Intense video footage is circulating today of a TTC bus driver screaming at a passenger who, according to a witness, tried to sit in one of the blue designated priority seats and refused to move when asked.
The clip, sent to blogTO via Facebook by a reader who does not wish to be named, shows a driver on the public transit agency's 52 Lawrence West route Tuesday evening repeatedly asking a customer to leave the vehicle.
Clearly irate, the driver bangs on the partition separating herself from the passenger at times and, after he threatens to spit in her face, grows legitimately hysterical, screaming at the top of her lungs.
While some who've seen the video are remarking upon how out of control the driver seemed, it's important to note the context: At the very beginning of the video, the man can be faintly be heard calling the woman a "crazy c*nt" — and his abusive language doesn't stop.
A TTC driver started screaming at a passenger to get off the bus when he tried to sit in a priority seat reserved for people with disabilities #TTC #Toronto pic.twitter.com/EwLpqWQSET
— blogTO (@blogTO) July 22, 2020
The person who filmed the video told blogTO the man had originally sat down in one of the priority seats reserved for customers with disabilities, the elderly and pregnant women .
It would appear as though someone asked the man to move, prompting the driver to get involved, and an altercation to ensue.
"They don't know the law like I know the law," screams the man to the TTC driver at one point.
"If you knew the law you wouldn't be on the bus, look at how you're behaving!" responds the driver. "Calling me a bitch, you should be ashamed of yourself! You should be ashamed of yourself!"
The woman continues to ask the man to exit the bus repeatedly, yelling "Get off my bus! Get off my bus!"
The man responds with such comments as "f*ck you," "you can go f*ck yourself" and "it's not your bus." The woman driver retorts with phrases like "you're a loser," but mostly just screams at the man to get off the bus.
After the driver insistently bangs on her plastic divider while beckoning the man to leave, he challenges her to "come out here and say that."
Hi Elizabeth. Thanks for your feedback on this matter. ^TR
— TTC Customer Service (@TTChelps) July 22, 2020
Later, the customer calls the driver a whore, tells her to suck a c*ck, gives her the middle finger and then threatens to spit in her face, at which point her rage (justifiably) intensifies.
"SPIT IN MY FACE, I DARE YOU! I DARE YOU TO SPIT IN MY FACE!" she screams, getting up out of her chair and leaning forward.
Fortunately, another passenger comes up to the front of the bus and ushers the man who'd been verbally attacking the driver from the vehicle.
The driver can be heard saying quietly a short time later "I'm done working." She appears to be speaking into the phone, mentioning an abusive customer and asking whoever she's speaking with (presumably a supervisor) to "send someone right now."
The TTC says that it is aware of the incident and is currently investigating.
by Lauren O'Neil via blogTO
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