TTC rider claims driver abandoned bus

A TTC driver abandoned his bus in the middle of the afternoon leaving his passengers stranded on Tuesday, a rider claims.

The rider, Victor Bulario, shot a video of the incident, which happened at 1:30 p.m. on the 32 Eglinton West route, near Eglinton Avenue West and Trethewey Drive, in Toronto.


Bulario said he called the TTC when it happened and no one showed up to drive the bus.

He said he saw the driver fill out a time card and look around for a replacement driver. Bulair said the driver then got off the bus and told about 20 people on board that it was home time and there should be a driver there shortly.

Another driver of a bus behind the abandoned one, boarded their bus and called into dispatch using the bus phone.

Bulario then said that bus driver was asked to abandon his bus to babysit the abandoned bus since the replacement driver didn't show up.

Passengers were then told to leave the bus as it was temporarily out of order.

TTC spokesman Brad Ross said in a statement, “The TTC was made aware of the video yesterday. We are reviewing the circumstances of what happened and why, and are taking this matter very seriously.”

TTC union head Bob Kinnear said there can be severe consequences, including termination, if the driver really left the bus unattended.

According to TTC protocol, a driver is not permitted to leave a bus if his or her shift is over until the relief driver arrives.

Kinnear said from what he heard, there was some confusion with the relief driver, who didn't show up when he was supposed to.

It's unclear if the bus engine was still on, but there is an alarm going off throughout the video.

And in case you're wondering, no, you don't need keys to start and drive a TTC bus.

That's pretty funny