TTC bus driver seriously hurt in stabbing following fare dispute, Toronto police say

A TTC bus driver was seriously injured after he was stabbed several times following a fare dispute on Wednesday, Toronto police say.

Insp. Richard Harris, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service, told reporters that the stabbing took place on Keele Street and Gulliver Road. Police were called to the area at 12:55 p.m. The driver, who is in his early 50s, was operating a 41 Keele bus.

The assault is the second stabbing of a TTC employee within a week.

According to police, the driver got into a dispute over fares with four to five people. The dispute began on the bus, the driver then pulled over and the dispute continued just outside the vehicle, where the stabbing occurred. Police say the driver's injuries are "not considered to be life-threatening at this time."

Toronto paramedics took the driver with non-life-threatening injuries to hospital. He was stabbed in his torso and shoulder area.

As the investigation continues, police are seeking help from anyone who saw anything or who has cellphone or dashboard camera video taken in the area at about 1 p.m. Forensic officers will look at TTC cameras.

Officers from 12 Division, plains clothes and uniformed members, are canvassing the area. Emergency task force members and the police's canine unit also searched the area. The group of riders fled the area on foot in a southerly direction. The weapon was a knife.

Police described the person who stabbed the driver as a young Black male, about 16 to 17 years old, about 130 lbs., about five foot six or five foot seven, with a dark complexion, wearing dark clothing and his hair was in braids. The other riders were Black males as well.

Marvin Alfred, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, which represents nearly 12,000 TTC workers, said in a statement on Wednesday that a union representative visited the worker in hospital and found out that he is in stable condition.

The union called on the city and TTC management to draft a "transit worker protection plan" to stop violence against workers. The plan should have increased enforcement and penalties, the union said.

"This violence cannot continue, and we need more protection immediately to ensure our safety," Alfred said.

"Nobody in our city should have to worry about being assaulted or hurt on the job, especially transit workers who have kept our city moving throughout the pandemic and have already managed COVID-related stress for two years," he added.

"Daily assaults of TTC workers, including two stabbings over the past week, cannot be condoned or tolerated. TTC management and the City of Toronto must make changes to better protect the safety of our members."

Jim Ross, chief operating officer at the TTC, said the news of the stabbing is shocking. He said the driver has worked at the transit agency for more than 20 years.