Transit
• TTC riders may lose the battle of the smart cards [ Toronto Star ]
• Smart cards vs. open payment [ Toronto Star ]
• Comment: Graduated fare structure only way to go for TTC [ National Post ]
• Jarvis a strait of confusion, cyclist says [ Toronto Sun ]
• For whom the road tolls [ Eye Weekly ]
Caribana
• Bright colours and a room of their own [ Toronto Star ]
• Caribana is more than a parade [ Toronto Star ]
G20 Aftermath
• Police board’s authority will be examined in the wake of G20 [ Toronto Star ]
• Prime suspect in G20 damage turns herself in [ Toronto Star ]
Niagara Ad Campaign
• With ‘simmering anger,’ Smitherman goes to Niagara [ Globe & Mail ]
• Smitherman comes to Toronto’s rescue [ National Post ]
• Niagara Falls ad campaign scaled back [ Toronto Star ]
• Thin-skinned Toronto lets Niagara get it’s goat [ Globe & Mail ]
• Niagara dumps ads dissing T.O. [ Toronto Sun ]
Other News
• Medal mess-up riles vets [ Toronto Star ]
• Will Hamilton choose sprawl or revitalization [ Toronto Star ]
• Regent Park swim program runs into the pool of hard knocks [ Globe & Mail ]
• Golf course neighbours are ‘Open’ for business [ Toronto Star ]
• Ryerson eyes crumbling hotel [ Toronto Sun ]
• My city, in all its mundane glory [ Eye Weekly ]
• Waiving our rights [ Now Magazine ]
• Fee and loathing [ Now Magazine ]
6 comments
This Chris Higgins who writes for the Post needs some education:
1. Metropass users eroding revenue? These are the users that are filling the system in the off peak/weekend hours where there is a relatively large amount of capacity to absorb them.
2. Presto is hardly a panacea for our fare collection problems. He is making the same mistake as everyone else – combining the issues of fare structure and technology (see recent post by Steve Munro).
3. TTC ridership is climbing and is back near record levels. Its not just a function of the fare, but also is dependent on the quality and predictability of the service (among other things.)
4. The suburban riders who are subsidized aren’t just the 905-ers, its the lower-income residents of Etobicoke and Scarborough who need to get to work downtown. I suppose he hasn’t noticed that many of the priority neighbourhoods are in these inner suburbs, which are receiving more residents and immigrants who cannot afford to live close to the core.
5. Monetary losses by the TTC (aka. increased subsidy from the tax base) is a policy decision – a deliberate move to increase the affordability of the service by reducing the ratio between the fares and the service quality.
i could go on…
ITS, not “it’s” — you too, now? Tsk, tsk.
Re J:
I swear the TTC is using some creative accounting to claim revenue loss due to Metropass usage. Most transit systems, including urban ones which see higher volumes of spontanious off-peak travel, passes are equivalent to about 40 multi-fare trips – give or take. Meanwhile it takes at least a whopping 49 trips to break even with a pass, more if you are a student or senior!
Yes Metropass users tend to use the system more often, incluing spontanious and short distance trips they would normally use other modes for. However, the cost to ferry someone a couple of kilometers is far less than it is to transport them across the city! It is a safe bet that the TTC on average makes a huge profit on those extra trips. If the TTC is losing money on anything which is undervalued, it is the cost of tokens.
When I used to take the TTC more regularly, in the end I just bought about 45 tickets at the beginning of the month. Even with spontanious short trips, I was still spending less than if I were to buy a pass.
Ben,
Agreed. I’d like to see some math and data to see the true benefits to the system from metropass customers.
Why does everyone assume that the residents of Toronto suburbs need to travel downtown? Before Toronto’s tax climate killed off the jobs/stores in their neighbourhoods they tended to work closer to home. During the last twenty years, residents in those areas have become more likely to need to travel outside of the the city for employment.
Glen makes a great point. One of the things I’ve noticed during my temporary relocation to Montreal is that people tend to stay in their neighbourhoods, for work, shopping and leisure. I’m constantly amazed when someone tells me that they don’t go to a certain store or restaurant because it’s “so far away” or because “we have so many great options near home”. And it’s true…where in Toronto I travel all over the place for shopping and leisure, in Montreal I’m starting to stay closer to home, because my neighbourhood feels properly self-sufficient.
The late great actor Douglas Campbell told me once that he preferred Montreal to Toronto (having lived his long life between both cities) because Montreal has real neighbourhoods. I get that now.