For liability reasons I cannot see them allowing them to reverse on their own. On a ROW I do not see it being a big deal but over a switch or through an intersection yes. If the operator does not see what the switch is doing they cannot safely traverse it in reverse.
All it takes is for the switch to do something funky or a driver to be stupid and you have criminal negligence if someone gets killed. Even still.. they would need someone to guard the area behind the streetcar so stupid people do not walk past it and get run over while they reverse. Again... if someone gets run over by a reversing streetcar the TTC will be sued for allowing it without proper safeguards in place.
Some situations as stupid as it may seem REQUIRE additional personnel to complete the task safely.
There are recessed rear controls on a Flexity to effect turn backs, right?
I know the LRVs are designed with front and rear controls but I am unsure if the streetcars have such controls. It would make sense but even if they did given the length and blind spots you would need someone at the end to guard the movements of the car for legal reasons.
Every CLRV that I have seen backing up has always someone at the rear telling the driver what to do. Seen someone or a vehicle going ahead of the car as it backup as well a few times.
I just hunted down these two videos I remembered showing the Flexity Outlook streetcars driving in reverse, with operators using the rear controls:
1st video, using pantograph, high speed testing on Queen - reverse operation from start of video 0:00-0:40, 2:15-2:38, and 2:54-3:00:
2nd video, using trolley pole, CNE testing - reverse operation from 0:40-1:00:
Right behind the rearmost seats, there's a small locked hatch with a few basic operator controls in it. Not everything, notably none of the many cameras/monitors, but it has the throttle/brakes and I would presume also the gong/horn buttons.
The CLRVs need a person behind them, in addition to some other reasons, because the driver is at the front and can't see where they're going in reverse. On the LFLRV, the driver is right there at the back, looking out backwards in the direction they're going, and they're right by the glass--pretty much as close as they are in the driver's cab. The only big visibility difference is the lack of the cameras/monitors but those are
mostly for passengers getting on/off at the doors, and obviously passengers would be kicked off before reversing. So there's no more worry about people getting run over or collisions occurring, at least on a ROW, than there is when driving forwards, unlike a CLRV which needs a guide walking behind it.
As for switches, similarly, the operator can see just as well as they can in the front. The TTC can even put in a rule that when reversing, at ANY intersection with switches the op must actually get out of the vehicle and check that the switches are set correctly, then proceed slowly and stop before each switch. Still, IMO, even by corporate liability standards, especially with no passengers aboard and being on a ROW, this ought to be safe enough without someone walking behind.
In that 1st video, they go pretty darn fast in reverse. Really, those rear controls and the pantograph make it much more feasible. Well, we'll see what the policy is now.