TTC: Make it better, Mayor X

Kimberly Silk.

I’ve been a TTC customer since I moved to Toronto in the early '90s. For the most part, I am satisfied with my daily commute, enjoy weekend streetcar trips with my family to different neighbourhoods, and find it to be the “better way” in comparison to car travel. My 4-yr-old son likes riding the buses, streetcars and especially the subway when we can get the front seat. I can’t blame him – it is thrilling to be at the head of a train as we enter or exit a tunnel.

I’m also a fan and willing participant in social media, and, along with hundreds of my fellow TTC riders, follow Twitter to get updates on TTC status. Social media has made transit easier to use, in many ways, since I find out ahead of time if trains are delayed or buses are re-routed.

For instance, just last week College station was temporarily closed do to a “security investigation” (not unusual, given the proximity of the provincial courts); this news was broadcast on Twitter, and as a result I walked to Queen’s Park station to avoid being late to pick up my son from daycare.

However, while social media has been good for the TTC, it’s a double-edged sword that also exposes the system’s weaknesses. Due to the prolific tweets provided by TTC riders like myself (@ttcupdates) and TTC’s communications director (@bradttc) most delays and service interruptions are reported within seconds of happening.

Over the course of a day, I might receive six to 10 alerts that the system is under stress. It’s a big city, with who-knows-how-many vehicles on the road to provide us with transit service, and of course many alerts aren’t on my route and don’t affect me – but most days, the volume of alerts seems too high.

In particular, I’ve noticed over the last year that the TTC is increasingly under stress, and at the moment there doesn’t seem to be anyone interested in addressing the problem.

It’s no wonder that the system is suffering: the number of condominiums going up in the core is impacting infrastructure that hasn’t been updated in decades. I live in mid-town Toronto, and most days the southbound Yonge line subways are so packed that you need to wait for several trains to pass before you can board. Some months ago I began going a bit out of my way to board at Eglinton instead of my usual Davisville stop, thinking I’d beat the crowds.

Silly me; instead of beating the crowd, I’ve joined it. The new Minto condominium complex is filling up, and these new urbanites, like me, value living in the city and depend on transit.

The TTC is becoming so full and unpredictable that I can’t help but wonder what’s worse: standing on a slow-moving, packed train with dozens of exasperated commuters, or sitting in a slow-moving car, stuck in traffic but at least I get a seat and get to choose whom I share my air with.

And so, here is my advice to our next Mayor: pay attention to the TTC. It’s a crucial part of Toronto’s infrastructure, and should it continue to deteriorate, it could be responsible for Toronto’s downfall. It’s a truism that the best systems are invisible and we only notice them when they are broken; the TTC is broken. I urge our Mayoral candidates to do make a commitment to fixing it.

About Kimberly Silk

Comments

[Jackie]

Like you, I have a love/hate relationship with the TTC. I sometimes think of it like a movie where you can see so much potential in the premise but the reality falls far short of what it could be.

Some mornings, some of the SB Dufferin buses effectively become mini-express shuttles between St. Clair and Bloor. The operators don't stop if no one wants off; there'd be no point as they're already crammed. The EB King streetcar is in similar shape - I remember when there was hardly anything a block west of Bathurst but it's now a thriving condo community. Several, even.

I'm a die-hard fan of transit, but the current TTC experience, from the way fares and transfers are handled right through riding the vehicles, leaves a lot to be desired. This past year was the breaking point for me; I gave up and became an all-season cyclist. It shouldn't have to come to that. It's not even an option for most people. I hope it can be fixed.

[Nimalan Veerasingham]

Subway expansion is the right way.

I think in my view we need bold visionaries like Mayoral candidate M/s Thompson who is willing to look at obtaining funds through road tolls to further expand the subway system. It is not a surprise that most of the car-huggers are up in arms – A change to your life style will always bring dissent but should look at who is benefiting at large or for that matter could we go burning fossil fuel forever.

