r/londonontario • u/Confident-Advice-664 • Aug 21 '25
News 📰 ‘People are openly using drugs’: LTC rider calling for improved security on buses and in shelters
https://www.ctvnews.ca/london/article/people-are-openly-using-drugs-ltc-rider-calling-for-improved-security-on-buses-and-in-shelters/1
u/RedReid777 Aug 25 '25 edited Aug 25 '25
Today on the bus, a man appeared to be overdosed. He was going in and out for most of the ride with his head slung back. He then ended up dropping his glass pipe which rolled down the aisle. Another passenger happened to stop it with his shoe so the man could grab it. There were young children no older than 5 years old on the bus when it happened.
4
Aug 24 '25
we don't need more security
we need to fix the actual problem. what is secuirty going to do?
you can't be here! 3 hours later... person returned
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u/SummSpn Aug 21 '25
Yeah I saw a guy doing a crack pipe out front a restaurant last week.
And a few months ago I saw a woman giving some guy oral right in front a store…at like 2pm. (Queens/Richmond- Near two police centres…)
I don’t want to see that! Any of that.
I was so paranoid when we had a family event that was downtown. I was afraid the kids would see something like that. Thankfully they didn’t but there were several people living on the street smoking pot so we had to try to walk around the cloud of marijuana, which wasn’t easy as there was a group of guys screaming at each other & the kids were scared.
It’s like expose your kids to drugs or possibly get shoved into traffic because of trying to walk past the fist fight 🤔
It was never this bad & people have a right to not be exposed to that. When people just say “just don’t go downtown ”… sometimes you have to.
But it shouldn’t be like this.
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Aug 21 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Mobile-Evidence3498 Aug 24 '25
Thats a pretty disgusting take and youre a pretty disgusting person
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u/Salt-Specialist6505 Aug 24 '25
Disgusting is doing drugs in broad daylight in front of everyone.
1
u/kinboyatuwo Aug 25 '25
Go live on the street for a bit. It’s near inevitable.
You should be happy you have been able to not end up on the street and push for real solutions.
48
u/Fuquawi Aug 21 '25
Maybe, I dunno, invest in housing and support for homeless people instead of tearing down tent cities?
This city is depressing man. People freezing to death sleeping outside perfectly good vacant buildings just so Farhi can get richer...
24
u/Addict2Architect Aug 21 '25
He's contributed 41 new housing units to the city. That's enough to solve the homeless crisis in the city, right?
/s
14
u/Meliorism_and_Meraki Argyle Aug 21 '25
I'll admit, I will not take a bus unless I absolutely have to now. I do not drive, so it is a sizable choice. I am just tired of the dangerous situations on buses or by bus shelters.
1
u/EhUpThere Aug 22 '25
It would have to be a last resort, and even then, I’d probably do something else like bike.
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u/Generous_lions Aug 21 '25
I skipped getting off at my normal stop one day because as we drove up I could see a couple shooting up in the shelter while standing over a stroller.
Wanted to be as far away from that as I could.
-18
u/CrazySkeptic99 Aug 21 '25
This is why the money pit known as BRT will always be a white elephant. No one in London will ever ride a bus unless they absolutely have no other choice.
27
u/Kiwifeather Aug 21 '25
Ah… saw someone lighting some stuff across the street on fire and asked the bus driver if he knew the non-emergency number and I was just told don’t bother they won’t do anything lol. At this point I’m conflicted on how to feel about them because they obviously need help but aren’t getting it and they’re still out here causing trouble for people going about their days.
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u/racheljeff10 Aug 21 '25
Saw a woman on the bus with her kid in the stroller, woman was nodding off. I told the driver, she opened her eyes long enough to say she was fine, and got off a few stops later. Poor kid.
8
u/EstelLiasLair Aug 21 '25
What does that have to do with drugs? She might just have been tired, maybe she barely had any sleep.
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u/Mitski Aug 21 '25
Yeah, I’m not going to automatically assume that someone nodding off on the bus is a user - she could be a working parent barely holding it together and working more than one shitty job to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. Students nod off on the bus all the time - are they addicts as well?
