If there's anything to learn from Monday's winter storm is that winter tires are a huge asset on the road but you might be surprised to learn which city services are operating without the equipment.

Both TTC and Toronto police vehicles use all seasons tires and officials say there are no immediate plans to change that.

CEO Andy Byford told reporters the TTC relies on the city to keep the roads clear. He made the comments after the mammoth storm dumped 22 centimetres of snow on the city and left more than a dozen TTC buses stranded on a hill on York Mills Road near Yonge Street.

“I think the main issue for me is that we are reliant obviously on the city keeping the roads clear,” Byford said, in explaining why he wouldn’t be taking a closer look at installing snow tires on the TTC’s 1,851 buses. “It is always going to be a challenge when you have that amount of snow (22 centimetres) overnight.” 

Though winter tires are often touted as a virtual necessity during the winter months, TTC Spokesperson Brad Ross told reporters that the tires just don’t make sense for the TTC given the speeds that its vehicles usually travel at.

Ross also said that the challenge of storing the winter tires make them more trouble than they are worth. 

“Snow tires are useful perhaps at high speeds, say on highways for example, but we are going so slowly, stopping and starting that snow tires have no impact,” he said. “There is also the whole cost element with snow tires and storage for snow tires all for those few days when you might need them when the fact of the matter is you probably don’t.”

While Quebec mandates winter tires for all vehicles, there is no similar rule in place in Ontario and transit agencies and emergency service providers are allowed to make their own judgment call on whether to outfit vehicles with them.

In the GTA most police forces do choose to outfit their cruisers with winter tires, however the Toronto Police Service uses all-season tires for the “majority” of its fleet, according to spokesperson Const. Dave Hopkinson

“Simply put, our city does not get hit with many serious winter storms. When we are, the streets are usually cleared within about 24-48 hours,” Hopkinson told CP24.com. “We use an all season tire that is very good for the demands of our city. If we were located north of Highway 7 we might require winter tires like some of the other services located north of Toronto. Our choice is most efficient and effective policy, given our cities requirements.”

Police services that do use outfit cruisers with winter tires include Durham Regional Police, York Regional Police and Peel Regional Police. 

Halton Regional Police, meanwhile, only outfit vehicles that operate in the northern parts of its coverage area with winter tires. 

“It definitely does increase officer safety because our officer are out there and driving in all weather conditions and at all hours of the day and night,” Peel Police Const. Lillian Fitzpatrick told CP24. “That’s why we do it.”

Ontario Provincial Police also outfit their fleet with winter tires. 

Highway Safety Patrol Sgt. Kerry Schmidt says it makes sense, especially in an emergency. 

"Knowing that we still need to drive according to the conditions, it's still one more tool in a vehicle that helps us get through winter safely," he said.  "It makes the job easier and it gives us the confidence that we can get there quicker."

Here is a full list of who does and who doesn’t use winter tires in the GTA: 

Police

York Regional Police – All vehicles are outfitted with winter tires

Durham Regional Police - All vehicles are outfitted with winter tires

Peel Regional Police - All vehicles are outfitted with winter tires

Halton Regional Police – Vehicles in the northern part of the police force’s boundaries are outfitted with winter tires, however cruisers elsewhere are not.

Toronto Police – Cruisers are not outfitted with winter tires

Ontario Provincial Police - All vehicles are outfitted with winter tires

Transit agencies:

TTC: Vehicles not outfitted with winter tires

GO Transit: All GO Buses are outfitted with special tires on their rear wheels that have an aggressive tread and are designed for overcoming slippery conditions on hills. The tires are made of a special compound so they can remain on the vehicles all year long.

Brampton Transit – Vehicles not outfitted with winter tires

Durham Regional Transit – Vehicles not outfitted with winter tires

Taxis:

All taxis in the City of Toronto taxis are required to outfit their vehicles with winter tires between Dec. 1 and March 2015

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