This Is Not Okay

You know that feeling when you're in a public place and a young child is being an absolute nuisance? And your first impulse is to get upset at the child? Then you realize that the child is only partially to blame for its behaviour, and your frustration is best directed at the child's parents? Strange analogy, yes, but pretty accurate in this case: I'm angry with the TTC, but really, I'm mad at Toronto's Mayor, Rob Ford (the analogy fails because between Ford and the TTC, it's Ford who's the child).

So what did he do this time, he who is at war with everything but the car (after proclaiming that the war on cars is over)? As part of his misguided attempt to stop the gravy train at City Hall, he has asked the Toronto Transit Commission to cut their spending by 10%. This, when ridership is at an all-time high, overcrowding is standard on many routes, and more and more disgruntled drivers seek an alternative to their usual nightmare commute - the average is 80 minutes, longer than New York, Montreal, Berlin, L.A., and London. Shameful.

Back in September, the TTC came up with a solution that would help it meet its new budget: altering load standards. In other words, switch from more vehicles with fewer passengers to fewer vehicles with more passengers, which allows the TTC to avoid cutting out entire routes to save money. What it also provides is longer wait times and, tragically, more overcrowding. For those of us living in Toronto and using transit on a regular basis, it's hard to image how more people could be crammed onto buses and streetcars. Maybe TTC staff will stand on the loading platforms and push us in like they do in the Tokyo subway system?

When a document was leaked yesterday showing the planned service changes, my heart sank. There will be cuts to 56 bus routes and six streetcar lines as of January 8th. Several high traffic routes are affected, and while it may seem that lengthening the wait times along those routes by just one minute is no big deal, I challenge you to get on a bus or streetcar that is running a minute later than normal during the morning rush in this City.

All three bus routes and the streetcar line near my home will suffer. And while it's true that I'm upset with the TTC for further ruining their service rather than increasing our fares (though those are much too high for what we get - still, I'd rather pay more than face this), my anger is actually directed at Mayor Ford. It's not okay to impose budget cuts on a poorly-functioning transit system in a city as big as Toronto. Transit is not gravy. Gravy is the luxury leaf collection program in Ford's home neighbourhood of Etobicoke, which costs $500,000 per year and is, unsurprisingly, not on the chopping block, not even up for consideration. I'm so angry.


Photo of Fordzilla eating a streetcar used under Creative Commons from malstad (flickr).
Photo of crowded TTC streetcar used under Creative Commons from Tina Li (flickr).

One Small Step for Mayor Ford, One Giant Step Backwards for the TTC.

When I created the WTF!? category for my posts, I didn't imagine ever having to use it more than once or twice a month. I guess it's a sign that we live in an increasingly crazy world that I'm now using it twice in four days.

In a move that benefits no one and screws us all over, the Toronto Transit Commission decided last Friday to reduce its 2012 budget by 10% - doing exactly as Mayor Ford commanded requested in order to help lower the City's deficit. Where are the savings going to come from? Why, regressive measures, of course! Service will be cut back, employees will be sent home, and fares will go up. In other words, more commuters will turn away from the TTC and hop into cars, further clogging the roadways in and around town. Yay!

I'm not sure how this is even possible, considering that overcrowding on TTC vehicles is already a huge problem, but apparently 50 routes will see reductions in frequency during the morning and afternoon rush. I guess cutbacks on 60 off-peak routes don't seem so bad in comparison? But that's absurd, because any further decline in service is outrageous, no matter the time of day. Just last week I was on a streetcar that refused to pick up any more passengers because it was full... at 2:00 in the afternoon. WTF!?

In terms of cutting staff, the picture turns from bleak into cruel: today, 251 non-unionized employees will be laid off. In other words, for hundreds or thousands of TTC staff, this weekend was one of stress, uncertainty, and anxiety, wondering if they'd be the ones to find out today that they are no longer needed. And it's not like those who still have a job to come to tomorrow will feel relief: in total, 1,000 jobs will eventually be cut. I can't even begin to imagine what it must feel like to worry every day that you might be let go, let alone not know when it could happen.

Transit users can take small comfort in the fact that fares won't go up until the new year, and when they do, the increase will only amount to ten cents per ride - that's much less than the 25-cent hike we experienced in January 2010. Except... we're going to be paying more for less. Something about this math doesn't add up. And it's not just the math, it's the reality that everybody loses. In fact, I anticipate that stress levels will go up astronomically. Think about it: TTC users will loathe the longer wait times and more crowded vehicles, drivers and cyclists will hate how many more cars will be on the road, and those of us lucky enough to be able to walk to work? We'll arrive at the office in time to greet our irate colleagues ranting about how bad their commute was. Oh joy.

Since there is no silver lining to this bad news, I will say this: Thomas Fuller wrote that abused patience turns to fury, and it is fury that we need to motivate us to stand up against this injustice. So go ahead, be impatient, get angry, organize, and then take action!


