TTC rider shares frightening subway encounter: ‘I was physically cornered to my seat’
Global News
As new safety measures go into effect on the TTC, one transit user describes her own disturbing encounter this past weekend while on the subway.
Beginning this week, new safety measures are taking effect on public transit in Toronto. It comes on the heels of a joint announcement between the TTC, the city, and police.
The new measures are meant to address a surge in violence plaguing the transportation network.
Speaking with Global News on Tuesday, Alexandra Fiallos shared her experience of using the transit system over the weekend. Fiallos, who is from Ottawa, has also lived in Los Angeles and says she frequently took public transit there.
She says she’s reliant on the TTC because she simply can’t afford the costs associated with owning her own vehicle and using ride-share to get around.
Fiallos told Global News she was on her way to work this past Saturday when a man boarded her train.
“He seemed quite harmless, asking people to wish him a happy birthday. I think I was looking down, taking a bite of my sandwich, and I looked up and suddenly he was in front of me and I was physically corned to my seat,” she said.
By the time she looked for help, Fiallos says no one was around. Now alone and in close proximity to the man, she said she felt as though she had to engage in polite conversation.
According to Fiallos, that’s when things began to escalate – the stranger began to encroach on her personal space.