TTC HEAD-SCRATCHERS

Bus surfing, a sewage-filled streetcar and Seth Rogen: We recap some of the stranger happenings on the city’s transit lines in 2018,

Toronto: home of the Raptors, trash pandas and the Toronto Transit Commission. The TTC gave us one last head-scratcher for the year Wednesday night when a bus got stuck in the passenger pickup tunnel at Scarborough’s Warden station — luckily no one was hurt when the too-tall bus sheared its roof. But it got us thinking: 2018 has been a weird year for the TTC. A recap: Despa-TTC-ito Back in spring, two men seemingly tried to invigorate the spirit of commuters, but may have incited annoyance. Busking on subway trains, their set list featured only one song: “Despacito” played on accordion. By May, they had been warned three times by the TTC and were summoned to court, according to TTC spokesperson Stuart Green. What’s with bus surfing? In April, a video posted to Twitter shows a man clinging to a poster at the back of a bus as it drives down the road. In November, viral videos showed a rider hanging off the top of the 23 Dawes bus in East York and then climbing onto the roof. Police and former TTC spokes- person Brad Ross condemned the act as dangerous and stupid. Swimming in sewage On Aug. 7, a King St. streetcar was stranded underneath a bridge just past Sudbury St., after torrential rains hit the city. Soon, water and sewage started flooding in, Merissa Tse, a passenger, told the Star. It rose to her chest before the driver and another passenger pried open a door so passengers could swim out. The floods damaged nine new streetcars and left four out of commission indefinitely. That sinking feeling On Oct. 30, a sinkhole swal- lowed up a whole TTC vehicle. A nearly 100-year-old pipe had burst under Commissioners St. near Logan Ave. in the Port Lands and created a void underneath the road. The driver was able to escape unharmed. Seth on the subway Whether you’re a fan of Seth Rogen or not, you probably heard him telling you not to clip your nails on the TTC if you rode the rocket in August. It all started with a Twitter exchange in which then-councillor Norm Kelly told the actor he should voice TTC announcements. Rogen obliged by recording 12 TTC messages, reminding rid- ers to remove backpacks, give up their seats for those in need and keep their feet off seats. Atail with a happy ending In happy news, the transit authority was able to help reunite a lost dog with his owners. A husky-mix suffered minor injuries to his leg after being hit by a car on Oct. 14 near Eglinton and Warden. When the driver tried to help it, the dog sought refuge underneath a stopped TTC bus. The driver called his supervisor and Toronto Animal Services. Police were able to coax the dog out. Animal services reunited the dog with his family.