After a growing number of complaints about overcrowding on buses, the TTC says it will be recalling the remaining employees in just over two weeks, during the first week of November.
The 179 furloughed front-line employees includes 97 bus drivers.
The TTC says the decision came down to several factors, none more important than the convenience of students.
This recall will be in place for a new cohort of high school students set to return to in-class learning on November 12.
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“Throughout the pandemic, we have continued to monitor ridership in real time and adjust service to meet demand,” said TTC’s C-E-O, Rick Leary, said in a statement.
“We’ve also been looking for opportunities to take advantage of the reduced ridership to advance major capital work at a time it would inconvenience the fewest customers.”
The TTC says ridership on the bus network has increased faster than on other modes on the system with daily bus boardings now at 50 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.