Will 2012 mark the return of Transit City? #topoli

Will 2012 mark the return of Transit City?: "Despite the fact that Transit City was thought lost shortly after Rob Ford took his position as mayor of Toronto, more and more signs point to the possibility that, at the very minimum, there will be a significant public push to revive the former LRT-based transit plan."

Toronto mayor doing good job for #oil and #autosprawl

Cost of cancelling Transit City could hit $65-million - The Globe and Mail: "The multimillion-dollar price tag is the latest estimate for cancelling the Sheppard and Finch light-rail lines – part of former mayor David Miller’s Transit City plan. It comes as the city’s transit users are facing fare hikes and reduced service, measures planned for the new year to meet the mayor’s demands for a 10-per-cent budget cut. The new expense surfaced Tuesday during budget discussions, where city councillors also weighed the merits of closing pools and community centres in order to save dollars."

#oil agents are destroying #transit

Toronto News: James: To talk transit in Toronto is to only cause despair - thestar.com: "Our political leaders have made a mess of a most basic municipal service and left commuters despaired about the prospects of early relief.

“Historically, we’ve had a track record of planning and not delivering in Toronto,” says TTC chair Karen Stintz as she prepares to address the Toronto Board of Trade on Monday. “The public just want to see it done.”"

'via Blog this'

#Autosprawl - the ugly society

Solution for suburban gridlock is better transit - Canada - CBC News: "Eric Miller, head of the Cities Centre at the University of Toronto, says people will stop moving to the region altogether.

"It's not a happy future," says Miller. "It literally is almost a life-and-death thing for the city. Transportation is so fundamental that we will not continue to prosper unless our transportation system is significantly improved. Eventually, people will stop coming here to live. Jobs will move away because it simply will not be an attractive enough place.""

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J. Goss + Associates: Transit use up but services slashed, l'achalandage du transport collectif

J. Goss + Associates: Transit use up but services slashed, l'achalandage du transport collectif: "“These cuts are a tragedy,” said Natalie Litwin of Transport Action Ontario. “They come at a time when ridership is growing, traffic congestion is up, the economy is under stress, and fewer people have transportation alternatives”."

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InsideHalton Article: Transit program gains traction

InsideHalton Article: Transit program gains traction: "Transit program gains traction. Sandra Maxwell, marketing co-ordinator for Burlington Transit (far right), was at Aldershot High School to present two Burlington Transit Youth Ambassadors with a $250 for convincing nearly half of their fellow students to take alternative forms of transportation during International World Car Free Day (Sept. 22). From left, Carolyn McLarty, guidance counsellor at Aldershot High School stands beside transit youth ambassadors Kayla Peters and Billi Krochuk. Special to the Post"

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Toronto News: Prepare for fare hike, TTC chair says - thestar.com

Toronto News: Prepare for fare hike, TTC chair says - thestar.com: "Public transit riders should brace themselves for another fare increase, TTC chair Karen Stintz said Friday night.

“We’ve tried to do everything we can to avoid it,” she said. “But we still have a gap, and unless something changes we’ll need to close the gap through a fare increase.”

In a letter to TTC customers, Stintz suggested a fee increase is on the way if the province doesn’t cover more of the $1.5 billion it costs to run the TTC."

'via Blog this'

Oil trolls use fake fiscal crisis to force you back into your car

Longer waits, fewer seats as TTC announces reduced service - The Globe and Mail: "TTC riders in every corner of the city will feel the effects of service cuts set to begin in January as streetcars and buses are taken off the system’s busiest routes at rush hour and off-peak hours. More crowding and longer waits will be the outcome.

The service cuts will save the system $15-million and were approved this year by TTC commissioners as part of their efforts to find the 10-per-cent budget cuts demanded from every city department and agency. At the time, riders were warned that decision would mean reductions to service. Details of the cuts were made public Thursday, the same day as the TTC’s first town hall meeting with riders, and reveal just how far the pain would be spread."

