The idea that TTC staff should be friendly to the public, and the public should be friendly in return, has been around for quite a while.
Back in the thirties (there is no date, but it can be inferred from the content), the TTC ran ads to “talk over some of the methods of helping our men to serve you well and courteously”. They even welcomed comments!
The reference to “our men” and the Peter Witt outline in the logo show this is pre-war, but TTC staff see “motion pictures” as part of their training. Somehow, I suspect they didn’t have the Keystone Cops, and this was the era of “talkies”.
There’s also the old TTC head office address and phone number.
Steve Munro 
Civility — what a concept (he thinks, cringing at the thought of the upcoming school year and the incredible urge to swat the first foul-mouthed urchin who steps on an elderly lady’s foot he sees!).
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A good topic to vent:
Dear, self-centred, “I’m-entitled”, don’t-give-a-damn-about-anyone-else, pre-teens, walking five-abreast down the platform:
Yes, you!
I’m already standing against the wall, so DON’T give me that “Screw-you, get outta my way, wierdo” look of disdain because YOU wouldn’t move out of the way and bumped into me! What the —- was I supposed to do: evaporate, or transmogrify into the wall so you can have your 100ft of personal space around you and the giggling pushy pubescent twits walking with you?! Learn. How. To. Behave. In. Public.
No love,
me.
Steve: A hot day in Ottawa today too?
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I went through the Toronto Star online archives a couple of years ago. The Peter Witt behind the circle logo first appeared Saturday November 17th [of which year?] in an ad for the “New “Davisville” Bus Route’. The Peter Witt logo continued to be used until at least September 1938 and continued to be used on the ads announcing the first PCC cars. By 1939 a similar logo but with an air-electric PCC behind the circle replaced the Peter Witt logo.
A somewhat similar logo with a Peter Witt behind the TTC monogram logo was used in a Toronto Star ad on Tuesday September 1, 1931 to celebrate the TTC’s 10th Anniversary. The ad pointed to the TTC’s “extensive and interesting exhibit” at the CNE in the West Annex of Coliseum during the 1931 Canadian National Exhibition.
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The second paragraph of the “To Our Transportation Salesmen” column speaks about attracting new passengers and gaining back old ones that were lost. I take it this is in response to dropping passenger volume caused by the depression?
Talkies would’ve been very new at the time those ads were published.
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Most teens I see are polite and friendly. The only thing I don’t like is that they call me “Sir”. I wonder – Do I look that old – and I’m afraid the answer is yes.
Steve: You know you are getting old when someone offers you a seat.
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How did such an interesting topic become full of agist bigotry?
Steve: Yes, I was worried about that and watching to see if it got out of hand. There are two problems of behaviour in crowds — those who act like space is theirs for private use, and those who have no sense of there being anyone else around. Age doesn’t have much to do with it.
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Steve: You know you are getting old when someone offers you a seat.
You know you’re getting old when you’re in a restaurant and your server suggests the seniors menu. Hasn’t happened to me, but I have it on good authority.
BTW. The DAVISVILLE route started on November 19, 1934.
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There are certain aspects of civility or manners that are unique to any given time and therefore pass into the night. Obvious here would be the particulars of social dress or dress code.
While there are still times a pair of jeans and a t-shirt are not appropriate apparel, for the most part they are widely accepted in society and no one would be particularly insulted that that’s what you were wearing, whether on transit or in most work places or at dinner out.
That said, there remains, in a timeless way, a desire for a polite and respectful public (and private) social culture, even if the exact niceties change from era to era.
I think that for the most part, people respect these niceties. It’s not at all unusual to have a door held for you, or for people to reflexively say excuse me, even if you bumped into them.
But if and where such niceties are not in the supply we’d like, I don’t think it’s hard to see why or hard to correct.
I was on the GO Train this past weekend, and I recall this announcement as we entered Union Station…
” This is Chris, your Customer Service Ambassador speaking…..we are now arriving at Union Station, on track #3 which is platform 5 to your right and six on your left, please use the exits to lower concourse level…… ON Behalf of your DRIVER (insert name) and the entire train crew, I would like to thank you for Riding GO Transit, we wish you all a great day, and hope you’ll ride with us again soon”
For new boarders at Union…
A similar announcement just as we depart replete with various facts about platform construction, but also the coach number where Chris the ambassador can be found, and how he’d be happy to help make our journey pleasant in any way possible or to answer any questions we might have.
