2015 Customer Charter

Dear Colleagues,

Today we cap an exciting week at the TTC with the introduction of the third annual Customer Charter, and 38 time-bound commitments that include improved service reliability, increased accessibility, cleaner stations and continued transparency in reporting and explaining delays. The Customer Charter is designed to track promises and improvements that benefit customers, while holding us to account if promises are not kept. We report progress against these commitments to the Board quarterly and post them on ttc.ca.

This year’s Charter commitments include:

• Union Station’s newly renovated platform and concourse will be open to the public and will include a new elevator, escalators and improved customer flow to reduce overcrowding.
• PRESTO will be available on all streetcars.
• 510 Spadina, 511 Bathurst and 509 Harbourfront will have all new accessible streetcars. They will include conveniences like PRESTO devices, all door boarding and air-conditioning.
• We will install the redesigned TTC system maps at all subway stations and transit shelters.
• Blue priority seats will be installed on 90 per cent of our vehicles.
• All Collector booths will accept debit and credit contactless payment for a single ride. This will make paying your fare easier than ever before.
• All of our streetcar routes will go Proof of Payment and have all-door boarding.

The inaugural Charter was launched in 2013 with 31 promises that included equipping all buses on the 192 Airport Rocket route with luggage racks, accepting delivery of five new Toronto Rocket trains and of the prototype model of the bendy bus, and designing and implementing a new TTC system map.

Last year’s Charter contained 39 promises, including establishing a special task force to seek long-term capital and operating funding, new professional uniforms for all Janitors, new wayfinding signage at Bloor-Yonge and St George Stations, fully implementing the support person’s identification card program and introducing the new streetcar on the 510 Spadina line.

We all have work to do to ensure that these commitments are met, and, after the success we’ve had in meeting the vast majority of 2013’s and 2014’s commitments, I have full confidence that we will be able to do so again. Today’s Charter launch demonstrates our dedication to continuous improvement and is one more step in the TTC becoming a transit system that makes Toronto proud.

The 2018 Charter is available at http://www.ttc.ca/home/transparency and accountability/2018 customer charter/index.jsp.

Chris Upfold
Deputy CEO/Chief Customer Officer
January 23, 2015

2015’s 38 time-bound commitments

OVERALL COMMITMENTS

1. Your streetcar, bus or subway service will be reliable and on time. Our success will be measured through our daily and monthly scorecards to make sure our performance will be better than last year.
2. We know that the accessibility of our service is the difference between being able to travel or not for many of our customers. We will continue to make our services as accessible as possible. We will make sure the ramps and stop announcements on our vehicles are working properly.
3. We won’t hide from our mistakes. If there are problems with our service, we will be clear about what happened – and what we are doing to fix it. We will do our best to communicate clearly with our customers, local businesses and communities in the event of any planned or unplanned events.
4. Nothing is more important than your safety.  We will make sure you are safe and secure while riding on our vehicles, while you are in our stations or sharing the road.

ACCESSIBLE

We will provide service to customers of all abilities.

5. To make the priority seats easier to identify, we are changing their colour to blue. The new blue priority seats will be installed on 40 per cent of our vehicles by the end of Q2.
6. Blue priority seats will be installed on 90 per cent of our vehicles by the end of Q4.
7. We will complete an overhaul of the street-level elevator at Dundas West Station and restore service in Q3.
8. Construction will begin on the Easier Access project at Royal York Station. When completed in 2017 improvements will include elevators to all levels, an accessible fare gate, automatic sliding doors and improved signage.
9. We will complete an overhaul of the street-level elevator at the Passenger Pick-Up/Drop-Off (PPUDO) at Finch Station and restore service in Q4.
10. Construction will begin on the Easier Access project at Dupont Station. When completed in 2017, improvements will include elevators to all levels, an accessible fare gate, automatic sliding doors and improved signage.

CLEAN

We will improve our appearance and environment to ensure the TTC is a transit system that makes Toronto proud.

