After months of investigation and deliberation, the TTC’s Customer Service Advisory Panel (which sounds funnier when we call it CSAP) has released its final report. The report is missing some of our key recommendations—the word “sobriety” never turns up—but many items are welcome nonetheless. The Toronto Star remarks dryly that CSAP’s head, Steve O’Brien, “has said repeatedly that the communications issues, both internal and external, identified by the panel wouldn’t surprise most TTC riders.” So at least we were warned.
The biggest suggestion is the creation of a Chief Customer Service Officer, a high-management individual who would bring changes to every level of the Commission. It’s kind of alarming to learn, thanks to CSAP, that the TTC seems to have no plan to actually figure out what customers want.
The report contains a bunch of other recommendations, big and small. Some of our favourites:
• Improve signage quality. What? The hand-drawn “use other booth” sign written in Sharpie on a torn yellow sheet doesn’t impress people?
• Upgrade subway booth microphones. Amazing. It turns out all this time we’ve both been speaking English.
• “The TTC should review the current signs that say, ‘Do not block doorway.’ A more effective sign should be developed and used on all subway car doors.” Hey, we were going to stand in the middle of the doorway with an over-full backpack, but then we saw this crisp new sign telling us not to be such a douche. Everything is so clear now.
• The best combination of observations is in Section 7. 7B notes that the TTC doesn’t seem to take a lack of clean washrooms and water fountains seriously. 7C notes that “community pride in the TTC appears to be low.” Turns out that washrooms that smell like human waste lead to a lack of community pride.
• Improve service, report tells TTC [Toronto Star]
• Final Report [CSAP]
• Service over safety: TTC report [Toronto Sun]
• TTC report calls for customer service overhaul [CBC News]
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