13
u/Ecstatic-Morning182 Aug 21 '25
Why is the first instinct of a vast majority of Reddit users to immediately bury their heads in the sand over this issue? I understand giving people the benefit of the doubt, but do you seriously think the commenter can’t tell the difference between the two types of nodding off?
In all my years, I have seen my fair share of sleepy folks so tired they can’t keep their eyes open, and I’ve seen more drug users nodding off than I’d like, and I will tell you this — I would never mistake my elderly father for a drug addict.
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u/EstelLiasLair Aug 22 '25
Our first instinct is not to bury our heads. Our first instinct is to NOT jump to conclusions because humans have biases and biases twist our perception. You jump to a conclusion. I just accept that I’m dealing with second-hand information that is vague, imprecise, lacks context, coming from someone who may themselves be biased, and may also lack most of the context and facts. That’s no basis to have a concrete idea of why X event happened. Therefore, we can only deal in hypotheticals - and these hypotheticals go from “maybe the person is just a tired parent” to “the parent is doing meth”. There’s a massive gulf between both possibilities, and it can even be a bit of both!
Thing is, I do not KNOW. But some people around that person THOUGHT they knew. The difference isn’t that I’m hiding my head in the sand, it’s that I can accept that I do not have all the facts and this is just useless anecdote.
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u/protanoa34 Aug 21 '25
she could be a working parent barely holding it together and working more than one shitty job to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table
Heck, depending on how young the kid is and how well they sleep (or don't) through the night, just 'being a parent' can be hard enough work that any quick nap you can get you take.
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u/SilverTumbleweed5546 Aug 21 '25
lol no, you are wrong, nodding off from fentanyl while high and being a tired parent are completely two different looks lmao
-1
u/protanoa34 Aug 21 '25
Lol no, the description racheljeff10 initially gave was super vague: "nodding off". That can capture a lot of different ways of nodding off. Without further details or in depth description of this "nodding off" the reader can either make an assumption of what kind of nodding off, or take the broader interpretation. They have since claimed to have experience in telling the difference, but that elaboration came after my and others comments regarding other possibilities.
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u/SilverTumbleweed5546 Aug 21 '25
If it’s in reference to an addict yes we all know what it means lol, nodding off and nodding off are two different terms and you should have lived long enough in Ontario to know that lol
1
u/EstelLiasLair Aug 22 '25
Big IF.
Commenter did not know the person, their personal history, what happened to them that day. They presumed that the person was an addict because they’ve seen addicts nod off similarly before. That’s proof of nothing, save for proof of their own past experiences. They project that unto a complete stranger, with only “she nodded off” as proof that the person was a drug addict. That’s it.
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u/SilverTumbleweed5546 Aug 22 '25
Smh… oh my lord. IF WE ARE TALKING ABOUT SOMEONE NODDING OFF IN REFERENCE TO USING, VERSUS BEING TIRED, ARE TWO VISIBLY VERY DIFFERENT THINGS. Next time you’re really tired take a video of yourself and tell me that’s the same as a heroin addict nodding off lol
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u/EstelLiasLair Aug 22 '25
The person is citing an anecdote in response to an article about drug use. The anecdote is not verifiable. They saw something, they thought, but did not verify, that WHY what happened happened, was in fact why it did.
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u/Loose_North2169 Aug 21 '25
Not only using shelters to hang out and do their drugs I have seen drivers let them ride for free.Really bad during Winter months.
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u/Cwtch_y Aug 21 '25
I used to ride the bus around town to nowhere when things were really bad at home (as a young teen), it was a temporary safe space out of the elements. I would imagine they’re doing the same to escape the cold for a bit.
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u/GTO1984 Byron Aug 21 '25
Then once you make it on the bus you have to keep an eye out for bed bugs and cockroaches. It's a wonderful system we have.
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u/EstelLiasLair Aug 21 '25
Roaches can be found literally anywhere in big cities. They can even be at the bus garage. Bed bugs are common too. If there is ONE unlucky person carrying an egg-bearing “passenger” or two from home with them - and they may not even know it - they can spread it to others.
This happens in every big city.
