The TTC is conducting an internal investigation after one of its bus drivers had her licence suspended after she allegedly hit the warning range on a breathalyzer test while on the job.
Passengers on the bus called police Friday afternoon complaining of erratic driving. They reported that the driver had deviated from the main route and was using side streets instead.
Authorities stopped the vehicle on Dawes Road near Danforth around 2:30pm and had the driver take a breathalyzer.
The operator allegedly blew between .05 and .08 – a reading high enough to warrant a 72-hour driving suspension, but not an impaired driving charge.
"They have all of our lives in their hands. They should be even more sober than anybody else," a rider named Krissy said.
"If I'm getting on a bus, I want to make sure I'm safe," another rider added.
The 40-year-old driver, Margaret Wilson, is currently on suspension without pay pending a TTC probe. The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 is also probing the incident.
This comes as the transit commission reviews its customer service practices with the help of an advisory panel set up last month.
The commission went into damage control in January after one rider took a picture of a ticket collector sleeping in his booth and another customer released a video of a bus driver apparently taking an unscheduled coffee break leaving late-night riders waiting on a Bathurst Street bus.
Meanwhile, a 2008 report found 39 drug- and alcohol-related offenses by TTC employees in a 30-month period. That, coupled with the death of a worker who had been using drugs during his shift, pushed the TTC to implement a fit-for-duty policy.
According to TTC chair Adam Giambrone, there has been a 95 per cent reduction in incidences since the policy was implemented.