Year in review 2012
January 31: The Commission unanimously approved a contract award for the construction of the Ashbridges Maintenance and Storage Facility.
February 8: Toronto City Council held a special meeting and voted 25-18 to affirm its support for a Light Rail Transit (LRT) priority plan for Toronto.
February 26: A TTC Collector was shot during an attempted robbery at Dupont Station. The TTC offered a $25,000 reward for information.
February 29: The Commission voted to name the first two stations on the Spadina Subway Extension, Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and Highway 407.
March 2: The TTC launched end-of-line train cleaning at Kennedy and Finch terminal stations in the off-peak hours.
March 5: Toronto City Council dissolved the current nine-member Commission and created a new governing board comprising of seven elected Councillors and four private citizens.
March 13: Andy Byford became the new Chief Executive Officer of the TTC.
March 20: The Coupler website, thecoupler.ca, was launched.
March 30: The Commission introduced 11 members of the Customer Liaison Panel, established to provide a mechanism for ongoing customer participation and feedback on transit in Toronto.
March 30: The Commission approved the appointment of Andy Byford as the TTC’s CEO. TTC Chair Karen Stintz introduced Dave Dixon as the TTC’s new Chief Operating Officer.
April 4: CEO Andy Byford toured the Bombardier plant in Thunder Bay to view new subway train and streetcar assemblies.
April 19: Hundreds of well-wishers attended a retirement send-off to celebrate Chief General Manager Gary Webster’s 37 years of dedicated service to the TTC.
April 30: A new, modernized organizational structure for the TTC went into effect.
May 7: The Modernizing the TTC document was released to all employees.
May 22: Prince Charles hopped aboard a TTC bus while in Toronto to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
May 30: The Commission approved the transfer of the overall program management of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) plan for Toronto from the TTC to Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario.
June: St Andrew Station became the TTC’s 31st fully accessible subway/rt station.
June 4: Interest Arbitration Award for ATU Local 113; new three-year collective agreement (April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2014).
June 11: The TTC officially marked the completion of the first leg of tunnelling on the Spadina Subway Extension. The first TBM (Holey) broke through its extraction shaft near Keele and Finch on May 1. The second TBM (Moley) broke through its extraction shaft on June 4.
June 23: The TTC Cricket Team was crowned champion of the 2012 CIMA Mayor’s Trophy at Sunnybrook Park.
June 24: 2012 Roadeo champions: Bus Roadeo: Grand Champion John Bome; 2nd Edward Mernagh; 3rd Carey Leroux. Wheel-Trans Roadeo: Grand Champion Steve Brumpton; 2nd Don MacLoud; 3rd Ron McGrath.
July 4: The Daily Customer Service report score card was introduced to the TTC website.
July 5: CUPE Local 2 ratified a new three-year collective agreement (April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2014).
July 5: The Shuffle Demons performed on a Spadina bus to help highlight the Spadina right-of-way construction and renewal.
July 21: First anniversary of the official launch of the inaugural Toronto Rocket subway train into revenue service.
August 7: IAMAW Lodge 235 ratified a new three-year collective agreement (April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2014).
August 20: Queensway Operator Ewa Kozlowska averted grave danger when her busload of riders on the 45 Kipling route was trapped under live power lines.
September 7: The TTC kicked off a new partnership with the Metro newspaper through a weekly, full-page feature prepared by and devoted to the TTC.
September 14: The TTC mourned Road Master Peter Pavlovski who tragically lost his life while working at track level, north of Yorkdale Station. Two other employees were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
September 25: The TTC’s first low-floor streetcar test vehicle arrived in Toronto by rail from Bombardier’s Thunder Bay plant.
September 27: The Commission approved a contract for articulated, low-floor, clean-diesel buses to begin arriving in 2013.
September 27: The Commission voted to contract out bus service line cleaning, starting with two bus garages.
October 3: The TTC and Metrolinx reached an agreement that will see the TTC operate the four new LRT lines being built and financed by the Province of Ontario.
October 24: The Commission unanimously endorsed the findings of a report detailing the demand and benefits of a Downtown Relief Line.
October 30: Toronto City Council approved four citizen members to the Commission, increasing the TTC Board to 11 members.
November 1: CEO Andy Byford marked his first year on the job at the TTC.
November 15: Officials from all three orders of government came to Harvey Shop for the official reveal of low-floor, streetcar test vehicle #4400.
November 21: Citizen Commissioners attended their first TTC Board meeting; Maureen Adamson was elected as Vice-Chair.
November 21: The Commission voted to name the future streetcar maintenance and storage facility at Leslie and Lake Shore, The Leslie Barn.
November 21: Commissioners approved the final 2013 TTC and Wheel-Trans Operating Budgets and the 2013-2022 TTC Capital Budget, and confirmed a five-cent increase in the price of a single Adult token and a proportionate increase in all other fares (excluding Cash and Child fares) effective on Jan. 1, 2013.
November 28: The TTC and Metrolinx signed two master agreements: one agreement that enables the TTC to operate Toronto's four future LRT lines and one agreement that adopts the Presto farecard system across the transit system.
December 5: ATU Local 113 elections were held.
December 18: Employees and pensioners raise $782,000 for the United Way.
December 31/January 1, 2013: The TTC offered free New Year’s Eve rides (starting at 10 p.m.) and extended service in the subway and on many surface routes.
