.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

It's so sad that so many have become so complacent and chicken that they won't say something to someone vaping on the subway. And even more annoying that they have the temerity to talk behind the person's back!

The way to fix the problem is to take back the streets. Not cower.

That maybe, but it is the job of the transit agency to enforce their rules, not that of the riders. The latter aren't paid to do their job.

AoD

 

[APTA-2048]

Not just sleeping but homeless with all their belongings strung out and smelling like they crapped their pants.

As for the beer, look. The TTC is not the the place to drink booze. If you want a beer after work wait until you get home, don't open it on a subway car full of school kids.

Time and a place but nobody should be getting drunk on a subway car at 5 pm

I notice the goal posts keep shifting in this thread. But still, someone sleeping, even if they smell, is not a threat to you. Someone simply drinking a beer is not a threat to you. Oh my god, kids saw someone drinking a beer. I really don’t think they care. When I was a kid I saw people drink and smoke on the TTC. I don’t smoke. I don’t even drink alcohol.

 

[gabe]

Absolutely, and good for many of us to remember that while we may wring our hands over edge or extreme cases of disruptive or threatening behaviour, women and vulnerable groups often feel at risk from more subtle things or actions that men, especially white men, either don’t notice or don’t feel uncomfortable being exposed to. Waiting 10 minutes late at night on a sparse subway platform is at most inconvenient for me but can feel unsettling or unsafe for others. As a man I never have to think about someone leering like women experience.

It’s really getting to a point where women especially young women cannot travel safely on public transport without harassment or worse. I know as a man i feel safe, but i personally have wittiness sexual harassment on the TTC towards females.
Very few of my female friends take the TTC these days, they use it a short distance if they have to and never take it during darkness.

 

[T3G]

What's wrong with that? No one else should have to tolerate that s**t.

AoD

As @Northern Light noted, all this would achieve is screwing over those who have had a night out. For better or worse (and it is not something the TTC has the power change, and should not try), drinking is a big part of the fabric of socializing in western society. Banning those who have been doing that from the transit system would only push more people to drink and drive... hardly a result we should desire. To say nothing of inadvertently screwing those who are sober on transit, since all these would-be drunk drivers will now be clogging up the roads and putting transit vehicles in danger as well.

Plus, you know, living in a diverse, pluralistic society, and all that. Sometimes you're going to run into behaviours you don't personally approve of. Anyone seeking to avoid drunks might find a God-fearing village in the Bible belt to be more their speed.

N. B. I say this as someone who doesn't drink.

It's so sad that so many have become so complacent and chicken that they won't say something to someone vaping on the subway. And even more annoying that they have the temerity to talk behind the person's back!

The way to fix the problem is to take back the streets. Not cower.

With respect, I don't think this is a good idea at all. The guy who got stabbed after an altercation about music back in July 2023 did exactly this, and see where it got him. The person playing the music ignored his request, so the victim started punching him and was met with a stabbing in response.

People need to get better at minding their own business. Tolerating an inconvenience is a far better outcome than risking being shot or stabbed because you call out the wrong person.

 

[Northern Light]

Back in the early 2010s, if someone is spread out on a subway seat, people would check on that person to make sure they are ok.
People didn’t feel threatened.

Just in 2025 alone, I saw/experienced these. All on line 2:
- two teen girls screaming at the top of their lungs in a crowded subway in an obnoxious manner, When confronted and asked to not disturb others, they rained verbal assault on the person confronting them.
- 30 something woman came on to another busy car with her Bluetooth speaker blasting music, sat down and proceeded to vape. No one including myself wanted to get involved.
- a person possibly experiencing homelessness and who looked to be having liquid on his face. A good hearted passenger offered him a Kleenex and was unfortunately spat on and verbally assaulted.
- a stranger tried to follow me in through the fare gate at Sherbourne station, I stopped and didn’t let him, he verbally assaulted me. I waved at the fare collector and she said she couldn’t do anything about it.

