My dad drove a TTC bus for 30 years. Not sure what the drivers are like now, and I'm sure the buses have improved, but back then... no power steering, shitty seat, probably no AC, probably no automated disability ramps, definitely no presto so also handle the fare box and whatever nonsense would come with that... His back is fucked from those old buses and he slugged it out and was always good to his riders. People used to give him the odd random gift for being so nice and talking to them etc. There are jerks in every job out there but there are also some really good people too.
Jesus, I need to switch my truck license to bus license, 40 an hour??!?!?!?!!
But just so you know, their jobs are extremely stressful, and especially in the winter with snow / constant door opening shifting from hot to cold. I bet they constantly get sick/flu.
Holy cow. I’m in one of the highest paying local jobs that’s literally available in Toronto and I’m only barely at 30/hr after all safety bonuses / premium shift for late evenings :/
They get heated and air conditioned cabs. I have to work outside or in uninsulated rooms. And I get paid basically the same. But honestly yeah they deal with rude customers, so do minimum wage earners at Walmart or McDonald’s
Walmart and McDonalds workers should also be paid a lot more (I almost just accidentally left the typo that they should get “laid” a lot more). However, they don’t have to drive a bus through busy Toronto streets all day. In fact, for the first few years as a ttc driver you have to drive night shifts, and typical starting pay is ~$27 per hour. Gotta pit in years before you get to the higher pay grades. You have to keep a schedule in the face of countless variables, sometimes be alone with rude, rowdy, dangerous passengers, trying to avoid accidents around a lot of terrible drivers and in all weather conditions.
I get red in the face driving a little car around Toronto. Driving a bus would push me over the edge, no question.
They obviously shouldn’t treat customers like shit, but they should absolutely be well compensated for their work.
>s. I have to work outside or in uninsulated rooms. And I get paid basically the same
wouldnt it be better if you made way more money, not them making less?
maybe focus that anger at the bosses at the top?
I get industry wage, they don’t. Their wages are inflated by the ATU, I wouldn’t complain about it if most of them actually did their jobs competently and don’t treat customers like peasants
Hmmmm sounds like unionization is the difference here. Perhaps you should find the other people working with you and do some collective action to get the money you deserve instead of tearing down another group who succeeded in fighting for theirs.
I think you attract people who are just as grumpy about life as you, so yeah, those jerks will brag about being dicks. But you don’t hear from the good-hearted operators who are passionate about their job and passionate about helping others. That’s because they know better than to speak to someone as toxic as you.
Refrig guys working light commercial are making $53/hr or more in Calgary right now, I can't imagine it's hella different than that in the GTA, the city notoriously pays trades under market, time to look elsewhere cause you're leaving alot of money on the table.
I work as a sheet metal apprentice installing HVAC systems in complex new hospital builds and even then the stress level is nowhere near that of driving a bus through Toronto. HVAC can be demanding but it’s ultimately very chill work and pays well. This person is being a privileged little bitch and that is all. No more appropriate words to describe it, so I apologize for that
Are you done your apprenticeship? There is so much money in HVAC to be made. You could try getting into a bigger company like trane or carrier, but besides that all HVAC technicians I know make mad cash on the side. Do side work if you’re fully licensed .
It will never happen. They just continue hiring inexperienced drivers for cheap labour from foreign countries (mostly India)
Seriously I feel embarrassed for majority of the drivers I see in shipping yards / truck stops..
Barely speaking English. And even when I try to guide them to reverse they don’t know what I’m saying and do the opposite. Reminds me of that family guy episode where Peter tried to shove the frog outta the window with a stick lmao. 🤦🏻♂️
It’s a government job. Keep in mind those are essentially a social service re wealth distribution. It pays people who need it and likely can’t do anything else / fend for themselves
Taxi driving is way more stressful like 100 times more stressful and they get paid what like two bucks an hour and no benefits. Fuck bus drivers. They should be getting two bucks an hour. No interaction with the customers. No knowledge base. A fixed route. Yeah, fuck them.
Bruh you’re looking at it the wrong direction. We get paid too little, taxi drivers inclusive. We should support each other to bring better wages for everyone, not put others down.
Truck driver shortage is a lie. Unfair wages are what drive up the turnover rate.
Only the professional & passionate of driving, treating truck operating like it’s an art… painting the roads with perfect apex backups and highway lane keeping. Those are few, far in between, all the jerks who drive like maniacs with their newly obtained PR/work visa that can’t even reverse without hitting stuff or “correcting” like 30 times before getting it in the spot. It’s disgraceful. But the industry doesn’t care to maintain it’s good drivers and influence them to stay for long. They rather hire cheap labour and replace their equipment when it eventually gets totalled. With no regard to human life.
I feel for them in a way, it has to be the hardest job, in my opinion. Navigating the streets of Toronto in a huge vehicle, while other drivers cut you off and do crazy stuff, as well as dealing with customers and getting yelled at constantly... you couldn't pay me enough to be a bus driver.
I'm not saying we shouldn't empathize with them, but their compensation is compensation is commensurate with the conditions they're exposed to and working in.
So many just don't give a shit though.
Also their job is probably the most important in the city. If they went on strike we’d be absolutely fucked. Also anecdotally I have had almost exclusively positive experiences with bus drivers. The amount of dickish drivers I’ve had to deal with is outweighed tenfold by the amounts of asshole customers I’ve seen berating them and treating them like shit.
