More than three years after the TTC board approved random drug and alcohol testing for its employees, the program is on hold pending the outcome of arbitration with the TTC’s largest union.

The TTC says it will likely be another two or three years before an arbitrator rules on the practice, which the union argues is invasive, costly and ineffective.

Random testing was approved by the TTC board in 2011 as an add-on to an already existing “fitness for duty” policy that introduced some drug testing in 2010. But it was confined to pre-employment screening and employee testing where there was “reasonable cause” or following an incident.

The idea of random testing came up following an Aug. 2011 incident in which a TTC rider was killed in a bus crash. The bus driver was charged with negligence and possession of cannabis but was not found to be impaired.

Between 2010 and 2014, testing for reasonable cause has turned up seven positive results. Seven other employees, who refused to be tested, are considered to have had a positive result under the TTC policy.

Five TTC workers also tested positive for drugs following on-the-job incidents. Four have refused.

Workers, who have been treated for alcohol and drug issues, are also subject to testing. Twenty-three have tested positive in that category.

TTC CEO Andy Byford said the post-incident testing has turned up “very few instances when you consider how many employees we have and how many miles they cover.”

“Even if we were to insist on random testing, the union would almost certainly instruct the members not to participate,” he said.

Byford said he’s worked in other transit agencies around the world where drug and alcohol testing is standard. It is also widely used in the U.S.

“A responsible transit authority should always take whatever measures are available to make sure there is no question of its employees in a safety critical position being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. I would include random testing in that,” he said.

Amalgamated Transit Union president Bob Kinnear said he went to meet a driver at the hospital following a crash and found the employee so shaken he didn’t even realize why his mouth was being swabbed. That driver was later cleared of any wrongdoing in the incident, he said.

He also said the TTC wasn’t properly reflecting the costs of the testing. By the time supervisors are called to incident locations in the dead of the night, the cost of $60 or $70 per test isn’t accurate.

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“We know within our industry drug and alcohol consumption is not the main concern. It is sleep deprivation. They should be looking at other measures to ensure through scheduling, operators get the rest they need to operate a vehicle safely,” he said.

Kinnear said the union has spent about $800,000 challenging the policy. He suggested that the TTC’s costs would be significantly higher.