11. We will complete a spring cleaning of every station. Pressure washing of walls, floors and pillars at all bus bays, subway stations, passenger pick-up locations, station entrances and train platforms will take place. Attention will also be given to gum removal, graffiti, station signage, telephones, benches, trash containers, elevators and stairs.
12. We will complete a fall cleaning of every station. Pressure washing of walls, floors and pillars at all bus bays, subway stations, passenger pick-up locations, station entrances and train platforms will again take place. Attention will also be given to gum removal, graffiti, station signage, telephones, benches, trash containers, elevators and stairs.
13. We will complete the reconditioning of 10 station floors and baseboards to a polished finish.

INFORMATIVE

We will provide the clearest, most accurate and up-to-date service information possible to our customers.

14. We will install the redesigned TTC system maps at all subway stations and transit shelters. We have redesigned our system map to make it easier for customers to read. This includes identifying different services more readily, showing bus and streetcar routes more clearly, and reducing clutter.
15. We will make next train arrival times available on our website to keep you informed and up to date about our subway service.
16. A new easy-to-follow map of the TTC’s streetcar network will be installed on all streetcars to help you find your way.
17. We will install 50 platform video screens, next vehicle arrival screens and station information screens in 20 stations. We will also install 40 LED next vehicle arrival displays in 20 bus/streetcar bays.
18. The Line 1 “U” from St George to Bloor-Yonge will be Wi-Fi enabled.

MODERN

We will provide our customers with modern stations and vehicles supported by new technology.

19. Union Station’s newly renovated platform and concourse will open to the public. It will include a new elevator, escalators and improve customer flow to reduce overcrowding.
20. All collector booths will accept debit and credit contactless payment for a single ride. This will make paying your fare easier than ever before.
21. To help families travel with ease, we will pilot a Family Pass for smart phones during the Pan Am/Parapan Am games.
22. We will install bike repair stands at 10 stations to encourage cycling as part of your commute.
23. We will upgrade speakers in seven subway stations: Bloor-Yonge, Spadina, Kennedy, Wilson, St Clair West, Glencairn and Lawrence West. This will make public address announcements much easier to hear and understand.
24. We will add PRESTO to 10 subway stations.
25. PRESTO will be available on all streetcars.

RENEWAL

We will improve our stations and vehicles to ensure a reliable, consistent and positive customer experience.

26. With community group input, we will finalize the location of the second exit at Chester Station.
27. 510 Spadina, 511 Bathurst and 509 Harbourfront will have all new streetcars and will include new features such as PRESTO devices, accessible low floors, all-door boarding and air-conditioning.
28. We will enhance the new Toronto Rocket subway trains by installing low-ceiling handholds and exterior door chimes.
29. We will improve lighting inside 74 subway trains through the replacement of fluorescent with energy efficient LED lighting.
30. We will replace/repair wall tiles at four subway stations, stair tiles at four subway stations and floor tiles at five subway stations.

RESPONSIVE

We will flexibly adapt to changing customer needs to provide you with an efficient and pleasant travel experience.

31. All-door boarding on 504 King Streetcar will begin making it easier for you to board the vehicle and speed up your journey time.
32. We will promote the low-cost and convenience of the 192 Airport Rocket with a bus wrap and in-system advertising.
33. Proof of Payment (POP) and all-door boarding will be implemented on 50 per cent of our streetcar routes.
34. All of our streetcar routes will go POP and have all-door boarding.
35. On Line 1 and 2, we will put into service two additional subway trains each during peak hours to reduce crowding and increase service.
36. All TTC Operators and station staff will be wearing the new, modern TTC uniform.
37. We will provide excellent service during the Pan Am/Parapan Am games through increased levels of service and more customer service staff to support all customers.
38. There will be five per cent fewer delays (incidents and minutes) on the subway compared to 2014. This is part of our commitment to reduce delays by 50 per cent over the next five years.