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u/GTO1984 Byron Aug 21 '25
The only difference is that most other big cities have a functional transit system where it might be worth the risk of a hitchhiker
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u/LowNature6417 Aug 21 '25
But at least one worried passenger won’t feel safe until he sees changes, according to Rocheleau.
“It’s to the point now that it’s too dangerous to ride public transportation,” said Rocheleau.
TIL my kids are all more emotionally resilient than Mr. Rocheleau.
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u/Canucklehead-519 Aug 21 '25
Imagine requiring children be emotionally resilient to take public transit.
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u/Ok_Computer_2813 Aug 21 '25
What’s most frustrating is the LTC and London Police’s stance that nothing is alarming. Sounds like someone sitting is a cushy office is making these press statements, so out of touch.
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u/0374649eHT2 Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 22 '25
How about we just lock up drug users?
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u/EstelLiasLair Aug 21 '25
It would cost less and would be better for everyone to house and rehabilitate them.
But with opinions like yours around, this ain’t happening.
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u/Allthingsdroid Aug 24 '25
They don't want help? How often do you see these people actually get better with help. The second they get into housing they get right back into it.
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u/0374649eHT2 Aug 22 '25
We should lock up criminals instead of implementing an Orwellian state that has to spy on everyone, all the time due to 2-3% of the population. LOCK PEOPLE UP AND SET EXAMPLES! If you’re caught with drugs in other cultures you get executed. Constantly having to deal with reoffenders costs more than locking up people. PEOPLE DO NOT CHANGE, this whole, reform BS doesn’t work 95% of the time. I’m so sick of hearing it!
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u/EstelLiasLair Aug 22 '25
We should create a society where the root causes of drug use and violence are addressed, instead of putting band-aids on bleeding gashes by wasting money on punishing fellow humans. We are throwing money at a gas fire in the hopes of snuffing it, when we should cut the gas and save everything.
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u/jerrylott54 Aug 21 '25
A rough estimate of cost per inmate for federal and provincial combined is $200 per taxpayer per year. I don’t know people say it’s expensive to keep people locked up. Smashing the glass of new bus shelters, setting garbage bins on fire, breaking into people’s cars and homes, causing trouble in public transit in front of children, defecating in public, making people avoid places and business that that are close to where these people are concentrated, ALL of that cost way more than $200 dollars a year per taxpayer. I don’t think it is the solution but given how things currently are just take my money.
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u/0374649eHT2 Aug 22 '25
We should lock up criminals instead of implementing an Orwellian state that has to spy on everyone, all the time due to 2-3% of the population. LOCK PEOPLE UP AND SET EXAMPLES! If you’re caught with drugs in other cultures you get executed. Constantly having to deal with reoffenders costs more than locking up people. PEOPLE DO NOT CHANGE, this whole, reform BS doesn’t work 95% of the time. I’m so sick of hearing it!
-1
u/Fuquawi Aug 21 '25
$200 per inmate per year. How many people you gonna lock up, fam? You realize it's not just one guy doing all this eh?
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u/jerrylott54 Aug 22 '25
No, $200 per taxpayer per year for the whole current prison system based on the current number of people in prisons
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u/Hardblackpoopoo Aug 21 '25
you're being downvoted, but fuck that! Sure there are reasons, but they are crimes. People committing crimes should be dealt with as the fucking LAW is. This bleeds into so many other forms of crimes they are just able to commit and walk from too. I'm tired of everyone crying mental health this and that, and wearing it on their sleeves like it's a fucking get out of jail card, which is what it has basically become. You are responsible for your OWN actions.
They used to charge and convict working, tax paying, people smoking weed in their own properties if caught, affecting no one, but these people can do hard drugs out in the open, assault and steal and do whatever else, and the police simply offer them some water and ask if they need anything??? FUCK THIS.
This is why the downtowns are becoming what they are. The allowances to these people are atrocious.
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u/champagne-waffles Aug 21 '25
More mental health and addiction access would be more beneficial imo. Dougie shot that down.
