February 8, 2012
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Public Transportation and the Capacity for Human Decency
Lots of talk about what to do with buses, subways and streetcars in Toronto these days. Those of you who live here know all about it, those you of who don’t would likely be bored by the details. The important points are that the Toronto Transit Commission and its staff have been under a bit of cloud recently and people are very nervous about the future of the system.
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Here’s something that happened today that helped me put the whole thing in perspective:
Early in the afternoon I was riding the Number 76 bus up Royal Road to the subway station on my way to an appointment downtown.
About halfway there, a lady vomits and collapses as she’s about to get off the bus.
As some of the other passengers help the lady get up while I went over to tell the driver. The only reason I had to do that is because the driver’s seat is sealed off and its hard to see the far end of the bus.
Once I told the driver, he went over to the ill passenger, spoke very kindly to her and gave her some tissues so she could clean herself up. He then went over to the driver’s seat and used the internal telephone to tell someone that he had a situation there.
Meanwhile some of the other passengers tried to make the sick lady feel better and made sure she didn’t fall out of her chair.
In less than a minute, the driver tells us that this bus is not going anyway for a while and that the rest of us are going to have to wait for the next bus. Then he returns to stay with the sick lady untiil medical help arrives. Nobody complains, the only questions asked are about how long until the lady gets that help.
In just over five minutes, the next 76 bus rolls up, this driver knows all about the situation, we all get on board and off we go.
No, I do not write advertising copy for the TTC — but I did want to point out that when a problem came up, a lot went right in how it was managed: 1. The driver knew what to do, further he was compassionate and communicated well to the ill person and the rest of us as he did what he had to do. 2. There was a communications and coordination system in place that worked in a timely and effective manner. 3. The riders on the bus knew how to behave well in a public space and they were able to lend support to both the ill passenger and the driver.
Quite inspiring really. Lessons to be learning? Well, first everyone — keep on doing what we’re doing. Second, I guess in terms of planning for the future of the TTC I hope we remember that the first priority still has to be the people in the system — as long as they are well-trained, dedicated and supported by their employers and the public I figure that can make any combination of technology work.