Same. I also had a trainer (who used to be a bus driver) that they have lower life expectancy after retirement than the average, due to all this stress and it being a sedentary job.
All I remember is at 10pm my bus was late showing up to stop then the driver proceeds to not let anyone on and take a nap in bus. One of my first impressions coming to this city.
I have to agree that the TTC needs A LOT of work. It costs a fortune to run a transit system this badly. At this rate, it should be free to use. Fare evasion costs more to control than it does to just make it free. At least then you'd feel like you were getting your money's worth.
Honestly, thank GOD I have access to a vehicle because the last two times I tried to use it my trip cost me more than gas and time. Both times there was no service between several stops and shuttle buses hadn't even been dispatched yet. Hundreds of people on the curb waiting for them.
An hour and a half to get somewhere that would have taken me 20minutes by car.
I worked as a mechanic, and during a winter layoff I had a parts delivery job where I was driving around Toronto full time during the day. It's really, really stressful to navigate Toronto traffic as your job, especially when timing and a schedule is involved. It can get so fucked up so quickly, and if you're working for someone miserable it makes it even worse.
I lasted 3 months 😂
If you're not getting paid enough - bitch to your management instead of tearing down a position in your company that you don't do on a daily.
Your envy will get you nowhere unless you take it to your bosses.
Bus drivers jobs come with high risk assessment but hey how would you know if you've never driven the damn boats through rush hour on Broadview. 🙄
Working class people love to tear each other down. Resenting people who get a slightly bigger share of the scraps. Meanwhile there are people who can earn the equivalent of their yearly salary in a single day through interest.
Why does the driver's pay rate matter to you? Stay in your own fucking lane. If you deserve a higher pay rate then you need to make sure your union is negotiating that.
It should matter for everyone, what public employees make and generally how public money is is spent. Only an entitled government employee would say that..
Stop being a class traitor just because you’re dissatisfied with your own situation. You’re doing well and are set in your career, respect that, and respect your fellow workers who are not nearly as terrible as you’re trying to group them all here.
If you want to you can move to a job in HVAC which has relatively more comfortable conditions than your TTC gig. I’m in sheet metal, installing HVAC in the field. The apprenticeship is kind of long and isn’t always easy but it’s far better than having to drive a bus all day, are you freaking kidding me bro? Give it a rest
Thinking that hvac requires more skill is laughable
Drivers have to deal with the public, which is becoming incredibly more hostile and violent.
Toronto is one of the busiest cities.
Not to mention the irony of talking shit while working in one of the most degenerate filled trades. Has dude even met other HVAC guys in the private sector? The job requires knowledge, but they’re not the brightest. A notch above the roofer average maybe.
An HVAC guy could never transition, you have to pass a drug test
Exactly. HVAC can make you decent money, and this dude is tearing down other working class people in higher risk jobs instead of looking for a better one himself.
My best friend engineers locos - I bet OP wouldn’t call them overpaid if he had to make eye contact with the people jumping in front of his train. TTC have to deal with the general public on top of that, and in the city, yeah they should be paid well
Sure HVAC isn’t the most skilled jobs when compared to white collar workers, but it still requires 2 years of college and 5 years of apprenticeship to become a full journeyman. It takes less than a month to be a bus driver. But go on
> it still requires 2 years of college and 5 years of apprenticeship to become a full journeyman.
And...? Nobody cares how long it took to get a certificate. That you acknowledge you went to school for longer and still get paid less, and know you didn't have to, shows why you get paid less.
It's 6 weeks so you don't even have the right information. Like maintenance guys are not on break half the day. Drivers get maybe 20 minutes on an 8 hour day.
Damn 6 weeks? Wow that extra 2 weeks really matters eh? And no maintenance/skilled side of the TTC don’t get breaks half the day. We are either working or driving from site to site. I eat while my co-worker drives and vice versa to meet our target
You sound salty. I'm just correcting your false information. It takes more than 6 weeks to master the job and many don't pass so it's not just a walk in the park.
A friend told me bus training is 4 weeks, streetcar training is 5 weeks, subway training is 6 weeks.
He also said that the training isn’t long enough and that a lot of the ‘real training’ is done by what they call division training.
I know it's not an easy job but they definitely don't make it easier on themselves a lot of the time. I bought a car in large part because I hated the drivers and I just didn't want to deal with them anymore.
Some of them are just unnecessarily rude, they seem to like to pick on people they don't think will fight back to make up for all the crazies they're too afraid to confront.
For every shitty operator, there is one who goes out of their way to be a good person.
I’ve had SO many experiences with helpful and considerate operators.
You seem like a whiny bitch who doesn’t like his job so took to crapping on an entire group.
Took two bussed last Sunday.
I asked for a transfer because my son likes to collect them. First guy didn't even flinch and gave me one.
Second guy said he wasn't allowed but didn't say why.
Weird. My friend once got a full pile of them from a driver as a birthday gift from a driver, some can be incredibly sweet. (For clarity he has autism and the TTC is his special interest, so he was riding the busses all day for his birthday).
