The TTC says it has managed to restore the booking system for its Wheel-Trans service days after its systems were disrupted by a ransomware attack.
“Great news for #TTC #WheelTrans customers. The online booking system is up and running,” TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said in a tweet Tuesday evening. “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience over the past few days as IT staff worked to resolve issues.”
The TTC previously said the attack on it systems was first noticed on Thursday night. At first the disruption was minimal, but it expanded on Friday, affecting the Vision System used to communicate with vehicle operators as well as a slew of other online systems.
Wheel-Trans users who rely on the service reported long wait times when trying to arrange travel by calling the TTC and the commission said it was not booking trips “other than for life-sustaining or emergency medical purposes."
Many Wheel-Trans users have needs that cannot be accommodated by a regular taxi or rideshare vehicle. Private services said they were inundated with requests for service over the past few days as people tried to get to non-urgent medical appointments and other engagements.
Speaking with CP24 on Monday, Wheel-Trans user and TTCriders spokesperson Adam Cohoon said the TTC should have a backup system for booking trips with Wheel-Trans.
“You call in and you may wait two hours and then you plead your case and they sometimes take your information and they say wait and then they call you back and there is no ride,” he said. “It is very disruptive because all of the taxi services are getting booked and they are expensive and it is not easy to just call and request a ride.”
In a ransomware attack, hackers typically take control of the target organization’s computers and lock them down until the organization agrees to pay a ransom.
The TTC previously said that it was working with IT experts and law-enforcement to try resolve the attack. The organization did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday asking whether any ransom was paid to restore its systems.