That sort of attitude ( I realize the announcement is essentially policy and script) but it comes across not merely as good customer service or polite, but something that engenders a level or respect above and beyond what might otherwise be the case.
I specifically heard another passenger say, “If only the TTC cared that much”
Reminds me of that TTC driver on Dundas who use to call out stop names (long before it was required) and did so in funny voices including Ned Flanders from the Simpsons. I never saw a soul giving that fellow a a hard time!
*****
Would it kill the TTC to have a similar announcement for passengers arriving at Bloor-Yonge?
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My comment was about a specific event. Though age was referred to, it wasn’t a swipe at everybody under 20. And I did not refer to the sex of the guilty either. That was assumed. It was, in fact, a mixed crowd. The issue here is manners and civility, the stuff that makes living together in a society possible. Anybody who thinks manners does not matter any more, that it’s a product of a class society, well, your bus to Woodstock left 40 years ago (and before I get labled anti-yuppie, I will also argue that there was more civility during Woodstock than there is now, so there!)
And yes, bus/streecar drivers need to learn it as well. The majority, here in Ottawa, and in Toronto, are very good, but as they say, respect is a two-way street.
Steve: To save me further editorial woes, can we consider this particular sub-topic closed?
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Also, James says : Reminds me of that TTC driver on Dundas who use to call out stop names (long before it was required) and did so in funny voices including Ned Flanders from the Simpsons. I never saw a soul giving that fellow a a hard time!
We have a driver here in Ottawa who does similar chat, getting everybody to laugh. He even announces which stop on the route has a Tim Horton’s.
Decades ago, anyone who lived off the YONGE and NORTOWN trolley bus lines remembers a wonderful Irish driver named Ed Shannon. He was the eptiome of character. He knew everyone by name, waved to all, offered free rides to the children and the elderly, lived in the neighbourhood as well (yes, at one time it was affordable for working stiffs). AND he drove with both feet. One on the pedal, one on the brakes. AND more often than not, he would pull up to the Power supermarket and take a few minutes to do a little shopping. While driving a trolleybus … with passengers … without taking the poles down … you get the idea.
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Honestly, the subway is loud and crowded and busy enough that any genteel, “TTC loves ya, have a splendiferous day!” type announcement would get lost in the fray.
If there are going to be lengthier announcements at busy transfer stops it should be something functional, to the effect that riders standing near open doors who are not exiting the train at this station should briefly disembark and then board the train again (rather than standing, frowning & shrugging, or taking futile baby steps against the current while obstructing said doors) so as to facilitate efficient passenger flow and reducing dwell times. This would be much preferable to the chiding — not to mention too little, too late — “stand clear of the doors, the doors are closing… stand clear… the doors are CLOSING… folks, there’s another train right behind us… doors are closing… STAND CLEAR… STAND. CLEAR. OF. THE. DOORS…. Thank you.” Perhaps a well-crafted get-off-get-on announcement along the lines of the former might obviate the need for the latter.
Also, I’ll toss in my lot the the others who have expressed concern with the anti-youth (and, even worse, increasingly misogyny-tinged) angst above. It is true that groups of teens have less awareness of those around them (and so they talk, walk, stand, and behave accordingly), but I think that this is only “new” to the extent that we no longer beat it out of them.
Speaking of getting old, despite just barely pushing thirty I do have to catch myself responding to kids & teen’s (loud!) laughter on the TTC with bitter thoughts. But the problem is mine, perhaps because I’ve got enough worries on my mind and complexes in my psyche that I’m unable to understand why someone might be gleeful in public instead of dour, serious, and silent. The kids will get over it eventually, as should we.
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Steve, take a look at this photo. My, how things might have looked subway-wise.
Steve: I particularly like the roll sign complete with what looks like a route number.
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No matter how much we complain about streetcar track infrastructure, nothing in our immediate past looked like this.
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As far as announcement go, I appreciated the fairly terse “NO PUSHING” from a guard at Bloor the other day. This was actually preceded by a delay in door opening, which made the effect very nice.
“Speaking of getting old, despite just barely pushing thirty I do have to catch myself responding to kids & teen’s (loud!) laughter on the TTC with bitter thoughts.”
Me, I’m 21 and do the same, at least at some unspeakable hour of the morning.