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LORINC: Ford’s mistake of historic proportions « Spacing Toronto

LORINC: Ford’s mistake of historic proportions « Spacing Toronto: "Mayor Rob Ford’s plan to bury the 19-km Eglinton Crosstown LRT from end to end, instead of just through the crowded core of the city, will be rightly remembered as the single most expensive infrastructure mistake in Toronto history."

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Toronto News: ‘Pay now or pay later’ for transit - thestar.com

Toronto News: ‘Pay now or pay later’ for transit - thestar.com: "The president and CEO of the Toronto Board of Trade says she’s optimistic Toronto can find the right combination of funding and political will to solve its congestion crisis.
Gridlock already costs the region $6 billion a year in lost productivity and that will more than double to $15 billion by 2031, Carol Wilding told the Canadian Public Transit Association conference at a downtown Toronto hotel.
The city needs $2 billion annually for the next 25 years to expand transit and keep the region from choking on traffic as more people move into the area.
“We pay now or we pay later,” she said. “We have to have the courage to act and be innovative.”"

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The Great TTC Debate! | TransitHub

The Great TTC Debate! | TransitHub: ""Moving Toronto: Debate on the Future of the TTC" event held at Ryerson University's Ted Rogers School of Management. The debate raised many questions: how will Toronto's increasing congestion impact our plan for public transit? What roles do buses, streetcars, and subways play in the mix? Why don't we just build new freeways? Each discussion forced the audience to ponder how we'd handle transit in this city."

Watch the debate on transit hub. Post your opinion. We say make the buses free and it will soon become obvious where to put rail. 

Cars are more pain than pleasure

Are we reaching ‘peak car’? - The Globe and Mail: "“If you're a typical North American, at the end of a long, stressful day at work, you're not saying, ‘I can't wait to get in my car. I would just love to go for a drive.' It's much more likely you'll say, ‘I wish I could go for a walk,' ” says Mr. Litman, executive director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute."

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Transit City making a comeback

Torontonians start online petition to bring back Transit City | The Toronto Observer: "When East York resident Trish O’Reilly posted a petition online to get the Transit City plan back, she had no idea how quickly it would spread. With minimal promotion, it gathered over 1,600 signatures within a week.
O’Reilly said all she did was let a few friends know about her petition through email and Facebook, and the petition took on a life of its own. Currently there are over 1,700 signatures, with a stated goal of 10,000.
“I was really bothered when [Mayor Rob] Ford got up on first day of administration and cancelled Transit City,” O’Reilly said. “I thought it was a really bad decision.”"

It is simple, #transit is cheaper than cars

Toronto News: Hume: Evidence is clear — we need better transit - thestar.com: "The Toronto Board of Trade claims congestion already costs the GTA $6 billion annually. That will only get worse. The highway grid operates at full capacity but adding lanes and new roads simply doesn’t help.

Still, we balk at the cost of building and operating new transit. What about the cost of not building new transit?"

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Toronto voters demand return of Transit City - Petition Online Canada

Toronto voters demand return of Transit City - Petition Online Canada: Given that
(a) the Transit City plan provides more transit for less money than Mayor Ford’s new subway plan,
and that
(b) the cancellation of Transit City would cost the City of Toronto a substantial amount in cancellation fees and penalties, which taxpayers can ill afford at this time,

Toronto News: TTC breaks single-day ridership record - thestar.com

Toronto News: TTC breaks single-day ridership record - thestar.com: "The prospect of longer waits and more crowded buses next year doesn’t appear to be discouraging riders from flocking to the TTC right now.

On Sept. 15, the TTC saw a record 1.71 million rides on a single day.

It was the fifth time this year that the TTC exceeded the Oct. 27, 2010, record of 1.68 million rides."

'via Blog this'

Sluggish Toronto-area commutes are hurting Ontario's economy big time - The Globe and Mail

Sluggish Toronto-area commutes are hurting Ontario's economy big time - The Globe and Mail: "What isn’t beyond our control is the ability to take steps to keep the Toronto region globally competitive. Ensuring that goods and services flow smoothly across the region is one obvious support we could give our economy. Gridlock is now costing our economy $6-billion a year in lost productivity, and this loss is headed toward $15-billion annually."