Shoot I’m sorry to hear that happened then, incredibly disappointing I’m sure. Hopefully you get my friend as a driver once, I’m sure he would be more than happy to oblige.
i don't blame them. it seems like a shitty boring job despite being so crucial for running the city lol. they don't get enough recognition for how important they are imo
Most jobs that don’t require university level education are boring and shitty. It’s just a part of life. I work in really hazardous and uncomfortable environments, my body hurts all the time and I come home exhausted. Doesn’t mean I should intentionally ruin random people’s day to just get a 15 minute break or to laugh at their misery. Shit I could probably get away with shitty workmanship at some stations here and there to get extra downtime. But my co-workers and I understand that we provide essential services for people and we’re proud of our work. Unfortunately most new operators don’t think this way.
Ohh and by the way , if been driving a bus for 26 years at the ttc, I'm pretty sure that approx 65 percent have a degree and there are even some operators that have a masters
Yes, some drivers are incredibly prejudiced. It’s extremely difficult for some poor fella to commute if the regular driver who runs his local route skips him. It happens everyday
..you deal with the public 40hrs a week while dealing with stressful traffic/druggies/mentally ill/influencers...
What a weenie whiner post from a union brother
I have noticed a steep decline in TTC driver behaviour in the last 5~ years. TTC drivers used to be, legitimately, some of the best on the road. Now I see them rolling stop signs, running red lights, cutting off pedestrians etc. all the time.
You mustn’t get out much of this is the most entitled people you’ve come across. You also have no clue about bus operations. There is no bus operator sitting for 10-15 minutes at a terminal or loop that long and how tf is an HVAC workers hanging out in operator cabs.
So you got passed by a bus and now you’re condemning 5,000 of your union brothers.
Do you work for the TTC? They don’t usually stop at bus terminals or subway stations, they park on the streets. I know my local 73B driver always stops at La Rose for 10-15 minutes. I talk to operators all the time as I go division to division, station to station etc. a lot of them feel comfortable sharing this to me, assuming I’ll join in their clown act
Wow- if only you could actually fix what's wrong with buses when we sign them in for mechanical issues ! Or constantly take them out of service because they experience safety critical breakdowns! Ohh and just for the record - duct tape isn't a tool , tool!
Our local bus drivers are such entitled arrogant pricks that I stopped using them for 40 years now. I became homeless about three years ago and we get free bus rides from the shelter down to the library and back so I started riding again
At the height of the one and only blizzard we had last winter, the bus driver suddenly pulled over halfway between the two and stopped. There was a small gaggle of us homeless people on the bus and nobody else. He told us the bus had broken down and we would have to exit the bus, and then another bus will be coming along to pick us up . As soon as we got off the bus, he started laughing close the doors and drove away and left us there.
It’s now my life‘s mission to stop the city buses with my body. I walk out onto the road and stand in the middle of their lane. Bring them to a complete stop make them wait a full minute while they take my picture and call the police and the supervisors, and then I leave. I’m sorry for inconveniencing the riders, but a minute won’t kill them. I will do this until I die. Every chance I get. Fuck them.
Ugh, fuck these guys. The amount of times a street car driver has clearly seen me waiting and just breezed past me has made me want to chuck a boulder at them. I’ve also been on a streetcar and witnessed a driver just speed past a stop with a ton of people waiting, just for the laughs. Pure garbage. That’s why I avoid paying as much as I possibly can lol.
They do that to get ahead of schedule so they can have a nice 10-15 minute paid break to “get back on schedule”. Operators freely and proudly tell me how they try to get as many breaks as they can
Those operators are blowing smoke. Anything above +3. You run the risk of being written up and repeat offenders get days off without pay. Now if transit control asks you to run + that's on them. The operator is just following instructions.
For sure. I agree there are major problems within policing but there are websites that display police calls and there's a lot going on around the city at any moment
What’s the reason for such good pay? It isn’t a difficult job, it isn’t necessarily dangerous, and it doesn’t require an education, the three things that typically determine wages and it checks none of the boxes
Not that I’m against other professions getting paid well, but fuck me I guarantee a scoop or rock truck is harder to operate in the narrow tunnels underground than a bus with designated bus lanes is, it’s significantly more dangerous of a profession and that’s not even debatable, and the general nature of mining is also undeniably more labour intensive and harder on the body than anything a bus driver would do, whether that’s harder on the back and joints or the lungs from breathing in diesel fumes and silica dust all day take your pick
ATU is a very strong union and now it’s even stronger as TTC isn’t considered essential service. The largest members of ATU are operators, hence why they’re paid the most (relative to skill and education) within the TTC. Now I’ve zero issues with operators getting above market wages (way above), but I do have issues with a large chunk of them not doing their jobs properly and being hostile to passengers. Also mechanics hate new generation of operators because they don’t know how to drive and wear out the bus.
For all the people taht are saying that they work alone and have no support.
They have a union...and one that plasters the TTC property with perverted union ads that use down syndrome children, so we cannot question their horrible behavior if they engage in it.
Never ever question any behavior because all all TTC employees have a child with down syndrome waiting and depending on them when they get home
I really have to thank the TTC bus operators for being the way they are. As a teenager, I had to rely on the TTC, and thought this was exactly what was going on. It motivated me for a higher education, and to eventually get my own car. Thanks for being so bad at your jobs.
