Deafening TTC alarms have been keeping residents up all night for over a year

It happens in the middle of the night: TTC buses parked outside subway stations start honking, sometimes for up to 10 minutes. But this is no mystery, as the transit agency itself acknowledges that the honking is an intentional, built-in security feature—one the TTC has been receiving complaints about for over a year.

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According to an internal investigation released via Freedom of Information request, the TTC received 85 complaints about the beeping between June 2023 and January 2024. The report found that, on average, the noise lasted for two to three minutes, with most complaints coming from around Kipling station (19) and Runnymede station (17). The honking has occurred as late as 1:30 a.m. and as early as 6:00 a.m.

The sirens are meant to blare automatically when a rider requests a stop (by pulling the yellow string, for example) while a driver is not seated behind the wheel. Drivers, in turn, are supposed to disable the alarms when they leave their vehicles with riders still on board. But, clearly, drivers haven’t been following the rules.

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One video submitted to the transit agency by angry residents even shows TTC employees walking past blaring buses and doing nothing about them. The investigation also included complaints from an anonymous resident living outside Ossington station who claims to experience the brutal noise five to 10 times a day. “It is very loud and wakes up my child from sleep almost every time, which makes it very stressful for me,” it reads. “Please! My mental health cannot cope.”

The TTC’s solution so far? Keep reminding drivers to turn off their alarms.