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Manitoba Green Party: Make #Transit Free- Winnipeg Free Press

Green Party unveils wide-ranging platform - Winnipeg Free Press: "The Green Party of Manitoba is promising voters free post-secondary education, free public transit and a guaranteed annual income as a part of a wide-ranging if not outright utopian platform."

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Horwath promises to ease cost of transit by half

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says her party is promising to ease the operating cost of transit for cities across the province by half if elected in the upcoming provincial election.

CTVOttawa

2010 Toronto Star calls for free public transit

Public sector austerity unreasonable and irrational - thestar.com: "Rather than freezing the public sector, this moment should be an opportunity to address the crisis in the transportation sector that is so vital to Ontario’s whole economy, as measured not only in auto industry shutdowns and layoffs but in notorious traffic congestion on our roads.

This would mean converting auto assembly and parts plants to the production of energy efficient mass transit vehicles and using the tax revenues from the jobs generated thereby to fund free public transit. If there was ever a time to use Ontario’s capacity to raise funds in bond markets for this, it is now. Far from placing a burden on future generations, it would guarantee them a future."

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2008 - Toronto Star calls for free public transit

Toronto News: Is free transit the better way? - thestar.com: "Despite arguments drivers pay their equivalent of a rider's transit fare via gas taxes, vehicle fees and registration, the fact remains there's no box at the end of the driveway or the highway entrance where they must put their money before proceeding. As a result, there's a perception roads are free and that encourages more people to get behind the wheel because they feel they've already paid for the drive, so they might as well.

What if we took the same approach to public transit? Just like the roads and bridges, the subway tunnels, streetcar tracks, buses and other transit infrastructure has been paid for with tax dollars. So, if the goal is building up usage to help the planet, create a more liveable city and move away from a car-dependent culture we now are, then eliminating fares seems to be a way shift that transportation balance."

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Oil industry desperate to force you back in your car

TTC defers fare hike but approves service cuts - The Globe and Mail: "Toronto transit riders can expect longer waits and more crowding beginning in January, but whether they will have to shell out more at the fare box for that reduced service won’t be certain until December."

'via Blog this'

InsideToronto Article: NDP and CUPE lambaste proposed TTC cuts

InsideToronto Article: NDP and CUPE lambaste proposed TTC cuts: ""CUPE is absolutely opposed to cuts to the TTC," said CUPE Ontario secretary-treasurer Candace Rennick. "It's a direct attack on low-income residents, women and people who can't afford to drive cars. The Province needs to start funding the TTC. People need to be supported and cuts to services won't help.""

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Shortfall, cash-strapped, funding difficulties, -- it is all a big lie

People wait for the TTC Finch bus. The TTC still needs to 

find $30 million in savings to cover a projected

 shortfall across the conventional and Wheel-Trans systems.

TORONTO STAR PHOTO

Toronto News: Get ready for more crowded TTC buses - thestar.com: "The new year will be a return to the past for a record number of TTC riders who will be crammed tighter onto buses and left standing longer at the curb after the TTC board agreed to lower its service standards Friday."

Oil companies have gotten their trolls into power by trickery, lying, and plain old election fraud. The corporate media has helped by propagating their lies. There is no funding problem. All the money is spent on the auto-system, as if bus riders were not people. Actually bus riders are saving the economy. They should ride free.

Demand is up -- so, what, cut service?

Toronto transit eyes cutting 1,000 jobs, service on key routes - The Globe and Mail: "The Toronto Transit Commission is looking to shed almost 1,000 jobs and reduce service levels on some of the city’s busiest routes as the cash-strapped system hunts for the 10-per-cent savings requested by the city and struggles to close an estimated $101-million budget gap.

A 10-cent hike at the fare box also is on the table, but TTC chair Karen Stintz said she is not ready to ask riders to pay more without first looking for other savings."