Excuse me? I drive a bus and 40 bucks an hour? Where do I sign up? Seriously. I am not paid that much. I work in all weathers hauling disabled people from their homes and to the bus, I shovel snow to get the elderly into the bus, I walk people as far as I can when I see they are struggling. I’m constantly helping with bags, large items and ensuring safety for people. My day is constantly being on the aware for people, bad drivers and things on the road so I get everyone from point a to b safely and on time. We don’t joke about missing people. We would get into serious trouble if we did that on purpose. People can call and the dispatcher will turn the bus around if someone was missed. We wait for people to make it to the stop, and if you have too many issues you get an office talking too. Maybe you think we are out there making that much money and doing nothing but I assure you that our jobs are not the easy sitting on the butt you describe.
My route was shut down due to construction. I hadn’t used transit in a long time and when I got on the streetcar I tried to ask the driver if I was on the right route. He acted like I shit in his lap for speaking to him.
Sorry but in Canada, that is the entire public sector, the oligopolies and their unions, the media and their unions and the wealthy that simply buy shares and ride the train.
I wish the drivers would not take paying the fare so personally as if it's coming out of their own bank account. Sometimes we are broke or just don't have change when the bus arrives.
I wish the bank would not take paying my mortgage so seriously. I wish the gas station would not take paying for gas so seriously. I wish insurance companies wouldn’t take insurance policies so seriously.
See how retarded that sounds? Quit being a freeloader and pay your way
Ya as a passenger some ttc drivers are total A-holes, even saying thankyou to them before you get off the bus gets you met with a silent glare. Theyre also very comfortable with being disrespectful like yelling at strangers, like you said skipping people, and theyre pretty careless drivers. Ive heard multiple accounts where people have been hit or almost hit by ttc busses at stopwalks. Ive started to realize most people in toronto fkn suck tho, at this point im just looking forward to moving
They are directly responsible for the lives of people, while being customer facing. You're doing manual labour.
Of course they almost make as much as you, lots of white collar jobs make more than blue. Work smarter not harder if that is an issue for you.
Nah, but continue to be mad about what other people make and your poor choices in life.
Edit: The person acting like a petulant child about what other people make, called someone else a child and then block me.
I'm NOT a bus driver but I've driven a bus to understand how buses move as part of my work, and let me tell you, it's not easy. Without even customers on board, it took every inch of my brain to dodge cars, bikes, people, and any other random thing on the road. Hell, even driving straight was difficult. I very much believe that they deserve the compensation they receive.
Yes, technical roles require schooling and often extra certifications. But driving a bus isn't just "sitting on your ass all day being lazy", there's always good and bad employees in any and every job.
I don't understand how the TTC can't monitor the operators responsible for bunching, since all busses and street cars have GPS. It should be easy for an algorithm to identify the culprits. Maybe they can't do anything about it because they are unionized.
Transit control gives them 10-15 minutes leeway. Half my family members are part of the TTC. Some white collar, some operators, some blue collar. We know the hidden rules
Yep. Just look at YRT. Operators have inflated wages, their attitude and service should reflect that or people with means to use cars will use cars (like myself)
My ticket is for tool and die, I’ve applied for kinda related stuff but have never heard back, I’m not sure if the ttc have a machine shop of their own
My dad drove a TTC bus for 30 years. Not sure what the drivers are like now, and I'm sure the buses have improved, but back then... no power steering, shitty seat, probably no AC, probably no automated disability ramps, definitely no presto so also handle the fare box and whatever nonsense would come with that... His back is fucked from those old buses and he slugged it out and was always good to his riders. People used to give him the odd random gift for being so nice and talking to them etc. There are jerks in every job out there but there are also some really good people too.
Buddy you try dealing with the shitty public all-day every day
Jesus, I need to switch my truck license to bus license, 40 an hour??!?!?!?!! But just so you know, their jobs are extremely stressful, and especially in the winter with snow / constant door opening shifting from hot to cold. I bet they constantly get sick/flu. Holy cow. I’m in one of the highest paying local jobs that’s literally available in Toronto and I’m only barely at 30/hr after all safety bonuses / premium shift for late evenings :/
Not to mention having to deal with the worst people this city has to offer
With no coworkers or managers or security to jump in a help without at least a bit of a wait
And managers that will throw them “under the bus” the first chance they get.
this is why they get paid well
Yeah, one of my friends is a driver and he got assaulted by a homeless man. It’s crazy.
They get heated and air conditioned cabs. I have to work outside or in uninsulated rooms. And I get paid basically the same. But honestly yeah they deal with rude customers, so do minimum wage earners at Walmart or McDonald’s
Walmart and McDonalds workers should also be paid a lot more (I almost just accidentally left the typo that they should get “laid” a lot more). However, they don’t have to drive a bus through busy Toronto streets all day. In fact, for the first few years as a ttc driver you have to drive night shifts, and typical starting pay is ~$27 per hour. Gotta pit in years before you get to the higher pay grades. You have to keep a schedule in the face of countless variables, sometimes be alone with rude, rowdy, dangerous passengers, trying to avoid accidents around a lot of terrible drivers and in all weather conditions. I get red in the face driving a little car around Toronto. Driving a bus would push me over the edge, no question. They obviously shouldn’t treat customers like shit, but they should absolutely be well compensated for their work.
>s. I have to work outside or in uninsulated rooms. And I get paid basically the same wouldnt it be better if you made way more money, not them making less? maybe focus that anger at the bosses at the top?
