Seems TTC workers have had about enough of being the public’s punching bag for all that is wrong with the public transit system. And now TTC employees are now fighting back, as they have created a Facebook group -posting photos and comments of passengers breaking the rules. Toronto Transit has been under fire after photos and videos of sleepy TTC ticket takers and drivers taking extended coffee breaks have surfaced in the media.

The Facebook group quickly surfaced after a stern memo by the TTC's General Manager demanding an end to the “culture of complacency and malaise”. In response, rumours of a work-to-rule campaign buzzed around the social networking site over the weekend. The union is not endorsing any job action but is expected to provide a response tomorrow morning.

The general manager of the TTC, Gary Webster, issued the following statement to employees on Saturday:

”I don’t know about you, but I am becoming increasingly tired of defending the reputation of the TTC, tired of explaining what is acceptable and what is not, and tired of stating the obvious: that much of the behaviour reported is, indeed, unacceptable.”

So what can the TTC do to better improve its image? We already know they’ve hired a consulting firm to steer them in the right direction when it comes to improving their service, but will that be enough?

Merril Mascarenhas, from the consulting firm Arcus thinks the TTC needs to focus primarily on customer service.

“I think they need to understand that they’re in the customer business, not the transport business,” he says. “It’s the customer who’s paying, and they need to realise the value of that.”

So how does our transit system stack up against others around the world? Well not too well against Hong Kong's according to Marcus Bowman.

The Spacing Magazine writer recently visited the populous city and was amazed with the efficiency of their system. Even though Hong Kong's geography, population, and political climate can be challenging, says Bowman, the city still makes it work.

“They have a really great attitude of integrating the system into their daily lives,” he says, “because they understand that people take public transportation daily.”

Both Bowman and Mascarenhas agree that technology can do fabulous things, and that the TTC might want to invest some money to support technological advancements.

”It’s all about quicker, faster, and a more comfortable experience,” notes Mascarenhas.

They’re shutting down Washington today – all government offices are closed because of a record breaking blizzard that dumped more than 60 centimetres of snow on the US capital. The snowstorm didn’t stop the
political plows from shovelling more republican dirt on the beleaguered Obama administration though.

At Saturday’s inaugural Boston Tea Party convention in Nashville, headliner Sarah Palin attacked the president on government spending, and said the tea party movement is at the forefront of preserving
conservative values.

”This is about the people! And it’s bigger than any tea party, bigger than any king or queen of a tea party, and it’s bigger than any charismatic guy with a teleprompter,” she joked with a crowd that broke into cheers.

But it seems Sarah Palin needs to look at herself in the mirror before mocking others, as – in what can be described as a high school flashback – the well-known Republican was caught using cheat notes written on her hand during a Q&A session after her speech. This, after she openly poked fun at President Obama’s use of a teleprompter.

When the subject of running for president on 2012 came up, the partisan crowd urged her on chanting "Run Sarah Run".

There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Jack Layton is a fighter; from his days as a Toronto city councilor to his present post as leader of the federal New Democratic Party. Layton does not shy away from a battle, and now -as he prepares for the fight of his life against prostate cancer- will be no different.

“This year, more than 25 000 men are going to be diagnosed with prostate cancer (…) I’m one of them,” Jack Layton announced today. “I'm a fighter and I'm going to beat this.”

Despite the recent devastating news concerning his health, Layton intends to stay on as a member of parliament for Toronto Danforth, and as a leader of the NDP of Canada.

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, one in seven men will develop prostate cancer during his lifetime; that’s an average of 490 Canadian men who are diagnosed with the disease every week.

Cancer has struck Layton’s family before, as his father also dealt with prostate cancer, and his wife Olivia Chow battled thyroid cancer.

Jack Layton announced today that just as his wife and dad had fought their battles, he would also fight his with “optimism and determination”.

In a recent letter to transit employees, the TTC’s genereral manager Gary Webster outlined the need to meet or exceed customer expectations.

It has been a tough go for the TTC’s image this week, after the release of a video showing a bus driver taking a 7 minute coffee break – stranding riders. This, on top of the recent photo of a sleepy subway employee at 3 in the afternoon at Ossington station, isn’t much help either.

“I've seen a lot of TTC drivers not in booths or chatting with friends... taking breaks... I've never really been treated very nicely on the TTC,” says one rider.

On the other hand, some people have had a very different experience when it comes to dealing with TTC employees.

“Some drivers are amazing, they're very friendly, they help mothers... and yea there's some bad apples. Some of them are just absolutely surly,” agreed another rider.”

“I think this started with the fare increase, followed the next day with a prolonged subway closure, and then with the token shortages, so I think it’s just really been like the perfect storm,” said TTC’s director of communications, Brad Ross.

But pictures don’t always depict reality, he says, and it’s best not to jump to conclusions.

“It’s really easy to play the ‘Gotchya!’ game; we could play that everyday, and not just for the TTC,” he said.

Though each case is different, Ross believes that if a driver needs to take a washroom break of get a cup of coffee, it should be fine, as long as he/she communicates with the passengers.

As part of their customer service facelift, the TTC is promising flashy new video screens at subway entrances, an online trip planner, and a panel of private sector experts to help draft a customer bill of rights. But will it be enough to convince customers that it truly does care?

On the surface, it looked like business as usual at the Toyota dealership on Front St. today – but for the world’s largest car maker, things just got worse. The US transportation department has announced it is investigating brake problems with the 2010 Prius.

The Prius are not part of the earlier recall that’s now up to 7 million Toyotas worldwide, which involve sticky gas pedals. This has resulted in thousands of incidents of unintended acceleration involving Toyota vehicles.
While Toyota says it is a mechanical problem, experts are looking into possible electrical issues.

“I think Toyota has changed their minds so many times that it’s like they’re grasping at straws,” says Autonet’s national editor, Joe Duarte.

But he believes that Toyota’s response to these problems was appropriate and timely.

“I think that when you’re at the top, you’re an easier target for criticism,” he says.

Toyota admits it will cost them close to $2 billion to fix the problems. Not a total loss for the company as their profit for the last quarter was $1.7 billion.

But, they may have to change their branding and slogan of “the best built cars in the world.”