'via Blog this'

We’re talking mobility, not gravy - thestar.com

We’re talking mobility, not gravy - thestar.com: "There’s no gravy train in the City of Toronto, but there is a wrecking ball and it’s aimed directly at our transportation system. Since taking office last fall, Mayor Rob Ford has consistently shown a disregard for any notion of evidence-based planning of the city’s road and transit networks.

His bias against both streetcars and light rail transit (LRT) flies in the face of the fact that our current streetcar system carries many more riders a day than the entire GO Transit system and is essential to the daily functioning of the Toronto downtown."

'via Blog this'

Toronto News: Is free transit the better way? - thestar.com [2008]

Toronto News: Is free transit the better way? - thestar.com: Is it time to consider offering fare-free transit as part of the solution?

Is Toronto Mayor deliberately sabotaging #transit ?

Subways are justified in only the most dense population areas. They make people go underground so that buses and streetcars may have the streets. But should we make people go underground so that a few private autos may have the street? Studies show that a new subway in Toronto is a bad investment. This should raise suspicion about the motivation of its promoters.

"If you compare a Sheppard subway line to all of the other transit options that have been brought to the table over the past couple of years, a subway line for Sheppard would cost the most per kilometer and serve the fewest number of Torontonians per dollar invested...." Pembina

++ Go Evergreen! ++: Canadian transit ridership reaches new milestone in 2010

++ Go Evergreen! ++: Canadian transit ridership reaches new milestone in 2010: "TORONTO, July 25, 2011 /Canada NewsWire/ - Public transit ridership across Canada showed very strong growth in 2010, with an increase of 4.1% nationally over the previous year. This represents an all-time record with 1.9 billion trips taken, as reported today by the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA)."

Living a Car Free Life | LONDONFUSE

Living a Car Free Life | LONDONFUSE: "But today this all changed. We finally managed to sell our car and now we are in fact Carless, and I must say that it feels liberating."

Jane Jacobs on Neighborhoods

Fake "shortfall" excuse to cut services

Toronto to consider $740M in major service cuts - Toronto - CBC News: "Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's executive committee is set to consider cuts totalling more than $740 million to police, transit, public health and environment programs."

The Radio Ecoshock Show: KILL THE CAR

The Radio Ecoshock Show: KILL THE CAR: "Most people will work until mid-April just to pay their car costs. That's just their personal share. More is paid by all levels of government, to keep the road network going."

TTC - Make it Free

Poor are forced to subsidize car-culture

Fair Fare Coalition

Sistering - A Woman's Place: Supporting ordinary women in extraordinary circumstances: "The Fair Fare Coalition is committed to working together to make public transit more accessible, now and in the long-term, for all community members, especially people who do not have other travel options. One of the coalition’s first actions was to gather information from people who are impacted by fare costs. People were invited to write comments about what the fare increase meant to them and the importance of public transit in their lives. We collected 237 comments in English, Spanish and Mandarin.

These comments are part of Fred Victor’s Photography Group project to document experiences of the TTC and raise awareness of the impact of the high cost of travel in Toronto.

For more information, contact Jane Kali at jkali@sistering.org."

All high-profile personalities are owned by oil

Bedford Paul Bedford stands at a vacant industrial site in Toronto. He says solid transit investment could turn around vacant and underused sites in Hamilton.

File photo/Toronto Star

TheSpec - Who’ll champion transit in Hamilton?: "Those advocating a big investment in Hamilton’s transit system say the project needs a political champion.

None was to be found at a workshop luncheon series Tuesday called Why Transit Matters! No Hamilton city, provincial or federal politician was in attendance."

Toronto — distilled to its essence - Quick Trips - MiamiHerald.com

Toronto — distilled to its essence - Quick Trips - MiamiHerald.com: "BY CARL FRANCIS PENDERS
ALBANY TIMES UNION
TORONTO -- This is a safe, clean, comfortable city. Its eclectic streets and scenic avenues appeal to your inner walker, and few parts are better to explore on foot than the automobile-free, pedestrian-friendly Distillery District."

