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The TTC will launch a new pilot project on Monday meant to catch road users who illegally pass open streetcar doors.
Over a nine-month pilot, four streetcars will use new automatic camera enforcement technology on five “mixed traffic” routes — 501 Queen, 506 Carlton, 504 King, 511 Bathurst and 505 Dundas — to record incidents and license plate information.
The cameras, from B.C.-based Gatekeeper Systems, will measure how often drivers pass streetcars illegally and will test how reliable the technology in terms of automated enforcement, the TTC said in a news release Friday.
Stuart Green, spokesperson for the TTC, said riders and operators report drivers illegally passing open streetcar doors daily.
“For us, this is about safety. It’s about making sure our customers are safe when they’re riding the system,” he said Friday.
Data from the TTC shows that 141 people were struck and injured by vehicles while boarding or exiting streetcars between 2014 and 2024.
No tickets will be issued but data from the pilot will be used to advocate for an automated ticketing program some time in the future, Green said.
Offence carries fine up to $183, 3 demerit points
Under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, it is illegal for road users, including operators of cars, trucks, motorcycles, mopeds, e-bikes, bicycles and scooters to pass open doors while a streetcar is at a curbside stop. The offence carries a fine of up to $183.25 plus three demerit points.
“You must stop behind a stopped streetcar with the doors open. That is the law,” Green said. “You have to stop and allow the customers to get off safely.”
The TTC says a change to the Highway Traffic Act made by the province in 2021 means camera-based enforcement was allowed as of July 1, 2022.
TTC spokesperson Stuart Green says: ‘Under the Highway Traffic Act, you must stop behind a stopped streetcar with the doors open. That is the law, whether you’re in a car, on a bike, on a scooter.’ (CBC)
Doug Dyment, president and CEO of Gatekeeper Systems, said the technology was tailored to the needs of the TTC. Gatekeeper Systems is described as a provider of video and data solutions that aims to create a safer transportation environment.
“It’s specifically got one job to do, right?” he said.
“And that’s identify when there’s an incident, capture all the evidence that has been laid out in the legislation that our system matches, pump it up into the cloud … and then match that licence plate with the vehicle owner and issue a citation — even though, this particular pilot, they will not be issuing citations,” he said.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said at an unrelated news conference Friday that the pilot is about improving safety.
“Some of us have seen these reckless drivers. The doors open, people are stepping out and they drive right through. That’s dangerous. So these cameras, we will be able to see who’s doing it,” Chow said.
“We need to keep everyone safe on our roads, including transit users.”