The transit maven
> SHO KALACHE
There’s a lot riding on the Toronto Transit Commission’s Pan Am performance, not least a shot at redemption for the agency’s public image. The woman leading the TTC Games effort believes the system will do better than limp across the finish line.
Sho Kalache, 32, considers herself a persuasive person. She expects the muchmaligned transit system — not always known for its sunny public face — to shine and its workers and riders to be part of the city’s celebrations.
“We’re trying to remind all staff this is a fun event,” says Kalache, who joined the TTC as a driver 10 years ago. “We want the customer experience to be as nice as possible. The majority of people will likely not be regular transit users, so we’ll have to remind everyone to be a little more patient.”
She is organizing an army of 1,700 behind-the-scenes TTC workers — everyone from lawyers to engineers to secretaries — who have volunteered to work at least three shifts each as Games ambassadors.
They’ll fan out across 23 designated TTC Games transportation hubs in blue smocks and caps to guide the thousands of visitors and spectators pouring through the system this summer.
Behind the scenes, Kalache and a panTTC team are applying military precision to preparations aimed at minimizing and, if possible, eliminating, the failures and obstacles that typically plague Toronto transit. Dozens of projects, from paving to elevator and escalator overhauls, will be completed or paused. Any work still going on will be invisible to the public.
The TTC has significantly reduced summer vacations among its staff, so in addition to the ambassador volunteers, there will be crews and drivers standing by to get the system up and running as quickly as possible in the event of a failure.
Normally TTC ridership drops in the summer, but an additional 53 buses in the morning and again in the evening will be available to move crowds to and from the Games sites.
It’s her front-line experience and eye for detail that won Kalache the job, says her boss, TTC deputy CEO Chris Upfold. He worked at the London Underground preparing for the 2012 Olympics and says that understanding crowds and station operations will be critical for the Pan Ams. “Sho is sweating the small stuff,” he says. Upfold also believes Kalache exemplifies the TTC’s and Toronto’s diversity.
Born to Armenian parents in Saudi Arabia, she has lived in Toronto since she was 3. She and her wife are “typical Junction residents who believe our neighbourhood is amazing,” says Kalache, who plays basketball in a women’s league but has taken a break from her cross-fit training while she prepares for the Pan Ams.
In an operation with so many moving parts, there’s plenty of room for error, admits Kalache, who works with teams inside the TTC as well as co-ordinating with the Games, the city, the Ministry of Transportation and Metrolinx.
Her biggest fear she says, “would be something outside of Pan Am that would drain our resources, that we didn’t plan for. Forgetting something or missing something — that’s what I worry about.”
Despite all the preparation and the frontline training that is supposed to help make the TTC the friendlier way during the Games, Kalache cautions that riders should be prepared for crowds.
Walk or bike if that’s a reasonable option, she counsels. Every sports ticket acts as a day pass for transit, so there will be lots of people who don’t necessarily know their way around the system. Consider avoiding travel during rush hours.
“We’re trying to make it as comfortable as we can,” Kalache says. “If you’re attending the Games, give yourself extra time. Don’t be upset if there’s crowds. That’s not avoidable no matter how much service we put out there.”
But the Games have gathered enough TTC resources to demonstrate what the system could do if it had more vehicles and staff on a regular basis, she notes. “This is such a great opportunity to change the public view of how we do things.”