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“Reminds me of that TTC driver … who use to call out stop names … in funny voices”
The problem was (specifically on the YUS) some operators who were either (a) having a joke or (b) had a speaking impediment to the point where the announcement could not be understood. I admire the operators who seek to add both extra information and a bit of humour to their service, but it can’t be to the point of impacting the basic need of passengers to know where they are.
I noticed a couple of times on the Yonge line there were manual announcements this week – presumably a couple of sets had malfunctioning auto-announcement equipment.
Steve: My two favourites, both on BD, were (a) an operator with a voice like James Earl Jones (imagine Darth Vader calling stops), and (b) an operator whose quite young daughter called stops on Sundays and who, in the most delightful voice, thanked everyone for riding the TTC and wished us a nice day.
Automated stop announcements have their shortcomings. (I won’t even list the streets where pronuciations are mangled by a speaker who never talked to any locals.)
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Steve Said: I particularly like the roll sign complete with what looks like a route number.
Any idea what the route number might have been? I doubt it was 1 Yonge Subway.
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I believe the rapid transit routes were officially in the 600’s from the time we got route numbering untill around the time Sheppard opened. If I recall correctly they actually are now 1 Yonge, 2 Bloor Danforth, etc (actually, I don’t remember which is 3 and which is 4).
Steve: The 600s came into being long after route numbers were in use. They were a requirement of internal IT systems that each route had to have a number. There were no IT systems in the 50s.
The SRT is 3, and Sheppard is 4. See the Service Summary When the Sheppard line opened, 4 Annette was renumbered and renamed 26 Dupont to make room. If we ever open another subway line (like Don Mills), 5 Avenue Road will have to find a new home too.
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I know that bus drivers might not always be well thought of (especially during and after a strike), but I’d like to add my comments to the topic.
Recently, I have watched with growing appreciation of the drivers on Warden and on the YRT. While there may be the odd bad/grumpy/discourteous person, most have proved to be friendly, courteous, professional and gone out of their way to be helpful.
Two drivers stick out in my mind.
The first would make a habit of calling out stops and offering funny comments about them.
The second, would kindly and gently correct or explain things to passengers. I have not seen him get angry or impatient, even when trying to explain something to someone who didn’t know English.
Lastly, a comment on my fellow passengers. While there have been the odd occurence of “bad manners” such as hogging more than one seat, talking too loudly (to others on the bus or on a cell phone), I have found that the average person “steps up” when a need arises.
Case in point, when a man boarded the bus and didn’t know how much to pay, a woman sitting at the front of the bus helped to bridge the language barrier by translating the driver’s English into Chinese (and vice versa).
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I think certain TTC staff are feeding the operators of buses/scars/subways the funny brownies … nah, I will just go with that I notice things more now.
I remember one time I caught the 320 Yonge bus going southbound at Sheppard/Yonge on a Sunday 2-3 hours before the subway opened up.
Bus was sort of full, driver goes:
Driver: Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for riding the ttc (he could have said red rocket), I need you all to start moving to the back to let people in or I will start singing Frank Sinatra songs.
He started singing for about 5 seconds.
He did this until at least Bloor where I got off.
He told people boarding: Good Morning
He also thanked people for riding the ttc/red rocket and to have a good day (obviously for people coming in/leaving through the front doors).
That made my day a lot better. When you use the Blue Night Service a lot and have to go the long way around then something like this is nice.
Another time I asked the driver as the bus was leaving the previous stop if he could lower the bus for the next stop, he said: sure, no problem sir.
After I thanked him when I was leaving, he told me: You are welcome and have a good night.
Bus/Streetcar drivers doing things like this could reduce the assault rate on them in my opinion. I saw a poster long long time ago: Politeness is contagious.
I have been on the singing subway train, and the Darth Vader subway train. I sort of miss the drivers announcing things, they added their own comments sometimes and it brightened my days many times. Now it is just some woman, which I mostly ignore and can’t hear her most of the times anyways.
Yes Sir, I would offer you my seat in the subway. What would make you feel older, someone calling you sir or offering you their seat? (I am 28 and both things have happened, once at the same time).
Steve: “Sir” is fairly common these days (must be the Santa Claus look). Back in 2002 when I injured my knee and was getting around on crutches for a few months, I always had lots of help and cooperation from transit staff and riders.
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re Richard White: Any idea what the route number might have been? I doubt it was 1 Yonge Subway.
