TTC rider Gary Pieters was upset about staff sleeping on the job, brawling with passengers and texting while on the road. But what he witnessed during a recent bus ride really ticked him off.

On the morning of June 15, Pieters was sitting on a bus at Runnymede subway station when he saw a uniformed TTC employee walk to the side of the building and stop near a laneway.

According to Pieters, the male employee then leaned against the station and began to urinate, in view of those on the bus and nearby pedestrians. When the employee finished, he “casually zipped up his pants” and remained near the station.

“It was just disgusting,” Pieters says. “You can imagine how, you sit down on a bus and you expect to have an uneventful ride to your workplace, and the first thing you see when you hop on the bus is this type of behaviour.”

Pieters immediately contacted TTC customer service by phone, then followed up a week later to provide identifying information.

In a July 5 email, Chris Upfold, the TTC’s chief customer service officer, acknowledged the incident, saying what Pieters witnessed was “unprofessional and unacceptable.”

“You have the assurance of the TTC, and my personal assurance, that the employee was identified and appropriate action was taken,” he wrote.

Uphold says he can’t provide the details because of the TTC’s obligations as an employer. But he confirmed the employee was a member of the staff temporarily deployed to Runnymede station.

When contacted, TTC spokesman Brad Ross said he was aware of the allegation, and said the transit company was investigating.

Pieters says he understands why he can’t be told about disciplinary action taken. But he’s going to take Upfold up on an offer to have a phone conversation about what happened. He wants clarification about how something like this could have occurred in the first place.

“I’m sure that the TTC has washrooms. What would it have taken for this person to just go downstairs, get a key and use the washroom in the station?”