Multiple examples where people choosing to ignore or engage. The end result: nothing.

So why engage? Why risk being physically attacked on top of the verbal assault?

I want to be clear that I'm not suggesting you are embellishing any of the above; but I do have to say, as a frequent rider, one who is observant and doesn't wear head phones or tune out the world, I find the frequency of incidents you say you've encountered .....difficult to comprehend. I've had one similar level incident in 2025; maybe 3 over the last 5-6 years. Which, by the way, is still too many; but I just don't find the system to be as dangerous or anti-social as your experience seems to suggest. Again, I'm not saying your experiences aren't real, but I am saying they seem anomalous to me.

As to the one incident on a subway, it involved someone ranting in a rather profane way and intimidating some other passengers. I did intervene; there was some risk, it didn't get violent, but it might have........glad it didn't, but there are certain things I won't abide.

Nonetheless, I still consider the system safe and mostly hospitable, most days.

 

[turbanplanner]

It's so sad that so many have become so complacent and chicken that they won't say something to someone vaping on the subway. And even more annoying that they have the temerity to talk behind the person's back!

The way to fix the problem is to take back the streets. Not cower.

I 100% understand your complaint! Like I think the bus drivers not enforcing fares is part of why there are so many characters riding now. On the flip side I also 100% understand why the TTC told them they're not supposed to act like fare inspectors since the number of violent incidents has gone up.

Personally I hope the newly instated police patrols will reduce 90% of these sort

I want to be clear that I'm not suggesting you are embellishing any of the above; but I do have to say, as a frequent rider, one who is observant and doesn't wear head phones or tune out the world, I find the frequency of indicents you say you've encountered .....difficult to comprehend. I've had one similar level incident in 2025; maybe 3 over the last 5-6 years. Which, by the way, is still too many; but I just don't find the system to be as dangerous or anti-social as your experience seems to suggest. Again, I'm not saying your experiences aren't real, but I am saying they seem anomalous to me.

As to the one incident on a subway, it involved someone ranting in a rather profane way and intimidating some other passengers. I did intervene; there was some risk, it didn't get violent, but it might have........glad it didn't, but there are certain things I won't abide.

Nonetheless, I still consider the system safe and mostly hospitable, most days.

I personally find the system safe enough it doesn't affect if/when I use it. On the flip side check the number of assault related transit delays on the open data. I know I can't actually give exact numbers for this but think how many un-reported incidents there are? I had a crazy man on a bus yell about shooting people, this was the 900 from the airport so I knew there is a chance if I texted transit control there would be someone waiting.

The bus actually stopped since they called the driver, he said he didn't see a gun so they decided to go and not call anyone (Ironically the wacko heard this)

I'll probably never message them again for a similar situation as I know there is a low chance something will happen, so a lot of things go unreported!

 

[Ratazana]

I want to be clear that I'm not suggesting you are embellishing any of the above; but I do have to say, as a frequent rider, one who is observant and doesn't wear head phones or tune out the world, I find the frequency of indicents you say you've encountered .....difficult to comprehend. I've had one similar level incident in 2025; maybe 3 over the last 5-6 years. Which, by the way, is still too many; but I just don't find the system to be as dangerous or anti-social as your experience seems to suggest. Again, I'm not saying your experiences aren't real, but I am saying they seem anomalous to me.

As to the one incident on a subway, it involved someone ranting in a rather profane way and intimidating some other passengers. I did intervene; there was some risk, it didn't get violent, but it might have........glad it didn't, but there are certain things I won't abide.

Nonetheless, I still consider the system safe and mostly hospitable, most days.

I guess I have been quite unlucky this year, and I even tried to tune out the world by wearing noise canceling headphones during the winter months (also as an earmuffs).
I can promise you all have been real incidents. First two happened during the summer (vaping lady sat right next to me, but strangely dressed like she just came from a soccer practice). The last two happened during Nov/Dec.
The fare gate situation happened I think within a week of the Dundas/TMU station stabbing between a ttc staff and a man. After I walked away from the altercation, I suddenly remembered the stabbing and I literally started looking around to make sure I am nowhere near the person I blocked at the fare gate.

