We’ve been hearing for so long about the decline in public transportation, from ridership to funding, so it’s especially nice when it seems like things are turning around. Some good news about TTC ridership from a news release:
TORONTO, Oct. 27 /CNW/ – TTC ridership is up almost 3 percent over the same period last year.
TTC expects to carry at least 427 million riders by year end … a 9 percent increase over ridership in 1999 when the TTC carried 393 million.
October saw record sales of Metropasses – 202,000 passes in one month, a 50 percent increase in sales over October 1999.
– 70 percent of Torontonians have taken the TTC within the last 12 months
– 50 percent of Torontonians take the TTC at least once a week
I wonder what Margaret Wente thinks of this. Using her logic, there is probably an increase of unwashed and huddled masses in Toronto, thus the Transit increase. Though last night I took the Eglinton bus from the Eglinton West station to Yonge. There were people in suits and expensive shoes on it. The poor, it seems, are dressing well these days. Wente should write about that.
