TTC review to examine driver training in relation to other transit agencies

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Would-be transit bus drivers in Toronto are trained more quickly and go longer before retesting than their counterparts in some other major cities, a difference that will form part of a review of TTC practices in the wake of a girl being killed by a bus on the weekend.

Fourteen-year-old Amaria Diljohn was hit by a bus in the east end Friday evening. The operator did not stop and has been questioned by police.

In the death's aftermath, the TTC is considering dashboard cameras facing forward, which could offer more information in the event of such an incident.

There are already cameras inside buses but the addition could prove controversial. Material now gathered by the cameras, which record little outside the vehicle, cannot be used to discipline staff.

Limits on any new cameras likely would have to be negotiated with the union.

Toronto Transit Commission chief executive Andy Byford has asked as well for an ongoing review that is looking at recruitment, training and recertifying of drivers to be sped up.

A report is expected in the first quarter of 2015. Among the issues that will be considered during this review is how the TTC's policies around driver training stack up with those of other major transit agencies.

Compared with New York and Vancouver, two of the leading North American transit operations, the TTC's approach appears less rigorous.

It is unclear where the TTC's policies fit within the broader international spectrum, though. Transit officials in some other major cities – including London, Boston and Los Angeles – could not be reached in the preholiday rush.

TTC spokesman Brad Ross stressed that it can be tricky to draw valid parallels between transit agencies.

"One of things that this review … will look at [is] other jurisdictions around North America," he said.

"What do they do? What are best practices? Should we be revising ours, and align with others, or are the differences too great to really make an apples-to-apples comparison? That's what this review will accomplish."

In both New York and Vancouver, would-be bus drivers spend more days in training than in Toronto. Trainees also have a higher washout rate from the program in both cities than in Toronto. And the two agencies retest their drivers more often than does the TTC.

According to Walter Orlowski, safety training officer in the MTA's department of buses, trainees in New York get 30 days of instruction before entering regular service.

But, he added, 20 to 25 per cent of those who sign up don't make it past the first 10 days of training. Those who succeed in becoming bus drivers are retested annually.

In Metro Vancouver, people wanting to drive buses get 30 days of training, according to Translink spokeswoman Cheryl Ziola.

She said that 17.5 per cent of people didn't make the cut last year. And those who succeed are tested after six months. Instructors can also perform random audits on any bus, Ms. Ziola explained.

According to Mr. Ross at the TTC, Toronto's transit agency wouldn't hire someone with a conviction for drunk driving. Trainees also cannot have more than two driving offences or two demerits on their licence. And the TTC likes to hire people with only a regular driver's licence, so they are less likely to have bad habits to unlearn.

Once on board, the TTC trains bus drivers for 25 days, the "vast majority" of which, Mr. Ross said, is behind the wheel of a vehicle. In a typical year, he added, about 12.5 per cent fail to become an operator. Successful operators are recertified every five years. Driver's licences are checked quarterly to ensure they are still valid.

The TTC has remained close-mouthed about the incident that left the girl dead.

According to a Facebook page created to honour her, she had just exited the bus in the darkness of early evening. Police said she was attempting to cross the road when the bus turned right and hit her.

It is unclear whether the 27-year-old driver was aware she had been struck.