The system is not so dangerous that people should avoid it (Toronto is no Robocop Detroit, yet). But what we are experiencing is akin to the boiling frog metaphor. Everyday experience on the ttc deteriorates just a little bit more and eventually the system should be avoided (Canadians are so nice and forgiving and tend not to complain). I can tell the water is getting uncomfortably warm already, especially after visiting other systems in the world this year, the two extremes: NYC MTA and Hong Kong MTR.
We aren’t that far off from the MTA. Just fewer guns.

 

[nfitz]

I know as a man i feel safe, but i personally have wittiness sexual harassment on the TTC towards females.

I've never witnessed this without saying something to the perp - if only to distract them from their target.

I couldn't live with myself if I ignored something like that, and let a 16-year old - even if I got spit in the face for my efforts.

 

[CMQSD402F9011]

Question, how come you don’t see Canadians in Ontario blaming their Crown Attorneys for getting the accused bail as Americans would blame their District Attorneys for sending the accused home in the U.S. maybe it’s the right wing media that’s different. I mean what’s next? Doug Ford wanting “like minded crown attorneys” and not those who are “liberal and NDP” crown attorneys. Then ford will say that crown attorneys should be elected just like the U.S. as he said about electing judges couple months ago.

 

[McGillicuddy]

Everything that happens on the streets of a city inevitably happens in its transit system, too. The TTC doesn't have a violence/danger/harassment problem except insofar as Toronto at large has such a problem. We just feel like the negative social behaviour we see on the streets is unfixable, whereas the TTC is morally accountable for the negative social behaviour occurring on its premises and vehicles.

This is properly understood as a brain worm.

 

[PL1]

Question, how come you don’t see Canadians in Ontario blaming their Crown Attorneys for getting the accused bail as Americans would blame their District Attorneys for sending the accused home in the U.S. maybe it’s the right wing media that’s different. I mean what’s next? Doug Ford wanting “like minded crown attorneys” and not those who are “liberal and NDP” crown attorneys. Then ford will say that crown attorneys should be elected just like the U.S. as he said about electing judges couple months ago.

Crown Attorneys don't "get bail" for accused. They represent the Crown, like DAs, in US parlance which you seem to be familiar with

 

[T3G]

The system is not so dangerous that people should avoid it (Toronto is no Robocop Detroit, yet). But what we are experiencing is akin to the boiling frog metaphor. Everyday experience on the ttc deteriorates just a little bit more and eventually the system should be avoided (Canadians are so nice and forgiving and tend not to complain). I can tell the water is getting uncomfortably warm already, especially after visiting other systems in the world this year, the two extremes: NYC MTA and Hong Kong MTR.
We aren’t that far off from the MTA. Just fewer guns.

What is wrong with the MTA, exactly? I spent almost 2 weeks, collectively, in NYC from 2022-2024 and never encountered anything that made me feel sketched out, despite using it regualrly during my visits, and even on foaming trips out into the outer boroughs. The only borough I never went to is the Bronx.

 

[zang]

What is wrong with the MTA, exactly? I spent almost 2 weeks, collectively, in NYC from 2022-2024 and never encountered anything that made me feel sketched out, despite using it regualrly during my visits, and even on foaming trips out into the outer boroughs. The only borough I never went to is the Bronx.

The only issue I've ever had with the MTA is being far too comfortable with the TTC's design principle of one-subway-entrance for all directions. :/

The New York subway system (as far as intuitiveness and general accessibility)—and NY street dogs—don't live up to the hype. But I digress.

New York felt just as safe as Toronto.

 

[drum118]

TTC streetcar derailed following downtown crash with car: Toronto police​