The power struggle over what transit to build in Toronto continues at City Hall, with Mayor Rob Ford telling reporters, at his weekly weigh-in: “It’s all about subways.” An excerpt of the scrum follows.
Reporter: Mr. Mayor, some people at 11 o’clock are discussing the legal standard of scrapping Transit City and they are saying you may have overstepped your boundaries. What do you say?
Mayor: I didn’t overstep my boundaries, I did what the taxpayers want. They want subways, that’s it. They don’t want streetcars. I was out in Scarborough over the weekend, people came up to me and said, they want subways. That’s it.
Reporter: Is there any wiggle room for you on this issue?
Mayor: It’s the taxpayers. The taxpayers want…I was elected on subways, they want subways, I was out on Saturday, people want subways. That’s it.
Reporter: Do you think you’ll win this vote? It doesn’t seem like you have the votes.
Mayor: It’s all subways. It’s all about subways.
Reporter: What are you going to do though if council votes against that?
Mayor: All about subways. So, it’s the taxpayers that elected me to get the subways in and that’s what we’re going to do.
Reporter: So, you think that gives you authority to, if council votes against that.
Mayor: It’s like winning an election. So if they voted me in, that means [stutters a bit] I don’t win an election? It doesn’t make sense.
That makes sense. I'm so proud of our mayor when he argues so eloquently. Really, you can't argue with his logic, which clearly proves he had the authority to cancel Transit City.
Here's a little clip of TTC Commissioner Maria Augimeri riding the Finch bus. It's important public servants eat their own dog food to understand what regular folks have to put up with every day.
I'd like to see Rob Ford get himself from Etobicoke to City Hall via the TTC. From where he lives it's just a little walk, a bus to the Bloor subway line and then a transfer to the University subway line. I dare Rob Ford to try it once.
Meanwhile, the Globe and Mail (note, it's not just the Star) is reporting that Rob Ford's plan to cancel Transit City will cost us at least $65-million, and counting.
And I seem to recall his "guarantee" that there would be no service cuts with him as mayor, but the TTC is planning to reduce service on 62 surface routes. That certainly sounds like a cut to me. And of course fares are going up again, and that hike has nothing to do with the $65-million cost of killing Transit City.
One day, I hope to post an entry about Rob Ford riding the bus. As if.
The TTC's new streetcars have been unveiled. Bombardier will design and build 204 of these light rail vehicles to replace the existing fleet of streetcars.
I mentioned I saw the Spoons last night. They played Romantic Traffic, one of my favourite Spoons songs, and that reminded me of the video for that tune.
The Romantic Traffic video stars our very own TTC.
I received this email yesterday, and thought I'd share it with you all. Maybe someone at the TTC can reply. I have no idea why this person thinks I'm "a type of transit consultant".
You seem to be a good person to inquire with as you are a type of transit consultant.
Could you please tell me why here in TO we pay about 1.5 times more than other North American cities where their transit systems are better, cleaner and friendlier? The TTC breaks down daily, causes crazy long delays, there's a lack of communication to passengers and TTC employees while these delays occur, many TTC staff are rude, arrogant and will not pick passengers up, take too long breaks, the list goes on and on (as you would be well aware).
This past Sunday, August 21, 2011, I entered the subway about 9:10am (after it's opening at 9am) at St. Clair West station, to find a large amount of people waiting, and watched 2 subway trains enter the platform, not open it's doors, then move backwards where it came from (the number of the 1st subway train's last car was 5205, the 2nd subway train's last car was 5259).
I went to the collector to inquire, was told that the TTC is not at fault (as usual) - that a member of the public is at fault, the issue started at 8am (not sure how that happened when subway only opens 9am and why would an hour's time not have been suffice to solve the issue?) - that while no clear announcements were made to explain to all the passengers waiting for a train that was not to come - so passengers were to take shuttle buses from St. Clair West station to Union station.
As I saw no shuttle buses as the collector said, I took a St. Clair bus (not the usual streetcar) to St. Clair (and Yonge) subway, only to find another large crowd of passengers waiting for the train - that ended up taking 30 minutes to arrive, going southbound, with no shuttle buses offered on the Yonge line (while the subway there was affected as well as the University line).
A subway trip that normally should take 20 minutes (St. Clair West to Bloor/Yonge) ended up taking 1.25 hours! And that is not the worst TTC story I have, but the most recent.
With all the negative news about the TTC, it's over-powerful union, the politics surrounding the TTC, WHY is the service still so poor and the cost of it so high (compared to much better and larger systems in North America)?
I realize that Canadians are passive but have a problem understanding why Torontonians put up with the TTC....why has there not been mass demonstrations/protests against the TTC or the city for allowing such a poor service to continue?
I hope to get a reply that answers these questions/concerns.
Don't forget Torontonians, the TTC is completely free tonight from midnight to 4 am. Go ahead, get drunk and stupid as you ring in the new year, then leave your car and TTC it home.
The free ride tonight is unsponsored (if that's even a word). In the past, they've managed to get these free service nights subsidized by the private sector, but no luck this time. Still, I'm glad it's free, so there are absolutely no excuses.
The National Post has formed the Toronto Transit Civility Commission to help promote TTC etiquette. They've made printable posters that remind riders not to clip their nails, to apply deodorant and that backpacks don't get their own seat.
The TTC has a notoriously poor sense of humour, so I doubt they'll allow these posters to be displayed on TTC property. Still, it's a good idea.
I waffle between loving the TTC and hating the TTC. On any given day you can find me singing the TTC's praises or wondering why a world class city like Toronto is so under served by its public transit system.
Here's a nice YouTube video sendup of the infamous TTC sleeper. The TTC sleeper, who appeared on the cover of Friday's Toronto Sun, has been revealed as George Robitaille. George, an almost 30-year TTC vet, claims his nap can be explained by "health issues".
For those Torontonians planning their New Year's Eve festivities, don't forget that the TTC is offering free service from midnight to 4am.
I'm pretty sure other transit systems in the GTA have free service as well. GO Transit, for example, is free from 7pm on December 31 until 2:10am on New Year's Day, and Mississauga Transit is free from 7pm to 4am.
Note how the TTC makes you pay to get to the party whereas everyone else is taking you to and fro free of charge...
Don't forget Torontonians, the TTC is completely free tonight from midnight to 4 am. Go ahead, get drunk and stupid as you ring in the new year, then leave your car and TTC it home.
The free ride tonight is thanks to Liberty Entertainment Group. They've formed a coalition called the Toronto Entertainment Alliance which I don't fully understand but you can read more about here.
I'm glad the TTC is free tonight, but I think it would be wiser to start the free period at about 8pm tonight instead of at midnight. That way you could TTC to the party and back home, and you don't have to worry about leaving your car. Think of it as a two for one promotion and leave your car at home, k?
It's all about subways. Just ask our mayor Rob Ford.
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Here's a little clip of TTC Commissioner Maria Augimeri riding the Finch bus. It's important public servants eat their own dog food to understand what regular folks have to put up with every day.
I mentioned 