A total of 17 TTC employees have tested positive for drugs or alcohol since random testing began in May, including two operators and one manager.
The TTC says that drugs were detected in 12 of the positive tests while the other five pertained to alcohol.
A total of 680 employees have been chosen for the random tests so far.
“It is something that is concerning for us in terms of the numbers,” TTC Spokesperson Brad Ross told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday. “It is about 2.5 per cent of those tested.”
About 10,000 TTC employees, including front-line workers, management and executives, are subject to random alcohol and drug testing.
Ross said that 10 of the employees who have tested positive were either fired or resigned in order to avoid being dismissed. There is also an ongoing investigation into four other positive tests, Ross said.
The three other positive tests, however, resulted in the employee being reinstated after the TTC determined that they were dealing with a disability, in this case an addiction.
“We have an obligation as an employer to ensure that we get them the help they need to overcome that addiction, to get treatment and to come back to their job clear of substance abuse,” Ross said. “That is something that we as an employer continue to do where appropriate.”
Ross said that the “vast majority” of the TTC’s employees are reporting for work fit for duty but he said that the random testing is necessary to ensure the safety of the transit system.
“If someone comes to work not fit for duty there is no excuse. They will be let go unless there is some demonstrable proof that what they have is a disability, an addiction for example,” he said.
