TTC’s only photo ID centre has been closed since March
The office has left many customers without needed ID for public transit.
The TTC’s only photo ID centre has been shuttered for a month, leaving post-secondary students and customers with disabilities no way to get proper identification to ride the system.
The Star has learned the facility at Sherbourne station has been closed since March 12 over a contract dispute with Trans ID, the company that had been providing the photo processing.
The six-year, $3.77-million contract with the company expired Feb. 28. Emails obtained by the Star show the TTC offered Trans ID a one-year extension just two weeks before the expiry date, and had no replacement lined up when the deal fell apart after Trans ID sought higher compensation.
The photo ID cards processed at the facility are required for students who ride the TTC using a post-secondary pass, and for customers with disabilities who need to be accompanied on the transit system by a support person.
In an email, TTC spokesperson Stuart Green stressed the closure was temporary. Customers requiring the IDs can still submit applications to the TTC’s Davisville customer service centre, and some administrative work to process the ID cards is still proceeding.
“If there are concerns about fares having to be paid due to delays in receiving the card while the office is closed, we can assess those on an individual basis.”
During the closure, the TTC is advising that riders using postsecondary passes carry school IDs or proof of enrolment.
Emails show that Lou Cairo, who operates Trans ID, wrote to the TTC on Feb. 5, three weeks before the contract end date, asking whether the agency intended to extend it. A week later, David Marshall, purchasing manager for the TTC, offered Trans ID an extension under the contract’s existing terms.
Cairo responded on Feb. 15, and asked for a 37-per-cent increase to the contract price, which he said was justified by the new provincial minimum wage and other rising costs. Cairo also asked for several improvements to the office space.
On Feb. 27, a day before the contract was set to expire, Marshall asked Trans ID to keep providing the photo service past the expiry date so that the two parties could reach an agreement.
Cairo agreed to work 10 days past the contract date, but said he couldn’t open the facility after that time without a written agreement. The deadline came and went with no agreement, and Cairo shut down the office.
“I don’t think it was handled properly, or efficiently, in a fair manner,” he said. Green, the TTC spokesperson, didn’t agree with that assessment.
“We began discussions with the vendor on Feb. 5 and had numerous conversations regarding the dramatic price increase that had been proposed. Those discussions continued until the time he ceased operations,” Green said.