Whatever!

I was flipping back and forth between two local TV channels yesterday, featuring call-in shows.



The topic was a report in yesterday's paper, about how TTC drivers suffer post-traumatic stress disorders at a rate that's 4-times higher than Toronto Police officers.



Over a 5-year period, a few hundred operators took weeks off of work, because they were too scared to go back. And it makes sense. If you're beaten-up, had pellet guns shot at your window, yelled at or even spit on, which is totally disgusting, I wouldn't want to go back to work either.



You know I've bashed TTC drivers in the past and for good cause. Some of them are just plain rude and abuse their power. However, no one deserves to be treated with so little respect as many bus and streetcar drivers are.



That being said, respect is a 2-way street and unfortunately for the majority of good and professional drivers out there, there is a small faction of nasty little buggers that also drive a bus, and it's those guys and girls that bring down people's faith in the transit system and in some cases, irk riders so badly, they'll flip on the next TTC person they see.



But if anyone's got to take the blame here, it's the TTC itself. I've been asking a lot of questions lately of TTC drivers about why they're running late and why there's such a brutal lack of communication between operators and riders whenever there's a delay.



From what I've gathered, drivers are just as in the dark as we are. It's the command centre that's not passing-on information to their front-line workers, who always get the abuse, most of the time for things they have nothing to do with and know nothing about.



Add a heaping spoonful of overcrowded buses and fare hikes with no signs of improvement, and you're creating the perfect dish for a disaster. And the chef is none other than TTC management, who clearly aren't paying enough attention to protecting their riders and their workers.





But Whatever!





You can hear Ruby Jones' Whatever rants live Tuesday-Friday during the Morning Show at 7:50, on the New Flow 93.5. Or check out the podcast at www.flow935.com!