There are a number of photos of this mock-up in the Hillcrest shops. Unfortunately, any of the shots that show the destination sign are just as hard to make out. It does look as if the destination is using the three-colour pattern that would be the norm starting in the mid-50’s. That pattern was for front roll-signs black for route name, yellow for route number and red for destination.
For side roll-signs it was top-left black for route name, the entire right side (though very small) for route number, and bottom-left red for destination. The subway car mock-up seems to have left (and very small) route number (but it actually looks like they are using a letter instead of a number, again hard to tell), route name and destination(s), with the colour scheme being yellow-black-red. It’s possible this was the prototype idea for the new roll-signs that was being considered for buses (but interestingly not streetcars).
The other interesting features of the photo is the doors. Though the body looks like the Gloucesters we all knew and loved, the doors seem to be placed on the outside of the car, sliding over the window area (just as on the ICTS cars), suggesting that the older shorter car design was still being considered. The other interesting feature is the older version of the TTC logo incorporating the words Rapid Transit. This is obviously pre-flying buttress insignia, and it appears in a number of earlier drawings of what the rapid transit fleet would look like. I am surprised, however, to see it appear here, which is around 1953.
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Steve, do you have the rest of these adverts to share? If not, I’d be glad to dig them up…
Steve: No, that’s the only one I have.
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Richard White says:
August 18, 2009 at 12:11 pm
“Steve Said: ‘I particularly like the roll sign complete with what looks like a route number.’
“Any idea what the route number might have been? I doubt it was 1 Yonge Subway.”
Why would Yonge have even needed signs back then . The train all went to Eglinton or they all went to Union. It was like they short turned them at Lawton Blvd. Having a sign on the fron end of only of the subways makes about as much sense as having them on the original GO trains did. Does anyone remeber them or when they got rid of them?
Speaking of GO trains when I rode the July 1 train to Niagara they gave instruction after each station on the location and operation of the emergency exit window asking passengers who were seated next to them to “please familiarize yourself with their operation”. I rode the Agawa Canyon train last week and they did the same on this train. I almost expected a demonstration for the operation of the life jackets and seat belt. Is it a new safety reqirement for trains to do this or is it part of the railways own operations? The new GO announcements are a nice improvement.
Steve: I had the same performance on recent trains to and from Stratford.
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I was traveling on a GO Train in the evening, and there was an announcement saying that a book from Ajax public library had been found on that service the previous evening, and rather than put in lost property, the CSA had held onto it in the hope of getting it back ot its owner before the due date… now that’s good customer service.
Mispronounced automated stop announcements can be hugely damaging for the image of the operator… although I recall one case where the operator corrected some errors, but with a different voice actress!
Steve: I have been on a bus that was calling the stops incorrectly while the operator interjected corrections with great sarcasm.
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Customer service appears to be something that has been long lost upon TTC employees.
Last Saturday, I purchased a day pass for myself, my wife, and her niece and nephew, as we were going to the Taste of the Danforth. When issuing the day pass, the operator at Yorkdale (where we were at) accidently scratched the wrong date on the pass (she scratched the 7th instead of the 8th). Rather than issue me a new pass (like I suggested), she proceeded to scratch the 8th, write the date on the pass, and had both the month and day punched out. She also wrote in her badge number (some 4 digit number) to indicate the correction. I took her correction as a measure of good faith and thought nothing about it.
This caused me a lot of grief later on during the day. When we attempted to pass through at Broadview Station after enjoying the Danforth, we were stopped by an operator who demanded that we pay a proper fare. I showed them the pass and tried to explain to him what happened when we bought the pass. He would have none of it and demanded (in a very loud and condescending tone) that unless we paid our fare, then we would be arrested by Transit Constables. So when I demanded our pass back, he would not give it back to us. For 30 minutes, we were held at Broadview Station while the operator accused me of fare evasion. It took me a long time to explain the situation and what happened at Yorkdale before the Transit Constable determined that I was actually correct (as I should have been) and allowed me to pass.
The conduct of all involved, from the operator who did not issue me a new pass as she should have, to the gate operator, shows me a terrible lack of customer service skills in the TTC. Lately, I have noticed a more beligerent attitude towards riders and one person saying that he “carries Toronto on his shoulders and doesn’t need any more crap” from PAYING customers, not to mention TAXPAYERS. I can understand paying exorbitant union salaries to TTC employees, but when we get this kind of negative experience, we wonder where our money is truly going. We pay good money to use the TTC, and as such, we expect good service in return.