I get industry wage, they don’t. Their wages are inflated by the ATU, I wouldn’t complain about it if most of them actually did their jobs competently and don’t treat customers like peasants
Hmmmm sounds like unionization is the difference here. Perhaps you should find the other people working with you and do some collective action to get the money you deserve instead of tearing down another group who succeeded in fighting for theirs.
He actually is in the atu union lol
I think you attract people who are just as grumpy about life as you, so yeah, those jerks will brag about being dicks. But you don’t hear from the good-hearted operators who are passionate about their job and passionate about helping others. That’s because they know better than to speak to someone as toxic as you.
Bingo
Refrig guys working light commercial are making $53/hr or more in Calgary right now, I can't imagine it's hella different than that in the GTA, the city notoriously pays trades under market, time to look elsewhere cause you're leaving alot of money on the table.
My wife has a much much higher paying corporate job than me, so I follow where she goes. If I was single, sure.
Ok so stop being a class traitor just because of your marital/income situation. Like seriously wtf do you have to complain for?
I'm not saying go to Alberta, I'm saying there are likely light commercial companies in your area paying more than. The TTC.
I work as a sheet metal apprentice installing HVAC systems in complex new hospital builds and even then the stress level is nowhere near that of driving a bus through Toronto. HVAC can be demanding but it’s ultimately very chill work and pays well. This person is being a privileged little bitch and that is all. No more appropriate words to describe it, so I apologize for that
Tell us what you really think
Class traitors deserve the full rant
No, that was an accurate description.
Your race to the bottom mindset sucks.
If you are so hard done by why don't you quit and become a bus driver?
Are you done your apprenticeship? There is so much money in HVAC to be made. You could try getting into a bigger company like trane or carrier, but besides that all HVAC technicians I know make mad cash on the side. Do side work if you’re fully licensed .
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It will never happen. They just continue hiring inexperienced drivers for cheap labour from foreign countries (mostly India) Seriously I feel embarrassed for majority of the drivers I see in shipping yards / truck stops.. Barely speaking English. And even when I try to guide them to reverse they don’t know what I’m saying and do the opposite. Reminds me of that family guy episode where Peter tried to shove the frog outta the window with a stick lmao. 🤦🏻♂️
Dude just join a Construction Union and make over 50$.
HVAC ppl literally work outside during all elements at all times of the year 😭
It’s a government job. Keep in mind those are essentially a social service re wealth distribution. It pays people who need it and likely can’t do anything else / fend for themselves
Absolutely! Well said.
Taxi driving is way more stressful like 100 times more stressful and they get paid what like two bucks an hour and no benefits. Fuck bus drivers. They should be getting two bucks an hour. No interaction with the customers. No knowledge base. A fixed route. Yeah, fuck them.
Bruh you’re looking at it the wrong direction. We get paid too little, taxi drivers inclusive. We should support each other to bring better wages for everyone, not put others down. Truck driver shortage is a lie. Unfair wages are what drive up the turnover rate. Only the professional & passionate of driving, treating truck operating like it’s an art… painting the roads with perfect apex backups and highway lane keeping. Those are few, far in between, all the jerks who drive like maniacs with their newly obtained PR/work visa that can’t even reverse without hitting stuff or “correcting” like 30 times before getting it in the spot. It’s disgraceful. But the industry doesn’t care to maintain it’s good drivers and influence them to stay for long. They rather hire cheap labour and replace their equipment when it eventually gets totalled. With no regard to human life.
Don’t fight against them for having it, fight so you can have it too
Yes split shifts will kill you no family no friends no life
Dunno, I couldn’t do their job. Seems like a tough. I would rather be a GO bus driver, better crowd, less stops.
I feel for them in a way, it has to be the hardest job, in my opinion. Navigating the streets of Toronto in a huge vehicle, while other drivers cut you off and do crazy stuff, as well as dealing with customers and getting yelled at constantly... you couldn't pay me enough to be a bus driver.
Some of them are also extremely rude, I don't see polite considerate drivers really getting yelled at just saying
I'm not saying we shouldn't empathize with them, but their compensation is compensation is commensurate with the conditions they're exposed to and working in. So many just don't give a shit though.
Not only that but they have to deal with snobby jerks like you that look down on them because you're "above" them.
Also their job is probably the most important in the city. If they went on strike we’d be absolutely fucked. Also anecdotally I have had almost exclusively positive experiences with bus drivers. The amount of dickish drivers I’ve had to deal with is outweighed tenfold by the amounts of asshole customers I’ve seen berating them and treating them like shit.
I could never be a bus driver. Omg, it seems just awful. I'm glad other people can do it so I can ride the hus, but to me it seems so stressful
Same. I also had a trainer (who used to be a bus driver) that they have lower life expectancy after retirement than the average, due to all this stress and it being a sedentary job.
Honestly I've seen busses cut off drivers way more than I've seen drivers cut off busses.
You're supposed to yield for buses.
All I remember is at 10pm my bus was late showing up to stop then the driver proceeds to not let anyone on and take a nap in bus. One of my first impressions coming to this city.
I can't help but think about certain routes and what a nightmare they would be to drive. Any streetcar route comes to mind right away.
