# Newsflash! Subway riders now responsible for ensuring transit workers remain conscious! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 23, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117 "2010-01-23T15:09:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/41 "2010-01-25T18:21:20Z")
They only appear to be asleep. In reality, they are dead and propped up in place in their seats, like a museum exhibit behind thick glass, with the union still collecting dues from the direct deposit payroll. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/42 "2010-01-25T22:59:03Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > They only appear to be asleep. In reality, they are dead and propped up in place in their seats, like a museum exhibit behind thick glass, with the union still collecting dues from the direct deposit payroll. Sadly I can’t find that sketch from “Not the 9 O’Clock News” on youtube to link to. Were the ticket collectors shackled to heaters to prevent anyone slipping on the ooze? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/43 "2010-01-26T00:41:30Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > They only appear to be asleep. In reality, they are dead . . . Ah! That would explain that ‘subway smell’. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/44 "2010-01-26T12:53:21Z")
> [@Linty\_Fresh](#): > > Still on this issue, I see the union’s point. That first picture looked kind of disturbing. The union might have a point if the guy who had taken the photo hadn’t been interviewed already having said this was not a one-time thing. The guy was asleep at his post again and again and again. Finally the photographer couldn’t take it anymore, and he took the picture to report the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/45 "2010-01-26T14:16:10Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > The guy was asleep at his post again and again and again. Or just re-animated between shifts again and again and again. Folks, I think what we have in the caverns underneath Toronto is a serious undead problem that the union is trying to bury. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/46 "2010-01-26T14:22:39Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > Sadly I can’t find that sketch from “Not the 9 O’Clock News” on youtube to link to. Were the ticket collectors shackled to heaters to prevent anyone slipping on the ooze? We’ll need complete sets of breathing apparatus in subway, new air conditioning, and, may I suggest triple wages for the fare collector, who, throughout this difficult period, has been available for work on a three-shift basis. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/47 "2010-01-26T14:37:46Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Checking your underlings aren’t sleeping at their posts sounds like micro managing to me. > > I wouldn’t want my managers to work on that level. After all managers get paid more than underlings. Pretty expensive alarm clocks. The job of a manager is to ensure that all the employees he or she is responsible for are working as effectively and efficiently as possible. This means both going to bat for them when something external interferes with them doing their job (like a pissed off customer), but also correcting them when they do not properly do their job (like sleeping). So yes, it is part of their job to make sure their employees aren’t sleeping (or gossiping too much, or abusing customers, etc.) and to reprimand and ultimately fire them if they don’t straighten out. One would hope that it would be a very _small_ part of their job, because sleeping employees should not be a common thing at all. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/48 "2010-01-26T15:05:49Z")
A bit of patience, a bit of understanding, a lighted firecracker dropped thru the slot - these little things make all the difference. Regards, Shodan (who interacted with the subway ticket taker in Toronto and there encountered the only asshole in Canada, apparently) ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/49 "2010-01-26T17:20:26Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > **Shodan** : . . . (who interacted with the subway ticket taker in Toronto and there encountered the only asshole in Canada, apparently) I believe you have miscounted. After all, unless **Zeke N. Destroi** has a side job collecting tickets with the TTC, there are at least two. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/50 "2010-01-26T17:25:48Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > I believe you have miscounted. After all, unless **Zeke N. Destroi** has a side job collecting tickets with the TTC, there are at least two. Not so loud - you’ll wake him. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/51 "2010-01-26T22:02:17Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Then there’d be all the complaining about passengers killing the ticket collectors… > > But seriously, if everyone’s getting in without paying because the ticket guy’s asleep, wouldn’t you kind of be the asshole if you’re the one who wakes him up? You’d be a real party pooper 😃 ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/52 "2010-01-28T02:07:43Z")