The Urban Country Bicycle Blog: No Cars. No Traffic Signals. No Deaths.

The Urban Country Bicycle Blog: No Cars. No Traffic Signals. No Deaths.: "In fact, if not for motor vehicles, we wouldn’t need traffic signals or stop signs at all."

Public transit needs firm commitment from party leaders: CUTA

Public transit needs firm commitment from party leaders: CUTA: "'CUTA is pleased to see that each of the federal party leaders has made reference in support of transit; however, we remain concerned that transit has not been identified as a high-level priority,' said CUTA President & CEO Michael Roschlau.

'A long-term vision for public transit is critical in helping to tackle key national challenges currently facing Canadians, such as easing traffic congestion and gridlock, reducing emissions and improving quality of life,' said CUTA Chair, Charles Stolte. 'It plays a vital role in boosting Canadian cities' productivity and competitiveness, and accommodating population growth and a modal shift towards public transit.'"

Angry Finch commuters: ‘Tell the mayor to walk in our shoes’ - thestar.com

A queue of riders trying to get on the Finch West 36 bus on April 1, 2011.

COLIN MCCONNELL/TORONTO STAR

Angry Finch commuters: ‘Tell the mayor to walk in our shoes’ - thestar.com: "In this case, the Toronto mayor — notorious for his aversion to light-rail lines at street level — has cancelled a previously approved scheme that would have improved bus service on Finch with an 11-kilometre railway route connecting to the Spadina subway line.

As a result, the 40,000 daily riders who now have little choice but to endure the slow and unreliable bus service along Finch will have little choice but to continue to do so for many slow and unreliable years to come.

Christopher thinks she knows why the decision was made, and she has no qualms about expressing her thoughts to a Star reporter, who — it should be noted — is the only white person aboard this particular iteration of the 36 B Finch West bus."

Greater Toronto Workers' Assembly says NO FARE is FAIR

...All working people – all people, really – should have the right to mobility and shouldn’t have to pay for it like any commodity. It should also be accessible to all people and not doled out according to how much money you have, which part of the city you happen to live in, or whether or not you are living with a disability....

Read more... GTWA

Volunteers want LRT plan back on track | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun

Volunteers want LRT plan back on track | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun: "“(Ford is) going to find that he’s going to really peev off a lot of these communities and a lot of these neighbourhoods that supported him.”

The mayor won’t have to look far for frustration.

“It’s really overcrowded and then what happens because of traffic you’ll see three buses lined up waiting to go and two of them will get filled and one will be empty,” said Vanessa Hunt, vice-president of campus life at York University.

“Then there will be no bus along the line for 45 minutes, and people are stuck in the cold waiting,” she said after a couple hours of door-knocking."

Seniors need and deserve free public transit

Olivia Chow Trinity—Spadina, ON

Bill C-449 | openparliament.ca: "Some seniors, as they age, can no longer drive, so they are totally dependent upon public transit. But since the federal government has not substantially increased old age security or the guaranteed income supplement, tens of thousands of Canadian seniors are living in poverty. Some of them even have to rely on food banks. That means they have to make a decision every day. Can they actually go to the library or to the community centre or visit their grandchildren, or are they going to have trouble paying rent because they are taking steps to leave their homes and take public transit?"

TTCriders.ca » Blog Archive » Metrolinx’s Paul Bedford speaks up for transit

TTCriders.ca » Blog Archive » Metrolinx’s Paul Bedford speaks up for transit: "After decades of inaction, Toronto urgently needs to get on with building transit of all types. Ford and the new council will be making 100-year decisions that will shape our future. Now is not the time to get cynical; the future success of Toronto and the region is far too important."