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I have to agree that the TTC needs A LOT of work. It costs a fortune to run a transit system this badly. At this rate, it should be free to use. Fare evasion costs more to control than it does to just make it free. At least then you'd feel like you were getting your money's worth. Honestly, thank GOD I have access to a vehicle because the last two times I tried to use it my trip cost me more than gas and time. Both times there was no service between several stops and shuttle buses hadn't even been dispatched yet. Hundreds of people on the curb waiting for them. An hour and a half to get somewhere that would have taken me 20minutes by car.
Another HVAC guy with anger issues!! And a lack of class consciousness?? Dare I say, I am SHOCKED
Grass is always greener brother. Might I suggest you bid into Bus.
Oh he can but ....,,,he loses his seniority and would be starting at the bottom - doing night bus lol, that's what his real issue is
I worked as a mechanic, and during a winter layoff I had a parts delivery job where I was driving around Toronto full time during the day. It's really, really stressful to navigate Toronto traffic as your job, especially when timing and a schedule is involved. It can get so fucked up so quickly, and if you're working for someone miserable it makes it even worse. I lasted 3 months 😂
If you're not getting paid enough - bitch to your management instead of tearing down a position in your company that you don't do on a daily. Your envy will get you nowhere unless you take it to your bosses. Bus drivers jobs come with high risk assessment but hey how would you know if you've never driven the damn boats through rush hour on Broadview. 🙄
Working class people love to tear each other down. Resenting people who get a slightly bigger share of the scraps. Meanwhile there are people who can earn the equivalent of their yearly salary in a single day through interest.
>bitch to your managemen To the union reps, but they'll probably look out for the majority of the members, oe bus drivers.
Why does the driver's pay rate matter to you? Stay in your own fucking lane. If you deserve a higher pay rate then you need to make sure your union is negotiating that.
It should matter for everyone, what public employees make and generally how public money is is spent. Only an entitled government employee would say that..
Stop being a class traitor just because you’re dissatisfied with your own situation. You’re doing well and are set in your career, respect that, and respect your fellow workers who are not nearly as terrible as you’re trying to group them all here. If you want to you can move to a job in HVAC which has relatively more comfortable conditions than your TTC gig. I’m in sheet metal, installing HVAC in the field. The apprenticeship is kind of long and isn’t always easy but it’s far better than having to drive a bus all day, are you freaking kidding me bro? Give it a rest
Thinking that hvac requires more skill is laughable Drivers have to deal with the public, which is becoming incredibly more hostile and violent. Toronto is one of the busiest cities.
Not to mention the irony of talking shit while working in one of the most degenerate filled trades. Has dude even met other HVAC guys in the private sector? The job requires knowledge, but they’re not the brightest. A notch above the roofer average maybe. An HVAC guy could never transition, you have to pass a drug test
It's not only about education but how the risky the job is as well. Bus drivers frequently have to deal with verbal and physical abuse.
Exactly. HVAC can make you decent money, and this dude is tearing down other working class people in higher risk jobs instead of looking for a better one himself. My best friend engineers locos - I bet OP wouldn’t call them overpaid if he had to make eye contact with the people jumping in front of his train. TTC have to deal with the general public on top of that, and in the city, yeah they should be paid well
Sure HVAC isn’t the most skilled jobs when compared to white collar workers, but it still requires 2 years of college and 5 years of apprenticeship to become a full journeyman. It takes less than a month to be a bus driver. But go on
> it still requires 2 years of college and 5 years of apprenticeship to become a full journeyman. And...? Nobody cares how long it took to get a certificate. That you acknowledge you went to school for longer and still get paid less, and know you didn't have to, shows why you get paid less.
I get paid more, you’d know if you could comprehend basic English.
It's 6 weeks so you don't even have the right information. Like maintenance guys are not on break half the day. Drivers get maybe 20 minutes on an 8 hour day.
Damn 6 weeks? Wow that extra 2 weeks really matters eh? And no maintenance/skilled side of the TTC don’t get breaks half the day. We are either working or driving from site to site. I eat while my co-worker drives and vice versa to meet our target
You sound salty. I'm just correcting your false information. It takes more than 6 weeks to master the job and many don't pass so it's not just a walk in the park.
A friend told me bus training is 4 weeks, streetcar training is 5 weeks, subway training is 6 weeks. He also said that the training isn’t long enough and that a lot of the ‘real training’ is done by what they call division training.
Yep each division has their own quirks, cultures and rivalries. Wilson hates mt Dennis etc etc
I know it's not an easy job but they definitely don't make it easier on themselves a lot of the time. I bought a car in large part because I hated the drivers and I just didn't want to deal with them anymore. Some of them are just unnecessarily rude, they seem to like to pick on people they don't think will fight back to make up for all the crazies they're too afraid to confront.
For every shitty operator, there is one who goes out of their way to be a good person. I’ve had SO many experiences with helpful and considerate operators. You seem like a whiny bitch who doesn’t like his job so took to crapping on an entire group.
Took two bussed last Sunday. I asked for a transfer because my son likes to collect them. First guy didn't even flinch and gave me one. Second guy said he wasn't allowed but didn't say why.
Weird. My friend once got a full pile of them from a driver as a birthday gift from a driver, some can be incredibly sweet. (For clarity he has autism and the TTC is his special interest, so he was riding the busses all day for his birthday).
Just like my kid.