I would rather see toll collected on the exits within certain distance from the down town core thereby giving the choice for the drivers to park at the TTC stations from the outskirts and then commute by TTC, if they do not want to pay toll.

Subways are the most desirable mode for any world class city that wants to create less traffic chaos on its streets, while extending the city beneath for long term benefits on resources and economical growth. Even larger cities like London, Paris and New York are constantly expanding their subways.

[Carl V]

For the next Mayor don't go making a name for yourself to destroy all the hard work that has been done on Transit City. It will be a waste of money and time.

[greg]

the only reservsation i have with road tolls apart from its Punitive approach is that if we implemented tolls next year for example there will still be nowhere to put all the extra commuters who would now rely on transit, this is more than short term pain since new subway lines are years away. At least 10 years . (transit city is going to take until 2015 and the city has opted to go with light rail instead of subways, citing not enough volume, thats too bad since in 20 years light rail probably cannot handle the volume of users who will live in that area, but subways could).

What will residents of the city do until then, you cant afford to drive and you cant get anywhere on time on the train in that case, your next option is to move, or in the case of businesses, they will find somewhere that is more accessible to customers and employees.

The difficult solution for expanding transit, is more funding from the upper levels of government who needs to stop being cheap and take some initiative on transit for the countries most populous city or funding it through deficits / credit and paying off the deficit through road tolls once there is a line ready to take the extra commuters who will now no longer be able to afford the new car tax. But just suggesting a road toll to start seems like putting the carriage before the horse and will cause a lot more harm than good. I hope councillors are aware of this.

[Sonny Yeung]

Dear Kimberly; you have it good living near the subway! The solution would be to leave earlier. The TTC could probably use more trains and street cars to relieve the pressure.

Nimalan has views which can not be funded by tolls alone.(possibly $400-500 million/year) So the solution is to go after higher levels of gov't for funding which will create more tax paying jobs and so forth.
You can't compare it to NYC, Paris OR London. Compare it to Mississauga Transit as run by a female conservative mayor...you will be more appreciative of what you have.

[Sandra Cardinal]

I firmly agree with taxing vehicles entering the city and the expansion of public transit. Suburbanite commuters are an important and valuable part of the economic fabric that makes our city work and they need to be encouraged to care deeply for its welfare. Perhaps an easier way to tax those commuters, rather than having to build and staff toll booths or (heaven forbid that license plate photo debacle of the 407) would be to impose a higher city tax on parking spaces. Toronto workers think $10 a day is high- it's NOT! In New York, you can't find a spot under $20 a day, most are much more. A city parking tax of $5 (the equivalent of a round-trip TTC fare) a day would add a lot of money for the expansion of the TTC.

And while we're at it, let's make the TTC option more attractive with some innovative marketing ideas like: all-day shopping/sightseeing passes on weekends with on-off priveleges to encourage 905ers to come to the city for a day out, and to use the transit to get around. Or a two-for-one couple's evening date pass, after 7 pm to encourage people to leave their car at home when they go to the theatre or dinner. Or an integrated GO Transit/ subway pass. Come on Toronto, let's think creatively and efficiently. This is easy.

[Sylvia]

Ooohh, the TTC... every morning this audible sigh is on many people's minds and increasingly so. I've lived in major cities (i.e. London, Berlin) and just by the mere sight of it, the TTC is the most underfunded transit system in a megapolis that I've ever seen. Really, the people working for the transit system are honestly doing their best, I see it every single day. But they just can't stem the tide, it's impossible with several billion dollars of investment missing. Public transit is hard to handle in times of privatization, retracting governments, low taxes, business growth, frequent recessions, and all the other effects of neo-liberalism, The only idea as to how to deal with this situation was to introduce road tolls of $ 5.- for the Gardiner and the DVP to pay for the budget shortfall. I don't believe it'll help with the gradual decay of the subway system. It's in need of a serious overhaul, with public investment and government regulations. But who'll have the nerve?