A new viral video of what appears to be a bed bug crawling on the seat of a TTC subway car has sparked a new fear among Torontonians.
A Reddit user shared a video clip on the popular subreddit page r/Toronto, of an insect crawling around the seat, and captioned it, “TTC Line 1. Regular occurrence.”
The post’s comments were full of Redditors who were horrified by the clip.
“People should start reporting what train numbers this is happening on,” one user commented.
“Gross, dude. Never sitting down on TTC again,” another commented.
Many users suggested the TTC should treat its buses, subways and streetcars with extreme heat. Some also said the TTC should’ve gone with plastic seats ahead of cloth, while others challenged that opinion as bed bugs are skilled at hiding.
Narcity reached out to the TTC for comment, and a spokesperson said that “vehicles are cleaned every night, but from time to time insects get onto the system.”
They added that “multiple experts in the field have said that transit is an inhospitable environment for insects to live and breed, irrespective of the seat material.”
“Our hope is that if someone sees something they are concerned about, they promptly report it to customer service or through the SafeTTC app, so we can have the vehicle taken out of service and cleaned,” the spokesperson added.
They also stated that they cannot confirm what the video is of, or where is was recorded.
In June, another Reddit user shared a photo of what appeared to be a syringe sticking out from under a seat on a 501 streetcar.
Toronto has long struggled with bed bug infestations. In March 2024, Orkin Canada found that the 6ix was the most infested city in Canada.
Stay vigilant, Toronto!
This article’s left-hand cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
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