There's something to be said about having the gravitas, in the public eye, to deal with issues of significant importance.
Issues such as how Torontonians get around this city, for example. So when it comes to the increasingly toxic situation at the Toronto Transit Commission, that gravitas is sorely needed. Recent events have thrust a decidedly uncomfortable spotlight on operations at the beleaguered commission. This means the response to the citizen outcry - partially summarized by citizen photos and video documenting poor customer service - is of critical importance. While some may find that good customer service is some newfangled concept, it's a basic, legitimate expectation of TTC users. So heaven forfend that Gary Webster, the commission's chief general manager, sends out a memo with essentially the most basic of requests of the employees: do the job they were hired to do.Three days later, the union officially responded with the suggestion of a public outreach program in an attempt to mend fences. Given the transit union's recent track record, the idea of public outreach is a far cry from the obnoxious short-notice walkout in late April 2008 that left thousands of riders stranded at midnight. On the other hand, Tuesday's response, delivered by chair Bob Kinnear, did have plenty of stinging words for Webster as well as a "distinct minority" of passengers who engage in harassment and "video stalking". But what's really at issue here? "Video stalking," for example, appears to be a symptom of a far larger problem. Drowned out, by a clearly fractious union-management relationship, is another partnership. It's one that essentially boils down to the one between government and citizen. One is tasked with providing an efficient, cost-effective and green transit system - one fitting for a world-class city. The other is growing increasingly fed-up. It's a partnership, we would all agree, in need of repair. That's because management and union rhetoric aside, there are seriously legitimate questions about the quality of service the TTC provides. People are growing increasingly fed up with an antiquated system that suffers from multiple maladies, not just this recent spate of front-line employee slipups. These questions range from basic customer service to the planning and execution (or lack thereof) of the massively delayed St. Clair streetcar project. Ultimately, the record number of complaints the TTC received last year and the photographing and videotaping of workers are all manifestations of a growing disconnect between the service providers and users. Addressing the source of the angst requires profound repair to that relationship, above all. Especially if we are to remove that palpable sense of contempt for the very people supposed to be served - the customer and taxpayer.