TORONTO—In September, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) launched an awareness campaign to combat all forms of harassment on transit property. Over the last month, use of the #thisiswhere has skyrocketed.
“I love this is where!” enthused TTC rider Emma Bowling. “Last week I used it to find the mittens I left on the 87C bus.” Bowling confirmed that she tweeted about her lost mittens with the hashtag and another Twitter user got back to her almost immediately. “Thanks, TTC!”
#thisiswhere is meant to be used in conjunction with the SafeTTC app to report incidents of sexual harassment, racism, homophobia and other incidents. “It’s taken on some unorthodox uses,” admitted TTC spokesperson Gregg Alto. “We’ve seen the hashtag show up on all forms of social media in regards to everything from missed connections to mice on the tracks. One woman posted an Instagram picture of the empty toilet roll in a bathroom stall at Yonge-Eglinton station.”
When Mooseclean’s asked a group of riders what they thought of the program, most were enthusiastic. “We’ve been using it to meet up,” said regular subway rider Tasha Lynn. “I’ll hashtag ‘this is where’ and a TTC station so my friends know this is where I am. Then we all head to the club.”
Alto hopes the campaign will start to get more traction as a safety feature when people realize its intended use. “It’s a great way for our customers to send a discreet message or picture if they feel threatened,” said Alto. “All they have to do is search SafeTTC on the app store, download the app, agree to the privacy policy, enter their personal information, allow location settings, upload a photo or incident report, select the report type, enter the location and send the report. It’s a quick and easy way to make sure everyone is safe on the TTC.”