Steve: Good manners should be expected for good salaries, and that’s what I generally get from TTC staff. Sadly the good majority takes it on the chin for the bad minority.
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re: Stephen Cheung’s comment:
I hope you take the time to file a formal complaint with the TTC, and the Chair’s office.
That type of conduct is utterly unacceptable.
As Steve points out, it is not the conduct of most TTC staff, but it does demean their collective reputation and that of the Commission itself. Corrective action is required.
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I’ve often heard the same announcements on GO trains. It always leaves me with the question: What on earth is a “Customer Service Ambassador”?
Why don’t they have the Conductor making the announcements? That would make some sense.
And since when did passengers become “customers”? I sense some MBA-speak ideology.
Maybe I’m getting cynical in my old age, but whenever I hear anything like “Customer Service Ambassador” I think that this is Orwellian double-talk for the person in charge of soothing passengers for the lousy service.
Steve: Yes, if GO wants to call them CSAs internally because that makes some management type happy, fine, but passengers need something less pretentious. Even as simple as “Customer Service Agent”.
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Not to excuse the mistakes of TTC staff … but why would the ticket agent be scratching the day passes anyway? I’ve always simply asked for however many day passes I want, and done it myself … though I seldom use them on the day of purchase, and I don’t think I’ve ever purchased just one.
Steve: I have seen this fairly commonly as a lot of folks buying them for immediate use don’t know they have to validate them for “today”. I have also seen operators on buses and streetcars who, when presented with a “blank” day pass, take it and punch the correct date in it. This avoids people trying to make a day pass immortal.
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Kevin Love says:
August 18, 2009 at 9:54 pm
“I’ve often heard the same announcements on GO trains. It always leaves me with the question: What on earth is a “Customer Service Ambassador”?
“Why don’t they have the Conductor making the announcements? That would make some sense.”
The CSA is the person who opens and closes the doors in car 5 and puts down the wheel chair ramp. Since the railways went to two man crews the “conductor” and the “engineer” ride in the locomotive and are responsible for the operation of the train. The CSA is responsible for the passengers. I believe that they use similar terminology on VIA and Amtrack. GO is just GOing with the flow. AT least the CSA’s wear a semblance of a neat uniform. The last engineer and conductor I met so made Steve look like a short haired right wing red neck.
Sorry Steve.
Steve: I will live.
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re: Stephen Cheung
I’d suggest you also file a complaint about the constable. It shouldn’t take anywhere near that length of time to sort out, whatever is happening with the collector. This is the sort of story that people need to make a lot of noise about to keep from happening.
On a sort of related for some reason day passes being problematic seems to be a fairly common issue. I’ve never actually had one rejected, but just about every place I’ve used them (most notably Toronto and Kitchener) they’ve been closely inspected AND questioned. I’ll grant that they are typically the only passes hand marked, but many operators seem to treat their use as suspicious in and of itself.
The Chicago system with automatically issued cards (not smartcards, just time limited Metropass like strips) for all fares works much better, and they are even 24 and 72 hours rather than one or three calandar day cards. I suppose getting them wouldn’t make sense with fare cards coming, but the attitude from (some) collectors is going to have to change before we get a workable POP system.
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As a daily GO train rider, I don’t find GO customer service to be much different from the TTC. Just like TTC, it is mostly average, occasionally exceptional, and rarely poor.
Once when on the last train of the night on the Lakeshore East line (00:13), the CSA said “if you are really tired please come to the accessibility car, tell me what stop you need to get off at and I will wake you up if necessary.” Although I didn’t need help the gesture was appreciated.
Likewise I’ve had poor experiences. I find as a general rule that while CSAs will always say “we are arriving at Union Station on schedule” when the train is on time, they will never say “we are arriving x minutes late” if it is late. Furthermore, I have occasionally heard CSAs say that the train is on time when it is clearly not.
Once, the CSA repeatedly told us that the train would be moving in approximately 10 minutes (it ended up being stopped for over an hour before being taken out of service for unknown mechanical problems). If he had just said that he had no idea when the train would be leaving, I could have gotten off and taken the next train.
While the idea of having a CSA on each train to deal with passenger questions and concerns is sound, it doesn’t automatically make the GO a customer relations utopia.
