

Chris Fox, CP24.com





The TTC says that a mechanic at a bus maintenance facility in its Hillcrest complex has tested positive for COVID-19 and upwards of 170 employees are now in self-isolation as a precaution.

CEO Rick Leary says that the employee at the TTC’s Duncan Shop facility worked one shift on March 11 after returning from travel and was sent home sick. The employee then contacted the TTC on Wednesday night to inform them that he has since tested positive for COVID-19.

In a statement, Leary said that “out of an abundance of caution” the TTC has asked “all impacted shop employees” to self-isolate until March 26 and only return to work if they are not exhibiting symptoms.

The self-isolation order is impacting approximately 130 to 170 employees.

“This morning we went into the shop, met with all the employees and we have made the decision based on an abundance of caution to close the facility so that we can get in there and do a deep cleanse over the next few days,” Leary told CP24 on Thursday morning.

Leary said that the shop where the employee worked is an “overhaul facility” where workers mostly deal with engines and transmissions. For that reason, he said that there shouldn’t be any concern about the affected employee having come into contact with surfaces that customers may have touched.

“This is an unsettling, unprecedented time at the TTC but I want to assure you we are doing everything we can to fight the spread of COVID-19 and keep you and our customers safe,” Leary said in his earlier statement.

Union wants more thorough cleaning of vehicles

Speaking with CP24 on Thursday afternoon, the president of the union representing frontline TTC workers pointed out that the employee returned to Canada two days before public health officials issued guidance encouraging all those returning from abroad to self-isolate for 14 days.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 President Carlos Santos said that while employees have been told to return to work on March 26, he is advising members to stay home after that time “and keep everyone safe” if they are feeling at all under the weather.

Santos said that as the COVID-19 outbreak continues to worsen; the union is also pushing for the TTC to undertake a more thorough cleaning of all vehicles beyond the nightly wipe downs and disinfecting it is doing now.

“They (members) want the vehicles wiped down better and we as a union have offered to extend our hours so we are not limited in red tape as far as not being able to do the work. We offered to extend as many hours as needed to clean the vehicles,” he said.

In a subsequent statement issued on Thursday afternoon, ATU Local 113 said that it is committed to providing the worker confirmed to have COVID-19 with “whatever support is needed” and will do the same for other members “who are in self-isolation or have been impacted.”

The statement adds that while “many public transit workers are rightfully concerned about this diagnosis,” the union is continuing to work with the TTC on measures to protect everyone, such as a recently announced decision permitting all employees to wear masks.

“I do believe that they (the TTC) are taking more and more precautions and they have been working much better with us as far as giving in to some of the recommendations that our members have been asking for,” Santos said.

TTC revenue has declined by ‘tens of millions’ this week alone

News of the TTC’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 comes after Mayor John Tory told CP24 that the transit commission is seeing its revenue decline by “tens of millions of dollars” a week as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Tory made the comment during a Skype interview from his home, where he remains in self-isolation after returning from a trade mission in the United Kingdom last week.

He said that while the TTC has taken several measures to protect riders, including the implementation of all-door boarding on all vehicles, it is just not in a financial position to wave fares in response to the ongoing crisis.

The TTC, however, has relaxed fare enforcement and has said that its fare enforcement officers will be “focusing on education and customer service” during the outbreak.

“We are already tens of millions of dollars short each week so far on the revenue for the transit system so that is money coming out of the taxpayers’ pockets at the end of the day,” Tory told CP24. “We need people to pay with their Presto cards but they can use all the doors so they can separate themselves.”

Metrolinx has already started running fewer trains on all of its routes in light of ridership that has plummeted by a stunning 80 per cent, though it is unclear whether the TTC might do the same.

For his part, Leary told CP24 that it is clear that ridership is “way down in many cases” though he said that it is hard to put a number on the impact at this moment.

He said that as part of social distancing he is also encouraging riders to “let a streetcar or bus go by and hop on the next one” if it seems too busy.

“I have been out there lots this week so I can tell you that the ridership is way down in many cases even the subway cars,” he said. “These vehicles are a third to a half filled so I think the public is taking this social distancing seriously.”

Tory said Thursday that it is important to “strike the right balance” on practicing social distancing and maintaining some form of transit in recognition of the fact that “healthcare workers and others still need to get to work.”