Torontonians who were relying on buses, streetcars and subways to get home in the wee hours of Saturday morning didn't know there was a public transit strike until after workers had shut down the system — and some say the lack of notice compromised their safety as they walked or hailed taxis.

One reader posting a comment to CBCNews.ca said he was stunned to learn of the strike, which began Friday at midnight ET after unionized drivers and maintenance workers voted to reject a tentative contract with the Toronto Transit Commission.

"What happened to 48 hours' strike notice? And on a Friday night, as well," said a person using the name Sarcasticoxymoron. "On my walk home at 2 a.m., I saw several people waiting for non-existent buses and streetcars. It's tough to be sympathetic when you leave a city high and dry."

"It's very dangerous to strike at midnight," said another reader, AC2005 from Vancouver. "Teenagers use public transit to get home. So do the elderly. Should we be encouraging these people to walk dark streets alone? What if they didn't bring enough cab fare?

"At least strike in the morning with a bit of notice, and give these people the option of staying safe at home," the posting said.

A man who talked to CBC News as a streetcar behind him was being parked for the strike early Saturday said the union is "holding the city for ransom."

"That's a sin against the people of Toronto. It's not a fair thing to do," he said.

About 1.5 million riders use the TTC every weekday.

Transit user stranded alone, unprepared

A 24-year-old woman who is new to the city wrote that she found herself alone and stranded, 12 subway stops from her house. She said she feared being attacked in an unfamiliar neighbourhood while she flagged down a cab.

"If I had been given the 48 hours' notice that was previously promised, I would've gladly stayed home tonight, but I made the mistake of visiting a friend in another neighbourhood, and I made the greater mistake of relying on the TTC, to whom I pay $110 a month, to get me back home safely.

"Instead I found myself panicking and in tears tonight, away from home, unprepared, struggling to find a cab, and without so much as a warning," she said.

Other comments on CBC.ca:

• "Most of the personnel in my office work until 12 a.m. or 1 a.m. Many of them live on the other side of Toronto and rely on the TTC as their only method of transportation. I found out about the strike 20 minutes to midnight from my building security guard." – Kay Jay of Toronto.
• "Stranding thousands of people in the middle of the night is 'the better way'?" – SplitRail of Grafton, Ont.
• "One hour notice for strike action exposes the TTC to potential liability. If any one got hurt as a result of this irresponsible action, every member of the TTC should be held accountable, civilly and criminally. On the other hand, from what I have seen, a three per cent raise is a small increase when the cost of living exceeds three per cent. The additional benefits are paltry." – Tyberius of Tweed, Ont.
• "How do they expect night-shift workers to get home? Single mothers that depend on getting to work in order to be able to feed their family? The elderly that rely on the TTC to get to a medical facility? – Helen Sousa of Toronto.