Toronto’s transit system struck out after Blue Jays’ World Series loss

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No more excuses can be accepted.

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For leaving thousands of Blue Jays fans stranded after Game 7 of the World Series, a simple apology is all Metrolinx, UP Express, the TTC, the City of Toronto and the Ontario government need to do.

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This must happen now. And this must be sincere, because there is a guarantee from all three transit services.

And it needs to come from Mayor Olivia Chow and the city too.

Here is the X-post published by the City of Toronto:

“Reminder: We know the game is running late, but transit won't wait! The last GO train will leave Union Station soon, and the last TTC train will be around 1:30 a.m.”

This was at 12:08. About ten minutes before the end of the game.

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“Serve the people, don’t beat the clock,” Councilman Brad Bradford tweeted.

“Unacceptable,” said Councilman John Burnside, adding that things like this with the TTC “are not an anomaly, but a theme.”

“The world-class transit system has really come into its own here with great success,” said transit advocate Justin Van Dette.

The post “was really bad,” tweeted councilor Josh Matlow. “Metrolinx and the TTC really should have been prepared for the possibility of late game to avoid leaving thousands of people stranded.”

This tweet alone shows the City of Toronto's lack of understanding of the current situation, lack of compassion for the people they are supposed to serve, and lack of respect for people's safety.

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TTC and Metrolinx disagree

Neither the TTC nor Metrolinx seem to understand this. Or agree.

“Our service has been fine,” Councilman Jamaal Myers, who heads the TTC, told John Moore on Newstalk 1010 Monday morning. “Our plan worked.”

He said the problem was the tweet's circulation.

Myers doesn't know about this. No concept of reality. He just spins it.

They all seem to pass the buck, blaming everyone but themselves.

Stating that what happened with GO Transit trains was not their area of ​​expertise, TTC CEO Mandeep Lali took to social media to say many things, including: “From 12:30 a.m. until the end of service, our Transit Operations Center logged very few issues, only three minor delays related to medical and emergency alarms, all of which were resolved within minutes, and no action was suggested by either the EOC or MICC.

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“Major events always present opportunities to learn and we will review our performance for improvements, including customer feedback.”

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Metrolinx said, “Many customers have also been accommodated on GO and UP Express buses,” but “due to ownership tracking and operational considerations, we are unable to operate overnight or add additional trains beyond the end of service.”

They won't get away with it. Premier Doug Ford needs to speak up.

There were so many people, many of them children, who were either crammed onto crowded trains or forced to walk home.

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At the GO bus station across from Scotiabank Arena, security actually kept people out of the station, forcing them to be kept in the hallway like cattle, as if they were not human.

The bottom line is that not enough trains and buses were put into service. And they didn't run long enough. While the TTC certainly had extra trains for Taylor Swift concerts, New Year's Eve and Blanche Night, they treated Game 7 of the World Series like it was a normal Saturday.

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And that's not normal. It's not something that can be hyped or promoted because people think they're important.

The only way out is to admit that it was a huge failure. And with the World Cup next year, a promise must be made that nothing like this will ever happen again.

They need to apologize. This should have already happened and now needs to happen before they meet to talk about it on Monday.

Transit officials work for the public good

The public doesn't work for any of them. They work for the public. And they let the public down on Saturday night.

Instead of doing the right thing, they seem to double down on their belief that they did the right thing.

They didn't. They got it wrong.

After the Blue Jays' shocking 11-inning loss to the Dodgers to lose the World Series, tens of thousands of fans rushed onto crowded trains with a short service window, meaning many were stranded on platforms with no way home. Many of them were children and teenagers who attended parties at Nathan Phillips Square or Scotiabank Arena, and whether it was Oshawa or Hamilton, or many places in between, they were stuck downtown with no accessible route home.

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Taxis and rideshares were crowded with those who could afford the route.

It was a mess. And anger flared.

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No charges have been filed against TTC, Metrolinx or UP Express workers. They were faced with a hopeless situation. But the people at the top and those doing the planning have some explaining to do.

With the clocks changing to Daylight Saving Time, thousands of people in downtown Toronto at Halloween parties, and large crowds of Jay fans, it was the perfect time to make sure all lines had expanded service, every train and bus was accessible, and teams were deployed to operate them.

Instead, a strict time limit was set. Despite the fact that all services were aware of the dilemma, knew that further opportunities were possible, and knew that after the game there would be a trophy presentation – and perhaps a celebration for the home team.

They didn't catch the moment.

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