The Star published a very interesting story about the extraordinarily long transit commutes factory workers (mostly immigrant) have to make between areas of the city where they can afford to live, and the transit-inaccessible factories where they work.
It’s a good demonstration of the inefficiency of low-density development, whether residential or commercial, which simply cannot sustain good transit service and leaves people who cannot afford a car isolated. Their plight shows how planning and transit decisions have a major impact on economic equity in our society.
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People figure that for the about the same price as a condo downtown, they can get a detached house with a yard. But services are not the same. This post demonstrates that the true costs of a house in the ‘burbs is not reflected the price.
^ I don’t really think this shows that at all.
All these people lived in Toronto (except one from Markham) and have to work out in the factories because they can’t find work in Toronto. It more shows the problems with the lack of adequet jobs where people settle. On the other hand, it also demonstrates the need for people to live closer to where they work instead of just bitching about how long it takes them to get there.
Also, the area in question where the factory is located is pretty barren because development of other factories is just starting. The one where these people are travelling is pretty much the only one in the area so having a bus route would just be a waste of money for the workers. And it’s only a 2km walk. These people talk about waiting for 45 minutes for a bus to take them on this drive while they could easily walk 2km in that time so it also shows their laziness.