In general I find most TTC and GO staff to be polite, helpful and about as cheerful as you can expect from someone who is working. There are a few bad apples (or normal people just having a bad day) and a few who stand out for their commitment to customer service. When you notice a staff member who is unusually helpful, why not ask for their name or employee number and write a letter to head office expressing your appreciation? Such things will help them move up the ladder and further the organization’s appreciation of customer service.
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The ad appeared in the Toronto Star on June 20, 1938. I have copies of tons of TTC ads from the past — but this was not one that I had… so thanks!
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Hilariously, for the first time in the 3 years I’ve commuted this way, my Bloor-Danforth guard gave a little “if you are not exiting the train, please stand clear of the doors OR exit the train briefly to clear the doors” just before we pulled into Yonge station eastbound.
Coincidence? Maybe he reads your blog, Steve 🙂
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Steve, you’ll love this:
This is a view from 1896 of Spadina, on the north side of Queen, looking north-west. No, that man is not descending down the stairs (by the streetcar prw!) to some long-lost Spadina Subway. He’s heading to the loo!
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I can recall one operator on the 501, who, upon leaving Long Branch loop and seeing a couple of young children excited to be on the streetcar, made an announcement like we were on a rollercoaster and it was hilarious. All this talk of announcements and noise reminds me as well of a subway trip in Paris late at night. The train was pretty full, but there was still room for thematic accordion music that changed every station.
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(live music, of course, not piped in through those crackly speakers.)
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Once, I was on an early Saturday BD run. The driver was obviously still sleepy. We plowed westbound right through Greenwood Stn. No breaking, nothing. He probably forgot he was in service for a moment. So, he came over the P.A. system and said: “oops!”.
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Mr. Cavlovic’s entry reminds me of one summer night back in 1980 or so when a driver on an eastbound B-D train my parents and I were on overshot his mark at some station at the western part of the line. We were in the first car at the front end. He actually did stop but the first set of doors opened up on to a nice view of the tunnel wall!
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Re: David Aldinger’s comment about trains over shooting the mark.
That used to happen a lot! (so did during rush hour one train entering, slowly, a station while the other was still leaving, mostly south of Bloor Stn. and going northbound). That became absolutely Verboten after the Spadina accident.
Steve: The change in operating practices was that single red signals became “stop and stay” rather than “stop and proceed with caution”. This prevented trains from entering Bloor northbound before the preceding train had cleared the signal half way to Rosedale Station, and cut down the effective capacity of the station. This constraint will be undone, I hope, by the new signalling system.
One big problem with the “stop and stay” rule was that there were no adjustments of the signal system to relieve constraints such as this where it creates queueing problems. This could have been done without compromising safety.
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The thing I never understood was how stop and proceed ever came into the accident report; it was quite simply not a cause. Training was bad, procedures were problematic and maintenance was atrocious, but a properly implemented stop and proceed rule could not conceivably result in a high speed collision. The fact a train ran a red at full speed AND a the trip arm had been damaged earlier had nothing to do with the existence of stop and proceed. I always got the feeling that the rule change was mostly to put a stop to the breathless media reports that “some red lights could be ignored”.
Am I right in guessing that the change was officially based on some notion that stop and proceed somehow led to an environment where operators felt signals could be ignored? If so, how was the solution to change procedures rather than training, and, or course, trip arm maintenance?
Steve: The problem is a fundamental one in the signal design. For most single aspect signals, the track circuits are set up so that the break in the circuit occurs just before the signal. If a train creeps up to the signal, the front axle actually enters the next block before the trip cock reaches the trip arm. When the next block is occupied, the trip arm goes down.
What this means in practice is that the trip arm stays down until the back end of the train leaves the block following the signal. When trains are close together, the net effect is that there is no trip protection immediately behind a train if its follower has already closed up on it. The two trains appear to the signal system as a single entity, and it holds the trip arm down to avoid centre-tripping a train that is still passing over the signal.
Treating all single, non-flashing reds as stop-and-stay avoids this problem. At critical locations such as Bloor Station, additional call-on signals should have been added to usher following trains into the station at low speed. This sort of thing already exists at terminals with storage tracks beyond the platform. At Kennedy, for example, there are “blind trips” (trips with no associated signal) along the platform. If the storage track is empty, trains can enter at regular speed. If the storage track is occupied, trains must enter at low speed to avoid being tripped. Why there are no dwarf signals at these locations is a mystery as the trip arms are often dirty and hard to see from the cab. In any event, the TTC could have provided safe entry of following trains into stations like Bloor, but they just left things as they were.
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