Incidents with TTC drivers ground one-on-one incident reporting Special

Toronto - On Saturday incidents with Toronto Transit Commission drivers have made an impact when it comes to reporting with the TTC.

On Saturday there were at least one incident with a TTC driver on the Dufferin bus where a passenger was videotaping the situation. That incident, reported by CP24 had a driver confront a rider about being taped after returning to his bus after a break. The driver is reported to have demanded that the passenger turn off his phone and get off of the bus. The driver then said he was shutting the bus down. Everyone on the bus had to exit and wait for the next bus. TTC spokesman Kevin Carrington said during a phone interview that the TTC will not be making any more statements concerning one-on-one situations. "The TTC doesn't condone the negative behaviours of either passengers or TTC employees." When asked if the TTC thought that passengers filming the actions of bus drivers Carrington said that he wasn't sure of the legalities but that he believed that the passengers should be getting the permission of those that they film. Carrington said that most of the drivers with the TTC are "equally embarrassed" when reports come out of drivers being negative. "Common sense has to prevail. We're in a time of being damned if you do and damned if you don't. Reporting negative things about the TTC is the current flavor of the month." A detective with the Toronto Police who asked not to be named said that it is not illegal to record a bus driver making mistakes unless it becomes criminal harassment. Criminal harassment is when a person is following a driver day in and day out or obstructing the safe operation of the driver's route. In turn a bus driver can not legally stop a passenger from taking his or her picture as long as the driver's job is not being affected. "A driver can stop his bus if they believe that the person taking pictures or video is impeding the safe operation of the vehicle. The best course of action is to take complaints to the TTC complaint office." The detective also said that this month's "bloodsport is the TTC." The TTC has been taking a hit with negative reports about drivers in the past month. One video that has been on YouTube showed a driver taking a seven-minute long break has had heavy press. The TTC upped their fares in January adding to the public's frustration. While the majority of TTC employees do a good job the few that don't have been the current face of the public's view of the TTC.