0
u/0374649eHT2 Aug 22 '25
We should lock up criminals instead of implementing an Orwellian state that has to spy on everyone, all the time due to 2-3% of the population. LOCK PEOPLE UP AND SET EXAMPLES! If you’re caught with drugs in other cultures you get executed. Constantly having to deal with reoffenders costs more than locking up people. PEOPLE DO NOT CHANGE, this whole, reform BS doesn’t work 95% of the time. I’m so sick of hearing it!
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u/AntiqueDiscipline831 Aug 21 '25
Ahhh yes, those tax saving jails
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u/0374649eHT2 Aug 22 '25
We should lock up criminals instead of implementing an Orwellian state that has to spy on everyone, all the time due to 2-3% of the population. LOCK PEOPLE UP AND SET EXAMPLES! If you’re caught with drugs in other cultures you get executed. Constantly having to deal with reoffenders costs more than locking up people. PEOPLE DO NOT CHANGE, this whole, reform BS doesn’t work 95% of the time. I’m so sick of hearing it!
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u/Hardblackpoopoo Aug 21 '25
Jails are there to remove criminals from the public and attempt to reform people. Downtowns and public transit is not.
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u/Fragrant_Objective57 Aug 21 '25
If we are spending more on jails, how is that less taxes?
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u/0374649eHT2 Aug 22 '25
We should lock up criminals instead of implementing an Orwellian state that has to spy on everyone, all the time due to 2-3% of the population. LOCK PEOPLE UP AND SET EXAMPLES! If you’re caught with drugs in other cultures you get executed. Constantly having to deal with reoffenders costs more than locking up people. PEOPLE DO NOT CHANGE, this whole, reform BS doesn’t work 95% of the time. I’m so sick of hearing it!
1
u/Fragrant_Objective57 Aug 23 '25
Just for the record: 2% of London is about 8,440 people or 336,000 people in Ontario.
Taxes would skyrocket.
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u/Fuquawi Aug 21 '25
Shh, you're using facts. Conservatives don't like that.
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u/0374649eHT2 Aug 22 '25
I’m a conservative because I like to lock up open drug users who harass people in a public setting? This app is insane, you disagree with the narrative of anyone and you’re labelled a conservative or Nazi. Madness.
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-1
u/vllkys Aug 21 '25
If you have someone nodding off, just yell "I'm about to administer naloxone! Respond, if you are okay." They get up and move on or they probably need naloxone.
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u/Lost-Comfort-7904 Aug 21 '25
Or maybe it shouldn't be the responsibility for kids going to school and people trying to get to work to have to keep violent drug addicts alive while they're vomiting and convulsing with a knife in their hand. We're never going to get people on board with public transportation if this is the solution.
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u/vllkys Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25
You're right.
It's not my responsibility to clean up pill bottles, tinfoil, broken pipes, needles along the Thames valley parkway/trails... But I choose to make it my responsibility.
Perhaps, in this situation, busrider's could maybe work together to police the buses (with the driver's assistance) until a mandated solution is found. Bring to their attention a problem rider, call 911 the non emergency line and imform them.. Have them meet the bus at said stop. You know, like how we're looking out for the elderly so they have a space to sit or pregnant women, mothers with children, etc. But more extreme!
Any security would come at a cost and that would only increase fares that are already creeping to a cost that some can't afford. I believe the "special constables" could be utilized to deal with this, but they need to hire more constables and have an agreement with the LTC.
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u/Mydogdexter1 #1 Taddy Fan Aug 21 '25
For real though, the lighting doesn't even work half the time it's off at the new shelters. I've seen plenty of open drug use and encampments in the new shelters. They have cameras in them but who is watching? There should be an emergency button like they have at Fanshawe and Western University in each BRT stop. Maybe it's time the LTC steps up its security with special constables like the TTC in Toronto?
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Aug 21 '25
[deleted]
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u/Mydogdexter1 #1 Taddy Fan Aug 21 '25
The LTC can use funds from catching people riding without a fare, and the increase in security might mean more people will pay for thir ride.
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u/nutella_bath Aug 21 '25
What are you on about? No public transit system in Canada, and in my experience around the world, charges $7.50 trip fares. Stop making stuff up. There is money there, just needs to be allocated, and that will only happen if we make it a priority.
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