On Monday, the TTC released hundreds of customer complaints to the Star through a freedom of information request.

Page after page, the stories are similar: Drivers throwing tantrums when people don’t shuffle to the back fast enough. Collectors doing crosswords while ignoring customer questions. Drivers shouting at riders and swearing at passing cars.

It seems poor people skills, not delays or fare disputes, are the main concern for transit customers.

Riders say they are verbally abused and harassed by TTC staff on a daily basis. In the most extreme of allegations, some claim to have been victims of sexual advances and racism.

The vast majority of the more than 300 written complaints obtained by the Star — among more than 2,000 lodged last year — paint a picture of a transit system troubled by a culture of indifference and disdain towards customers.

“In my honest opinion, I believe those issues happen. I have no doubt,” said Steven O’Brien, the hotelier tasked with rescuing the TTC’s reputation through a recently created customer service advisory panel. “I’m not condoning the behaviour. (For some) it’s the culture. And you can’t change culture overnight.”

But the TTC is banking on his ability to help change it eventually.

In February, O’Brien was named chair of the new panel, an initiative meant to defuse mounting tensions between the public and its transit system.

Things came to a head in January, two months after the TTC announced a 25-cent fare hike, when a photo of a fare collector sleeping on the job went viral. “Yup, love how my TTC dollars R being spent” said the Twitpic caption. Next, a video surfaced of a bus driver who left late-night riders twiddling their thumbs while he took an unauthorized break at a coffee shop to use the washroom, then buy a drink.

Over the past two weeks, hundreds of riders have shown up at union-sponsored town hall meetings to vent their frustrations. And by the end of June, O’Brien’s independent panel hopes to release a comprehensive customer relations evaluation.

The system needs it.

Last year, the TTC received roughly 2,000 written complaints through traditional mail, email, and online complaint forms. The Star requested a sample of these letters from February, July and October. The majority, about 250 of the 312 complaints we received, were submitted online.

The identities of the riders and employees were protected and, for privacy reasons, the TTC said it cannot disclose what action, if any, came of the individual grievances.

“This morning,” one letter began, “I boarded the #113 bus at Corvet ... At the next stop … another bus was parked with a flashing light. Riders who were on that bus got on to our bus all complaining that they were waiting 20 minutes because the driver refused to move the bus as a baby on board was crying ...

“Passengers continued to vent about the situation on the last bus. At the next stop our operator asked the passengers who came on at the last stop and were discussing the crying baby issue to please leave the bus … It seemed that no one had a right to condemn his colleague in his presence.”

In another letter, a rider writes: “On several occasions I have had the misfortune of boarding (the streetcar) only to realize that the driver for the first leg of my journey to work is this miserable woman . . . (I have) witnessed her verbally kick a paying passenger off this eastbound route . . . for calling her rude, which she IS consistently.”

On this January morning, the rider continues, “I became the target of her vileness … I always try to be courteous and exit via the rear doors (but) my position on the car this morning had me directly beside the front door, so I decided to exit via this way instead of pushing my way through other passengers. Well I guess this made her day because it allowed her the opportunity to yell … she yelled at the top of her lungs four times ... “EXIT AT THE REAR DOOOOORS!!! …

“I turned around and calmly asked her, “Why are you such a bitch to the passengers?” Her loud reply: BECAUSE I ENJOY IT!!! ... I do have to say that the majority of the TTC employees I encounter on a daily basis are courteous and a good number of them are downright friendly. What a delight! But not the Blonde Dragon!”

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TTC spokesperson Brad Ross said whenever there is identifiable information, such as specific incident times, route and bus numbers, or employee badge numbers, the complaints are investigated.

A range of responses is available, from a verbal warning to a note in a personnel file or even suspension.

“Just remember there are two sides to every story,” said Ross. “Certainly we don’t condone rudeness or curtness. Certainly our expectation is that employees greet customers with a smile, and thank them for their fare. (But remember), not every customer is polite, either.”