Toronto to urge basic etiquette with bright 'priority seats' on all buses

In an effort to foster a decent level of etiquette on public buses, Toronto transit officials are set to make priority seats brighter, more vibrant and more noticeable – a sure sign that common decency is all but dead in Canada’s largest city.

The Toronto Transit Commission announced this week that they would be introducing new priority seating measures on all city buses. The measures include posting large decals identifying seats as reserved for priority passengers, and giving those seats bright, plush covering so they stand out.

The new initiative should solve the problem of people not knowing it is common courtesy to offer your bus seat to someone in need. But it sadly can do little to make those who don’t follow societal customs act like they were raised by human beings.

The new seats will be bright blue, unlike the reddish maroon colour of most current transit seats. They will also be plush, which will make them a far cry more comfortable that some worn-out seats on the older generation of city bus.

“We always say the TTC is the Better Way, but we want it to be the kinder way as well,” TTC CEO Andy Byford says in a video explaining the situation.

“Let’s all work together to make the TTC more pleasant.”

The new seats will be introduced to the entire bus fleet over time.

Priority seating is supposed to be reserved for elderly passengers, the blind, those with mobility issues and pregnant women. In other words: people who needs chairs on a moving vehicle more than you, so stand the hell up.

There are already priority seating on subways, but provincial regulations requiring priority seating on all vehicles led to this push.

Earlier this year, TTC spokesman Brad Ross and Chief Customer Officer Chris Upfold released an April Fool’s Day video highlighting some of the most common types of poor etiquette seen on public transit. The video purported to introduce the newest customer service initiative: personal cars - a place where people can do anything they’d like without consideration for others.

Seating etiquette became a major issue in Toronto earlier this fall, after a man refused to move his bag off of an open chair and berated a woman who had requested a chance to rest.

That man became known as the TTC Leprechaun, thanks to his terrible facial hair and decision to wear bright green clothing. The transit commission launched an investigation to try to identify the poorly-raised hillbilly (my words, not theirs).

The seat in that case wasn’t a priority seat – just an available one the leprechaun refused to clear his bag off of - but the issue at the centre of the matter remains the same.

There is a level of courtesy and respect required to make society work. This is summed in its most basic form by the ceding of chairs to those more in need.

It is notable that TTC drivers will not be able to force anyone to live by the priority seating guidelines, but they have the right to call transit control and have an officer attend the scene should it be necessary. In such cases, a fine is likely.

Meaning, if you won’t stand for Aunt Gertrude, everyone on the bus has to sit and wait until either your shame, or an officer, forces you into action.

Public transit: It’s not just for mouth breathers, anymore.