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The Toronto Transit Commission is adding a new approach to keeping subways safe: constant video surveillance, public address warnings and an app that allows customers to report each other.
Dubbed “subway assistance management,” or SAM, it began as a pilot safety project to prevent “anti-social behaviour” at Kennedy Station in Scarborough, but is now being rolled out across the subway system, TTC board chair Jamaal Myers said at a news conference at the station Wednesday.
The TTC will now have two staff monitoring surveillance footage across all 70 TTC stations, Myers said. If they spot rule-breaking, like smoking or vandalism, staff will then use station PA systems to issue warnings to stop otherwise law enforcement or special constables will be called.
“SAM is a real-time monitoring tool that extends our eyes and ears across the system. Our officers can’t be everywhere,” Myers said.
Customers will also be able to report rule-breaking directly to the SAM team using an app, which will prompt an immediate PA warning at their station, he said.
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In a staged demonstration for reporters, a TTC staffer pretended to smoke on the station platform, while Myers pretended to take a photo and report it on his phone.
Seconds later, a warning came over the PA: “Attention customers at Kennedy Station. This is the transit control centre. Stop smoking immediately. You are being recorded. Police and special constables will be dispatched if you do not comply.”
Station PA systems have recently been upgraded with digital technology that should improve the TTC’s notorious audio quality, making warnings clear, Myers said. The warnings won’t be issued on trains, due to connection difficulties in tunnels.
Fort Monaco, the TTC’s chief operating officer, said SAM was based on a program on Sacramento, California’s light rail system.
TTC not Big Brother, Myers says
Asked if the new safety measure was surveillance overreach, turning the TTC into Big Brother, while asking customers to tattle on each other, Myers said the TTC was just taking advantage of video monitoring technology already in place.
“That’s how we get a safe TTC back. That’s where we want to go,” he said. “We want to make sure that our customers feel safe, and we want to make sure that they know that if something happens, help is on the way.”
“If you don’t want to be called out, don’t smoke, don’t loiter, don’t commit vandalism. It’s pretty simple.”
The TTC also recently announced a pilot program at TMU station that will add AI cameras to platforms to report intrusions on the tracks. The TTC is also using surveillance drones to monitor and manage crowds during the World Cup.
Staff on the ground still part of TTC safety: Myers
Video security aside, Myers said the TTC is still relying on people on the ground to keep transit safe.
“More officers are now mobile on trains and on bikes, and deployed where the data tells us they’re going to be needed most,” he said. The TTC has also added 10 new outreach workers on its network of streetcars and buses, and expanded the Toronto Community Crisis Service into subway stations.
“Keeping the system safe means connecting people to the support they need, not just moving them along,” he said. “I’m proud to say that, taken together, these measures are working, and they’re having a real impact.”
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To further improve safety, three more stations — Main Street, Dundas West and Don Mills — will also be cleaned up and upgraded with improved lighting as part of what was originally a 2024 pilot program that focused on enhancing six stations, Myers said.
“Because a clean, well-lit station sends a clear message: the system is cared for, and so are you,” he said.
