gawd I hate the TTC

I don't judge anyone who drives their vehicle* to work in the Greater Toronto Area. Yes, our freeways and commuter arteries are a gridlocked mess most of the time, but it's no wonder. There is little coordination amongst the transit systems of the outlying cities, successive provincial governments have slashed funding to GO Transit, and Toronto has a bad habit of ripping up pre-existing rail lines and turning them into long, skinny parks (or ignoring them altogether).

And then there's the TTC. The Better Way, my ass. It took me 50 minutes to get home from work tonight. If I get a bus right away, it takes me 20 minutes. Walking takes 35.

The problem tonight, I think, was that a bus was missing from the regular pattern of service on the route. This accounts for my 25-minute wait at the stop. Luckily it was only -5c tonight, so I didn't freeze to death.

Between the unpredictable wait times, the oft-surly drivers, the beat-up buses, and the multitude of crazy (and smelly) people who ride, it's all a bit much to take sometimes. Trying to entice people to use public transit is a common problem for large North American cities. I think we could take some lessons from the Europeans. In Finland, you can get a text message to your cell phone telling you when the next bus is due to arrive. In German cities like Berlin and Munich, the U-Bahn is a thing of beauty: extensive routes; reliable, automated, and audible next-station-announcements; directional signage in the subway cars indicating the doors to use for the next platform. Heck, even the MUNI platforms in San Franisco tell you when the next goddamned train is coming.

This post is in celebration of Ontario's new High Occupancy Vehicle lanes. HOV lanes: the traffic solution that many North American cities are abandoning after years of failure. Attention Toronto retailers: your used mannequins have just quadrupled in value...


* as long as it's not a gargantuan SUV with only one occupant

Comments

Anonymous said…
ya that lane will never work...it's a guaranteed mayhem of roadraging freaks...pissed off that they can't use the lane so they start using it anyway, causing accidents etc...i hate the ttc too, but shit, it's there, right.
Anonymous said…
Here's mloyd on the Bay #6 bus:

http://www.v-liz.com/india/impress/busback.htm
Jason said…
What did you delete Big Brother?
Shora said…
There is a better way. GO Transit. If you can handle constantly checking your watch for the next train when you're our drinking. And if you don't mind the groups of suburbian women that talk at deafening levels about their kids. And it would mean you'd be living in some place like The Jax. Ok. Um... not.
madamerouge said…
Let's see Jason... if I remember my prep work for my big privacy job interview, it was P.I.I. (Personally Identifiable Information) in toobusyliving's post that had to be, um, tidied up. I think someone got dwunk lastnight.

Shora, how would a claustrophobic person like me deal with the GO's cattle cars? I would imagine I'd need a constant supply of Xanax...
Crucible said…
I'm ok if I stay off the buses. Streetcars - only when necessary. The subway, I can deal with. That said, I still drive in about 1/2 the time....
fatrobot said…
i like the ttc
even if it takes me longer i don't care
cuz i'll read or scheme or glare at people
madamerouge said…
I like it when I get a gay driver to cruise. I even tapped me some TTC tail once. Aw yeah...
Why Mloyd is like the TTC...
-He's Government funded
-He provides a regular pattern of "service" for a portion of the city's population.
-He would also like to increase his number of yearly "riders".
-He's WHITE and RED.
-He's been around the city for a loooooong time.
-Almost everyone in the city has been in him.
-Sometimes he's right on time other times he just doesn't show up.
Unknown said…
There's nothing wrong with being gay. I am a proud non-practicing lesbian.

My adorable boyfriend raves about the roads in Toronto compared to the US.
there's nothing wrong with it if you don't mind going to hell!
madamerouge said…
Aw yeah... back that bus up... yeah...

YJA: I am not government-funded. The rest... well I think you got me there. V V good.

AG: is it because drivers in Toronto stand less of a chance of being picked off by random gunfire? Or is it a traffic thing? Exactly how long has your Adorable Boyfriend been gone from Toronto?
Unknown said…
Adorable Boyfriend has lived in the states for the last 10 years. He proclaimed this weekend after riding around Boston that Toronto drivers and highways are far more superior.

AG's response: Don't start that Canada civil country stuff AGAIN!

*Don't get me wrong, I love Canada it's just that he gets high and mighty about everything, not just Canada, and I need to bring his big head into place.
Anonymous said…
well we ARE the best....

and why do you have a boyfriend if you are gay? odd.
giz lau said…
i hate. ..HAAAATE. ..hate hate hate the ttc. pole huggers, to daily delays on the rt, the bloor/danforth subway, AND the spadina streetcar. ..a few weeks ago, it took me 2 hours when it usually takes 1. bite me, ttc.

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