Save Transit City - Events

Thursday Feb 17th, 7pm
Save Eglinton's Rapid Transit: Ask our politicians about the Eglinton LRT
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=172338569479080


Saturday February 19th, 1pm
Canvass with Councillor Anthony Perruzza
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=168071899907639


Tuesday February 22nd, 7pm
Councillor Perruzza's Finch West Town Hall
Yorkwoods Library Theatre, 1785 Finch Avenue West


Tuesday February 22nd, 6pm-8:30pm
Scarborough Left Waiting: A Community Meeting on Transit Needs in Scarborough
Location: Scarborough Civic Centre
RSVP: Farhat Hasan at farhat@cassa.on.ca or 416 932 1359 X10


Jointly hosted by: Toronto Environment Alliance (TEA), TTCRiders, Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA) and Scarborough Civic Action Network Action for Neighbourhood Change - Malvern, Social Planning Toronto, Tamil Information Centre and many others!

Refreshments will be served!
TTC Tokens will be provided!

CBC News - Toronto - TTC could lose a quarter million rides due to cuts

CBC News - Toronto - TTC could lose a quarter million rides due to cuts: "The TTC says it will lose a quarter of a million rides if proposed service cuts to 48 bus routes take effect.

The cuts are slated for what the TTC calls underused routes — those carrying fewer than 15 people per hour. The transit agency estimated the changes would save about $7 million, which would go into busier routes."

Studies suggest urban areas are less risky for children

Baby & Hood: Studies suggest urban areas are less risky for children: "'It was a beautiful house, but we just ended up living in our car,' she says. 'We lived by [a busy road]. If anything happened, if we left the fence open, my child was literally on a road where traffic was like 80 kilometres an hour.'

...Their arguments are bolstered by a growing body of research showing that the traditional family dream home -- a large house on a big lot in a quiet suburb -- may actually be more dangerous for children than many inner-city neighbourhoods."

Messages - An Important Discussion on the Future of GTA Transit

Messages - An Important Discussion on the Future of GTA Transit: "Hello Transit Supporters,

You are invited to join public transit expert Steve Munro in an important discussion on the future of transit in the GTA, hosted by Post Carbon Toronto. (http://www.postcarbontoronto.org/)

The event is $2 or PWYC at the Bahen Centre at U of T, 40 St. George St., Room 1190 starting at 7:00pm tomorrow (Wednesday, Jan 26th)

For more information visit http://www.postcarbontoronto.org/2011/01/16/the-future-of-gta-transit/

To RSVP go to www.meetup.com/PostCarbonTorontoMeetup"

Toronto’s transit at a crossroads | Pembina Institute

Toronto’s transit at a crossroads | Pembina Institute: "... — the Transit City plan would bring a variety of benefits for Toronto commuters which Pembina presents in a new report released today, Making Tracks to Torontonians , for example:

• Nearly 150 kilometers of new rapid transit lines

• An additional 600,000 people and jobs would be within 500 meters of rapid transit

• Over 100,000 low-income residents over the age of 15 would be within a six-minute walk of at least one of the Transit City lines

• Over 325,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions would be prevented, with 224 million rides per year on the new lines"

Expect more traffic congestion

Mayor Rob Ford has declared the war on the car (if it ever existed) is over. But here at Worst Intersections, we know the skirmishes won’t abate any time soon. While transit ridership in 2010 hit a record high (480 million riders), Toronto’s roads will continue to become ever more congested as the city-region expands, the economy recovers, and vehicle ownership grows.

Globe and Mail

Take 144,000 cars off the road - Save Transit City

Graphic from http://www.torontoenvironment.org/campaigns/transit/transitmapBreathe Toronto: "RALLY FOR TRANSIT CITY! Come together on Sunday, January 9th to demand loud and clear that City Council save Transit City, and proceed with the biggest TTC expansion in recent history as planned. As the last Council unanimously endorsed (including Ford!) Event posting: CLICK HERE"

Activist Communique: The melting Arctic - a threat to Indigenous land and culture. | rabble.ca

Activist Communique: The melting Arctic - a threat to Indigenous land and culture. | rabble.ca: "Climate change in the circumpolar region has had and will continue to have devastating effects on the Indigenous peoples who consider the region to be their homeland. These people include the Inuit, the Saami, the Komi, the Yakut, the Nenets, the Samoyed, the Altaic, the Buryat, etc .... who live in the North."