TTC raising awareness of new blue priority seats on subways, buses and streetcars
Some seats in the subways, buses and streetcars of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) are now blue, however, few riders know why.
The TTC hopes to change that with a new public relations campaign that uses the social media platform YouTube to inform customers of exactly why these seats are blue.
According the the TTC, these seats are blue because they are priority seats, a special type of seating designed and designated for use by a particular category of people. The list of people that qualify for this category is long and includes women who are pregnant, people who have visible or invisible disabilities, and seniors.
Priority seating is also for people who fit into two broad umbrella categories, people who have a physical limitation and anyone who requires assistance. The lengthy list of people who can use these seats raises the question of how these priority people are determined.
“The operator can ask a customer to move, but are not required to enforce the rule,” said Nicole Ghanie, spokesperson for TTC media relations. “If a customer refuses to move, transit enforcement will be called to deal with the situation. It is not up to the operator to determine or verify a customer’s disability. In fact, we simply encourage able-bodied customers to give up their seat to anyone in need.”
This response fits with the idea of making the TTC the kinder way, as well as the better way, according to Andy Byford, the TTC’s chief executive officer.
If necessary, this kinder way will be enforced by fines of $235 under by-law number one, issued by transit enforcement officers if they refuse to relinquish their seat; plus additional charges for non-compliance.
In addition to making their vehicles a kinder way to travel, the existence of these priority seats also makes the TTC compliant with the provincial regulations as laid out in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
Although only some of the priority seats are currently blue, the TTC is planning to eventually have all the red priority seats replaced with blue ones.
