and with me is Andy Byford the CEO of the TTC.

And Andy we're here today to talk about an important accessibility feature

on all of our vehicles and that is priority seating.

ANDY BYFORD: That's right, under Ontario Legislation all transit operators must provide

designated priority seats so that's what we are rolling out across

the whole fleet of the TTC right now.

BRAD ROSS: And what people will notice of course is that these priority seats are blue,

very different from the maroon colour you see today on all of our vehicles.

ANDY BYFORD: That's right, that's to make sure that everyone knows which are the priority

seats and to reinforce that, not just the blue seats, we are also fitting decals

to the windows and the sides of the vehicles which not only denote the priority seating

zone but also make it clear for whom these seats are intended. It's a big fleet, it

will take time to roll these seats out everywhere but at the end of the day if there is a sign

above those seats, that' s a priority seating so we would ask people to respect that.

BRAD ROSS: Now who are these seats intended for?

ANDY BYFORD: They are intended for anyone with mobility impairment, so people using wheelchairs

or other mobility devices but also for elderly customers and for expectant mothers.

BRAD ROSS: Now if a customer boards a vehicle and these priority seats are occupied, what

is the transit operator's responsibility with respect to enforcing the priority seating?

ANDY BYFORD: Well, an operator will ask a customer if they will give up their seat but ultimately

they cannot enforce that rule. But what might happen is they may end up having to call Transit

Control and maybe have a transit officer attend, in which case a fine might be levied on someone

who refuses to move. We don't want to go there, we're hoping that's not necessary.

Let's all be kind and considerate to our fellow customers.

BRAD ROSS: And of course our customers will see in addition to this video an information

and education campaign across the system about priority seating and who priority seats are

intended for and the obligation that we as able bodied customers have with respect to

giving up those seats.

ANDY BYFORD: That's right. What we are trying to do, we always say that the TTC is the better

way, we want it to be the kinder way as well. So let's all work together to make the TTC

more pleasant and to make sure that people who really need these priority seats don't

have to ask, we just give them up as a matter of course.

BRAD ROSS: Well said Andy, thank you very much, and thank you very much for watching.

For more information about priority seating please visit our website at ttc.ca