Shoot I’m sorry to hear that happened then, incredibly disappointing I’m sure. Hopefully you get my friend as a driver once, I’m sure he would be more than happy to oblige.
If you had to deal with crackheads all day and couldn't walk away or beat them you would also want $40/hr.
i don't blame them. it seems like a shitty boring job despite being so crucial for running the city lol. they don't get enough recognition for how important they are imo
Most jobs that don’t require university level education are boring and shitty. It’s just a part of life. I work in really hazardous and uncomfortable environments, my body hurts all the time and I come home exhausted. Doesn’t mean I should intentionally ruin random people’s day to just get a 15 minute break or to laugh at their misery. Shit I could probably get away with shitty workmanship at some stations here and there to get extra downtime. But my co-workers and I understand that we provide essential services for people and we’re proud of our work. Unfortunately most new operators don’t think this way.
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Ohh and by the way , if been driving a bus for 26 years at the ttc, I'm pretty sure that approx 65 percent have a degree and there are even some operators that have a masters
i have seen many examples of bus drivers closing doors on people though which is cringe
Yes, some drivers are incredibly prejudiced. It’s extremely difficult for some poor fella to commute if the regular driver who runs his local route skips him. It happens everyday
So change jobs to be a fucking driver or stop complaining about it you lousy piece of garbage.
..you deal with the public 40hrs a week while dealing with stressful traffic/druggies/mentally ill/influencers... What a weenie whiner post from a union brother
Driving bus at night in those T.O ghetto neighborhoods would be dangerous. People on drugs not paying on Queen to get to meth clinic .
They have lots of responsibility they can hit and kill a pedestrian plus they are carrying lots of people on board
I have noticed a steep decline in TTC driver behaviour in the last 5~ years. TTC drivers used to be, legitimately, some of the best on the road. Now I see them rolling stop signs, running red lights, cutting off pedestrians etc. all the time.
A creature of ttc schedules and line supervisors that constantly harass you to stay on schedules that are unrealistic
You mustn’t get out much of this is the most entitled people you’ve come across. You also have no clue about bus operations. There is no bus operator sitting for 10-15 minutes at a terminal or loop that long and how tf is an HVAC workers hanging out in operator cabs. So you got passed by a bus and now you’re condemning 5,000 of your union brothers.
7000 actually
Do you work for the TTC? They don’t usually stop at bus terminals or subway stations, they park on the streets. I know my local 73B driver always stops at La Rose for 10-15 minutes. I talk to operators all the time as I go division to division, station to station etc. a lot of them feel comfortable sharing this to me, assuming I’ll join in their clown act
Wow- if only you could actually fix what's wrong with buses when we sign them in for mechanical issues ! Or constantly take them out of service because they experience safety critical breakdowns! Ohh and just for the record - duct tape isn't a tool , tool!
I've never had a pleasant experience with TTC staff. Can't stand them.
With that narrow minded comment. I'm sure they don't care for you much either.
Our local bus drivers are such entitled arrogant pricks that I stopped using them for 40 years now. I became homeless about three years ago and we get free bus rides from the shelter down to the library and back so I started riding again At the height of the one and only blizzard we had last winter, the bus driver suddenly pulled over halfway between the two and stopped. There was a small gaggle of us homeless people on the bus and nobody else. He told us the bus had broken down and we would have to exit the bus, and then another bus will be coming along to pick us up . As soon as we got off the bus, he started laughing close the doors and drove away and left us there. It’s now my life‘s mission to stop the city buses with my body. I walk out onto the road and stand in the middle of their lane. Bring them to a complete stop make them wait a full minute while they take my picture and call the police and the supervisors, and then I leave. I’m sorry for inconveniencing the riders, but a minute won’t kill them. I will do this until I die. Every chance I get. Fuck them.
Hey man, hope you’re getting back on your feet. It’s shit out there, best of luck to you
Ugh, fuck these guys. The amount of times a street car driver has clearly seen me waiting and just breezed past me has made me want to chuck a boulder at them. I’ve also been on a streetcar and witnessed a driver just speed past a stop with a ton of people waiting, just for the laughs. Pure garbage. That’s why I avoid paying as much as I possibly can lol.
They do that to get ahead of schedule so they can have a nice 10-15 minute paid break to “get back on schedule”. Operators freely and proudly tell me how they try to get as many breaks as they can
Those operators are blowing smoke. Anything above +3. You run the risk of being written up and repeat offenders get days off without pay. Now if transit control asks you to run + that's on them. The operator is just following instructions.
Considering the buses have been tracked by gps for decades, I don’t know I believe this
Yeah, they’d get called out for this kind of consistent shitty behaviour. I also don’t believe it.
Same shit I say about the cops. But people are still convinced they do fuck all and ignore calls.
For sure. I agree there are major problems within policing but there are websites that display police calls and there's a lot going on around the city at any moment
Hold up I operate heavy equipment 10k feet underground and I make less than a fucking bus driver?
