TTC has earned top transit award
Re TTC won an award, and they want you to know, Sept. 19 I am writing in response to a news story on Sept. 19 followed by an editorial on Sept. 20 regarding decals — not “ads” or a “campaign” as you wrote — that have been affixed to TTC vehicles that share the positive news with our customers that their TTC is getting it right and has been singled out as 2017 Transit System of the Year by its peers at the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).
The Star criticizes the TTC for spending $50,000 (.002 per cent of an annual $1.8-billion operating budget) to communicate this positive news and suggest we’d be better to “devote that money and energy to improving (the) service.”
The facts show that is exactly what we have been doing and the good news is that the people whose opinions matter — our customers — back that up. Customer satisfaction has risen consistently and now stands at 82 per cent, up seven percentage points in just five years, a statistically significant improvement and one that reflects riders’ increasing satisfaction with virtually every aspect of our service.
What have we done? To list just a few highlights:
21-per-cent reduction in delay minutes to subways
6.5-per-cent reduction in subway delay incidents
48-per-cent reduction in track fires that cause delays
86-per-cent reduction in short turns to buses and streetcars.
APTA does not bestow awards on transit systems for their perfection, but rather their action. We have done more than tell; day in and day out, we have shown improvement.
Cast your minds back five years ago and see what a difference the TTC has made around cleanliness, customer information and systems modernization, recognizing that there is always more to do.
But has the TTC and its hard-working employees earned this award? Absolutely. Andy Byford, TTC CEO