Liana Hildebrandt hesitates to ask people for a seat on transit. But on Thursday, she didn’t have to say a word.After boarding the northbound Yonge line train during rush hour, Hildebrandt thought she’d have to settle with standing. She has arthritis in her hips, and standing for too long can trigger bouts of pain that can last all day — but still, she didn’t want to nudge the man who was fast asleep in one of the priority seats.“You never want to bother somebody,” Hildebrandt said. “Everyone is so engrossed in their phones, or deliberately trying not to make eye contact. You feel like you’re intruding on their personal space.”Read more:TTC rider pushes transit agency to improve communication with hearing-impaired customersActivists push for independent enforcement of Ontario’s accessibility lawThe TTC’s budget is rising, but will service improve?Hildebrandt was wearing one of the TTC’s new “Please offer me a seat” buttons. A man standing next to her looked away from his tablet and woke up the slumbering commuter, who freed his spot for Hildebrandt. One day earlier, she had a similar experience during her long commute from Etobicoke to midtown Toronto. She didn’t know if the button would make a difference. But what she didn’t expect was to feel touched by having a stranger wordlessly free up their seat after spotting her bright blue-and-white button.“Without even having to make eye contact, or speak to anyone, a woman in one of the blue seats stood up immediately and gave me her seat,” the 40-year-old said. Last week, Star reporters travelled with riders, some wearing a blue button for parts, or all, of their subway and streetcar commutes, to see how people reacted to the new initiative. The buttons, announced Tuesday, are being rolled out to passengers with visible and invisible disabilities with the goal of drawing attention to their need for a seat. The ...
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