[TTC says, “we’re sorry”](http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/756688--we-re-sorry-says-the-ttc?bn=1). ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/53 "2010-01-28T02:58:27Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > [TTC says, “we’re sorry”](http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/756688--we-re-sorry-says-the-ttc?bn=1). Yes, it’s about time. Now let’s see if something is done, or if this is just for show until it can be swept away and forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/54 "2010-01-28T04:42:52Z")
I was in Toronto recently. Understand that I’m originally from Toronto, but haven’t lived there for some years. I still know my way around the city, however; and on this recent trip, I used TTC for getting around town. I will say that after experiencing the public transit systems in Calgary and Edmonton over the last number of years, I’d suggest that TTC still comes out on top in terms of frequency of service, safety, and speed. Subway trains, even on Sundays, run at no more than five minute intervals; weekday rush hour service is even more frequent. Buses run directly from point A to point B, without taking time to meander through neighbourhoods. Subway trains have clear announcements of the next station; and once at the station, clear signage indicates where you need to go. It is impossible to get lost or on the wrong platform in the subway. I do miss the conductor’s whistle, but the “bong-bong-bong” works just as well. With that being said, however, the fare collectors were surlier than I recall, and the experience was not what I remembered in some respects. A polite “Five tokens please” together with a twenty-dollar bill resulted in five tokens, a grunt, and $7.50 thrown at me–well, thrown as well as bills and coins can be thrown through the slot in the glass. The transfer machine at my local station was out of order, and remained so the entire week I was there. A couple of times, the train just sat in the station for longer than it should have (and yes, I remember that Eglinton S/B and Bloor N/B often have time-checkpoint delays, but we weren’t delayed in those stations), and it was quite some time before we were informed of the emergency situation that was causing the delay. Things like this never used to happen–fare collectors were pretty good guys, broken transfer machines were fixed the next day, and passengers were informed of delays sooner. In many ways, it was the TTC I remembered (and sorely missed once I’d experienced Edmonton and Calgary); but in other ways, it had changed, and not for the better. I’m glad to hear that the TTC is addressing the problems, and I’ll look forward to travelling on a real “Better Way” next time I’m in town. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/55 "2010-01-28T12:58:28Z")
I was in Toronto before Christmas, and came upon a subway fare collector who was surly. I needed to make a return trip, so I passed my money through the wicket and asked for two tickets. The collector said no. A discussion ensued, which was eventually interrupted by one of the many people in line behind me, who helpfully said that I should ask for change and then pay exact change, rather than ask for tickets. Why the collector could not have advised me of that is beyond me, but it does reinforce my belief that the bullet-proof cage that surrounds the collectors is there for the protection of the public, just as in any other zoo. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/56 "2010-01-28T16:47:44Z")
Ah yes, the on-the-job attitude of “I will help you as little as possible and still retain this job.” Always such a treat to encounter (and dare I say, more common in unionized workers?). ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117/57 "2010-01-28T18:52:06Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I will say that after experiencing the public transit systems in Calgary and Edmonton over the last number of years, I’d suggest that TTC still comes out on top in terms of frequency of service, safety, and speed. Subway trains, even on Sundays, run at no more than five minute intervals; weekday rush hour service is even more frequent. Buses run directly from point A to point B, without taking time to meander through neighbourhoods. Subway trains have clear announcements of the next station; and once at the station, clear signage indicates where you need to go. It is impossible to get lost or on the wrong platform in the subway. I do miss the conductor’s whistle, but the “bong-bong-bong” works just as well. This is pretty much a function of the size of the city. A larger city will inevitably have a much denser, more extensive public transit system. Calgary and Edmonton aren’t exactly small, but combined they’re still not as big as Toronto, and Toronto is just the densest part of a metropolis with twice the population of the official city boundaries. It just isn’t possible for a city the size of Calgary to have an equivalent system. It could never be viable. When compared to _other cities of comparable size_, Toronto’s transit system is, at best, adequate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-subway-riders-now-responsible-for-ensuring-transit-workers-remain-conscious/526117.md?page=2)