Transit - Toronto, Ontario

First My Rant

The transit system in Toronto is operated by the Toronto Transit Commission, locally referred to as the TTC or the "Better Way". Never sure about large organization that give themselves a branding phrase without ever carin' if it's true. For instance, the "Better Way" to get around is often to walk. I walk everywhere. If I am in a hurry, I calculate the advertised time of travel and add 1/2 an hour. Finally, every year we wait for those in charge of the TTC to start musing about the fare increase. Why recently, when Katrina hit New Orleans, it took but a day for the TTC to warn that we would probably face a fare increase - oil prices would be going up.

Why the rant? Well, once a year, citizens begin to learn that there is going to be another budget short fall, ridership is down, the system is in disrepair and on it goes. And thus begins the TTCs fight with the municipal authories for more funding. The local politican in turn blame the short fall on the provincial politicians who in turn blame the federal politicians. In the end, you guessed it, the fare increase goes through, and guess what? The ridership falls, leading to lower revenue, and the system falls into further disrepair setting the stage for the next rumours of a fare increase. Depending on where you are going and how many people are in the group, it's often cheaper to take a cab. I avoid the TTC, I walk, but then I live and work downtown.

Making the Best of What We Have

Meanwhile, politics and fare increases aside, there are some advantages to taking the TTC. An individual TTC fare is cheaper than a cab, but believe it or not, a cash fare return trip on the TTC costs about the same as a return trip to Casino Niagara. This page use to list the prices, but I think I had just finished typing it all up when the TTC changed the fares again. I was going to update all the fares but remember hearing someone complaining to a friend that the fares were going rise again, so I give you the link to the TTC fare page.

There you have it, my rant and TTC pricing. You can find additional general information at the TTC website, but don't trust everything you read, particularly in an election year!

Use the links at the side of the page to move to another section of the RAPS website.