Photo of TTC logo used under Creative Commons from Neal Jennings (Sweet One/flickr).
Photo of Dundas West station used under Creative Commons from Andrew Goloida (theapoc/flickr).
Photo of Bloor/Yonge station used under Creative Commons from Jamaalism (flickr).

Don't Just Vote, Speak Your Mind

In case you hadn't heard, the City of Toronto is cash-strapped, and the new mayor seems to believe that privatizing municipal services is the answer. Do you have a different opinion? Share it!

A major Service Review is underway to determine residents' feelings about how city services are delivered, who should pay for them, and where inefficiencies need to be dealt with. The online survey asks residents to rank which services are necessary and should be provided by the City, though I'd argue there is some bias in the wording and design of the survey that might cause many items to end up in the "I don't care" category. This is scary because the review is being used to dramatically reduce the services the City offers, including environmental services.

I strongly urge you to complete the survey. It's your right and duty to tell the City which critical services and programs must be retained and how they should be paid for. Please pass this on to anyone you know who cares about these issues or complains that they have no voice in municipal politics!


Photo credit.

It May Be April Fool's Day, But This Is No Joke

The Government of Ontario seems a little too happy about helping to bankrupt the City of Toronto. Yesterday Premier Dalton McGuinty announced that Queen's Park will fund an underground light rapid transit (LRT) line along Eglinton Avenue between Jane Street in the west and Kennedy Station in the east, which will cost $8.2 billion and take ten years to complete.

Meanwhile, the City will pay to extend the relatively new Sheppard Subway line west to Downsview Station and east to Scarborough Town Centre. This project will cost half as much as the Eglinton line, but nevertheless it's money that Toronto just doesn't have. There has been talk of receiving money from a federal program for Public-Private Partnerships, but it won't be enough. Toronto is the teenager asking for a $1,000 snowboard with only $200 in the bank, begging Ottawa (the parent) to foot the rest of the bill.

Don't get me wrong, I believe the federal government should help! Toronto fuels a huge chunk of Canada's economy. But former Mayor Miller's original Transit City plan would have cost much less and served many more people in neighbourhoods that currently have very poor transit options.

Mayor Ford's subway-or-bust approach serves no one: not tax payers (did I mention the $49 million in penalties the City will have to pay for breaking the original Transit City contracts?), not those commuting along Finch West, not those who need an inexpensive and convenient way to access the airport, and not those who study or work at U of T's Scarborough campus.

Please read Steve Munro's comments on this epic fail. Here is an excerpt that sums up how I feel:

"It's hard to get excited about $12 billion going to two very overpriced projects. For years, "transit" in Toronto hasn't been about providing service, it has been about stimulating the construction industry and generating profits for property developers. These are laudable goals, but they must be balanced against the basic need citizens have to get around the whole city."

You tell me: am I being too harsh in my criticism? Or do I have a right to demand that this public service do a better job of serving the people, considering we're paying for it?

TTC Public Meetings

The Toronto Transit Commission has been talking about making changes to some of its bus routes - the ones that don't carry a lot of people and therefore don't bring in a lot of revenue but are nonetheless vital for those who rely on them to get, well, anywhere! The flip side is that service would be increased on heavily used routes.

Before the final decision is made, the TTC is inviting its users to attend four public meetings to learn more about the route changes and have an opportunity to provide feedback:

• Monday, January 24th, 7:00 - 9:00 pm: Metro Hall room 308/309 (55 John St - St Andrew Station)
• Tuesday, January 25th, 7:00 - 9:00 pm: North York Central Library, Memorial Hall (5120 Yonge St - North York Centre Station)
• Wednesday, January 26th, 7:00 - 9:00 pm: Scarborough Civic Centre, Rotunda (150 Borough Dr - Scarborough Centre Station)
• Thursday, January 27th, 7:00 - 9:00 pm: Elmbank Community Centre, lower level (10 Rampart Rd - Finch & Martin Grove)

Customers can also contribute their comments through the TTC Service Complaint / Suggestion Form.

Click here for details on the proposed route changes.

Photo credit.

What Making the TTC an Essential Service Really Means

Last Thursday, the new Toronto City Council voted on designating the TTC an essential service. Mayor Ford and 27 Councillors voted in favour of this proposal, and the item was officially adopted. While my first reaction was to rejoice at the prospect of never again having to suffer through another transit strike in the city, I eventually started wondering what the true implications of this decision are. I consulted the transit expert: Steve Munro, Toronto's independent transit researcher and activist. If you need to know something about the TTC, he's your source.

Unfortunately I have been plagued with a migraine for almost 24 hours now, so I'm finding it a bit difficult to summarize the main points of Steve's blog post, and even when I'm at my best I can't match his eloquence. I urge you to read his comments and think about how transit service - and therefore transit users - will suffer when higher wage settlements are granted to TTC workers when they no longer have the right to strike.

Steve's blog post can be found here.

Photo credit.