There are days when I literally curse myself for missing a bus or subway by a few seconds. The sight of wheels heading towards my destination while I stand still is achingly painful, to say the least.
However, missing a bus or subway is probably a secondary concern compared to the multitude of other complaints that I have with the TTC.
Before I start bemoaning the state of our transit system, let me get something straight. I like some aspects of the TTC. Like thousands of people, I commute downtown from the ‘burbs every day. If not for the TTC, therefore, I would be unable to function on a daily basis.
The TTC is most definitely an essential commodity. Huge metropolitan cities rely on transit systems like I rely on my backbone-in order to function physically. The London Underground and the Delhi Metro Rail, for example, enable people to stay active, earn a living, and at least attempt to protect the environment.
But given the necessity of efficient transit systems in urban centres, is the TTC living up to its potential?
This article will not suffice to address my frustration with fare hikes. At times though, I feel that the TTC manipulates commuters’ helplessness in this matter. Not everyone who takes transit can afford commuting and paying for parking every day.
But I also understand that the TTC is in a financial bind of its own, and that amidst the many other issues Miller and McGuinty have to worry about, the TTC just ends up on the backburner sometimes.
However, such neglect can be dangerous. For example, the labour problems that prompted the wildcat strike this past summer have not really been solved, and there is no guarantee such strikes will not happen again.
Friends of mine who frequent London and New Delhi’s subways tell me that they are much better than the TTC, aesthetically and service-wise. The transit systems in these cities are much faster, cleaner, and, at least in New Delhi, cheaper.
Apparently in London one can easily get around the city, suburbs and all, using only the subways-without hopping on buses and streetcars or taking a cab. Such an option is not available here.
The last time the TTC attempted a subway expansion, it took an unreasonably long time-almost ten years-to complete, and the new Sheppard line shamefully consists of only four stops! It would be simply unacceptable for future expansion to take that long. After all, we live in Toronto, a supposedly thriving, “world-class” city.
Enacting any proper change within the TTC-expansion, fares and the like-requires extravagant sums of money that the system simply does not have. So who will provide the TTC with the support it needs? Will Stephen Harper’s Conservative government save this essential service by re-allocating some funds currently marked for their freedom-spreading efforts overseas?
More importantly, since transit funding is largely a provincial concern, it is about time that Queen’s Park realizes that Toronto would be slower than a tortoise in a hypothetical marathon of transit systems, at least according to my friends in London and New Delhi.
I would love to see the TTC on par with the other major transit systems of the world. And I long for the day when I actually feel like I am riding a rocket while on TTC conveyance.
Otherwise, I will just continue feeling like a character from Charlie Chaplin’s cinematic commentary Modern Times, especially when heading up the stairs at busy stops during rush hour.
