Toronto Transit Commission orders review of operator training program

Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Chief Executive Officer Andy Byford has accelerated a comprehensive review of all bus and streetcar operator training following the death of a 14-year-old girl who was hit by a TTC bus earlier this month.

The review was ordered several weeks ago following reports of TTC vehicles disobeying red lights, but Byford asked that the review be sped up following the Dec. 19 fatal hit-and-run bus incident.

The review will examine recruitment, training, recertification and monitoring programs of vehicle operators. A report with findings and recommendations will be presented to the TTC board, commission officials said in a press release.

"I want to give the public, customers and all TTC employees assurance that safety is, and will remain, paramount in all that we do," said Byford.

The TTC is cooperating with a police investigation into the girl's death, commission officials said.