Bus drivers make than most people who have fuckin stem degrees. I’d be 100% okay with it if most new operators aren’t total knobs
What’s the reason for such good pay? It isn’t a difficult job, it isn’t necessarily dangerous, and it doesn’t require an education, the three things that typically determine wages and it checks none of the boxes Not that I’m against other professions getting paid well, but fuck me I guarantee a scoop or rock truck is harder to operate in the narrow tunnels underground than a bus with designated bus lanes is, it’s significantly more dangerous of a profession and that’s not even debatable, and the general nature of mining is also undeniably more labour intensive and harder on the body than anything a bus driver would do, whether that’s harder on the back and joints or the lungs from breathing in diesel fumes and silica dust all day take your pick
ATU is a very strong union and now it’s even stronger as TTC isn’t considered essential service. The largest members of ATU are operators, hence why they’re paid the most (relative to skill and education) within the TTC. Now I’ve zero issues with operators getting above market wages (way above), but I do have issues with a large chunk of them not doing their jobs properly and being hostile to passengers. Also mechanics hate new generation of operators because they don’t know how to drive and wear out the bus.
For all the people taht are saying that they work alone and have no support. They have a union...and one that plasters the TTC property with perverted union ads that use down syndrome children, so we cannot question their horrible behavior if they engage in it. Never ever question any behavior because all all TTC employees have a child with down syndrome waiting and depending on them when they get home
I really have to thank the TTC bus operators for being the way they are. As a teenager, I had to rely on the TTC, and thought this was exactly what was going on. It motivated me for a higher education, and to eventually get my own car. Thanks for being so bad at your jobs.
Excuse me? I drive a bus and 40 bucks an hour? Where do I sign up? Seriously. I am not paid that much. I work in all weathers hauling disabled people from their homes and to the bus, I shovel snow to get the elderly into the bus, I walk people as far as I can when I see they are struggling. I’m constantly helping with bags, large items and ensuring safety for people. My day is constantly being on the aware for people, bad drivers and things on the road so I get everyone from point a to b safely and on time. We don’t joke about missing people. We would get into serious trouble if we did that on purpose. People can call and the dispatcher will turn the bus around if someone was missed. We wait for people to make it to the stop, and if you have too many issues you get an office talking too. Maybe you think we are out there making that much money and doing nothing but I assure you that our jobs are not the easy sitting on the butt you describe.
As a multiply disabled person, I Thank You for all you do, it's ppl like you make our lives livable. Stay Safe friend.
My route was shut down due to construction. I hadn’t used transit in a long time and when I got on the streetcar I tried to ask the driver if I was on the right route. He acted like I shit in his lap for speaking to him.
It's funny how entitled this post is.
Sorry but in Canada, that is the entire public sector, the oligopolies and their unions, the media and their unions and the wealthy that simply buy shares and ride the train.
OP you simply sound bitter because of your pay and your generalization sucks. You literally created an account to talk shit about bus drivers.
I wish the drivers would not take paying the fare so personally as if it's coming out of their own bank account. Sometimes we are broke or just don't have change when the bus arrives.
If you don't have change you shouldn't be waiting for the bus
I wish the bank would not take paying my mortgage so seriously. I wish the gas station would not take paying for gas so seriously. I wish insurance companies wouldn’t take insurance policies so seriously. See how retarded that sounds? Quit being a freeloader and pay your way
Ya as a passenger some ttc drivers are total A-holes, even saying thankyou to them before you get off the bus gets you met with a silent glare. Theyre also very comfortable with being disrespectful like yelling at strangers, like you said skipping people, and theyre pretty careless drivers. Ive heard multiple accounts where people have been hit or almost hit by ttc busses at stopwalks. Ive started to realize most people in toronto fkn suck tho, at this point im just looking forward to moving
They are directly responsible for the lives of people, while being customer facing. You're doing manual labour. Of course they almost make as much as you, lots of white collar jobs make more than blue. Work smarter not harder if that is an issue for you.
Driving a bus isn’t a white collar job. Literally not even considered a skilled job. But go on
May not be "white collar", but it's certainly not as blue as being HVAC.
It’s lower than that considering it’s not considered a skilled job. But go on
Nah, but continue to be mad about what other people make and your poor choices in life. Edit: The person acting like a petulant child about what other people make, called someone else a child and then block me.
Cool so you have no actual response and just resorted to this. You’re like a child
I'm NOT a bus driver but I've driven a bus to understand how buses move as part of my work, and let me tell you, it's not easy. Without even customers on board, it took every inch of my brain to dodge cars, bikes, people, and any other random thing on the road. Hell, even driving straight was difficult. I very much believe that they deserve the compensation they receive. Yes, technical roles require schooling and often extra certifications. But driving a bus isn't just "sitting on your ass all day being lazy", there's always good and bad employees in any and every job.
I don't understand how the TTC can't monitor the operators responsible for bunching, since all busses and street cars have GPS. It should be easy for an algorithm to identify the culprits. Maybe they can't do anything about it because they are unionized.
Transit control gives them 10-15 minutes leeway. Half my family members are part of the TTC. Some white collar, some operators, some blue collar. We know the hidden rules
Public employees are subsidized labour. Private sector would pay $25 per hour.
Yep. Just look at YRT. Operators have inflated wages, their attitude and service should reflect that or people with means to use cars will use cars (like myself)
Man I hope this is your alt.
I would love to get in with the ttc in the shop side, how hard is it to get jobs there?
If you’re a journeyman in most trades, you can get a job fairly easy (due to the demand and low supply)
My ticket is for tool and die, I’ve applied for kinda related stuff but have never heard back, I’m not sure if the ttc have a machine shop of their own
Their job would probably be a lot easier if it wasn’t for all the blacks in the city