TTC-GIF!
This has been a very TTC-intensive week - for myself at work and for everyone else in Toronto, for that matter. On Tuesday, the decision came down at city hall regarding a fare hike in the new year. Wednesday brought us the service disruption on the Yonge line because a contractor accidentally cut through the street and into the subway tunnel.
On both days, commuters were fuming. But now that the dust has settled and the token-hoarding has begun, we need to realise the TTC probably could do no right this week.
On fares:
If its only options were to cut service, raise fares or get more government cash - as they stated numerous times before the fare increase decision came down - they had nowhere to turn. Getting more money from Queen's Park right now would be like pulling teeth given the economy is just starting to recover from a recession. And with the only other choices being ones that would affect commuters first-hand, residents would get upset either way. Cut service? People would have a hard time getting places. Raise fares? Time to dig deeper into our pockets.
I think they made the right choice. Do I agree with such a steep fare hike? No. But this is what happens when we have a fare freeze in the year leading up to a hike. Things need to even themselves out. Do I understand why the Metropass is over $100 dollars in Toronto where in a similar system in Montreal it's just under $70? Not in the least, especially since right now, single fares in both cities are $2.75. But as a former Montrealer, it's one of the things I may just have to chalk up to cultural differences. Um, right....
On the service disruption:
I'd like to give the TTC a thumbs up on the way it handled a near chaotic situation on Wednesday. I was at the Yonge-Bloor station for most of the mess and although there were massive crowds of people, shuttle buses were pretty frequent and both the police and the TTC controlled line-ups the best they could in what was a situation that came out of left field. Sure, I would have been frustrated if I was one of the thousands struggling to get home on time but it's a one-off situation that seemed to be handled to the best of everyone's ability. And let's not forget that the subway reopened Wednesday evening instead of Thursday morning like everyone has expected.
We can't blame the TTC for this, too. Just be thankful this didn't happen in the middle of January with freezing rain and snow to deal with.
Traffic Map
