(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Loading ...Vinyl Killers 5 – C
With speculation rife that the province is going to take over the TTC, I have a suggestion for the province. A proposal for Transit.
Here in Toronto we have transit problems. They’re no secret. In the last year (has it only been a year, or longer?) We’ve had a wildcat strike, union issues, fare hikes and whatnot. We just had another crisis and the decision was made between cutting back service or fare hikes. Fare hikes were chosen.
Toronto’s transit is overpriced, underfunded, overcrowded, inadequate, and often unreliable. It’s sick. Some would say it’s dying.
In Toronto, even with traffic issues, parking issues and gas prices, many people choose to drive. Driving in Toronto is, for many people, a better option. We’ve structured things so that it is.
With the annual deaths from smog and the impending doomsday-like scenarios from climate change, we need to change. (The ideas that came out of the recent Walk 21 conference seem to be a great start!)
Here’s my own suggestion. Make transit free. For everyone. Anytime. All the time.
Whoa, Whoa Whoa, you say. What about fares? Are you going to tax me for a service I don’t use? Shouldn’t people who ride the subway have to pay for it? First of all, it’s been shown that fares only cover a small percentage of Transit costs. Most systems recover about 20-30 percent. This rest comes from advertising (an even more pathetic percentage- about 2.3% in Toronto.) and the government. So you’re already paying anyway, but yes, I would tax you for a service you don’t use- to encourage you to use it, and because I believe it is an essential service. The same way you’re taxed for schools even if you don’t have a child in the school system, and you’re taxed for fire departments, even if you’ve never had a fire. Same for hospitals, prisons, ect, ect. That said, perhaps the tax should only apply to people within the area that is serviced by the transit system. This would be a motivation for the city to extend and improve service lines and for developers to build within serviced areas. It would also take vehicles off of our downtown streets, and smog out of the downtown core. This would literally save lives.
Furthermore, since parking lots and garages encourage and support car culture, and are a black hole and a blight on the city, I would recover some of the transit expenses from taxing parking spots and parking areas more heavily in the downtown core.I would also tax cars themselves more heavily, especially oversized and gas-guzzling models.If you want the luxury of driving yourself in vehicle that fits four people through a city serviced by an adequate transit system at the expense of everyones health and well-being, you should have to pay more for that luxury.
Also, free transit would actually save lots of money by removing the costs of maintaining the system and infrastructure of fare collection! No turnstiles, and no tokens, tickets, transfers or cards! No fare booths or machines! No collection cars! I would have the staff whose job used to be to sell tickets and watch for and prevent farebeating retrained and reassigned to ride the system and police it. Watch for crime; help the lost and elderly, prevent theft and vandalism, ect.
Also, this system should help people get behind the much needed improvements and expansion costs for transit- Instead of being against the cost, opting out, and buying a car.
ALSO, just Imagine the convenience and attraction of a free-transit city! Hopping on and off subways, streetcars, and buses! No checking ids or passes! Just get on! Imagine the attraction to tourists!
In addition, I would remove every. single. advertisement. Especially the goddamned station –domination
awfulness. The amount of money generated from advertising is pathetic and in no way equals the cost we pay for it as a city. I would pull down most of the ad infrastructure but leave some and replace the ads with maps and information! Others would have local events and public service announcements, local art or poetry, man, the possibilities. It would be a relatively easy thing to distribute blank posterboards to local schools for students to decorate and then install on the trains on a rotating basis. It would be great for the riders, and imagine the sense of pride and accomplishment when a young person sees their work on a subway car!
Imagine being up to date on city events instead of season premiers?!? Just imagine.
Less drunk driving! Less congestion! Less climate change! Less smog-related deaths!
More convenience! More attraction and growth for the city! More support for public transit! More tourism!
Maybe a good way to start this system would be to make the subway free, then later expand it to streetcars and buses in the downtown core, then expand it to the entire GTA.
In the new world coming, transit is an essential service.
Hell, it already is.
January 6th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
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March 29th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
[...] free transit is an idea whose time has come. I think It’s a worthwhile and achievable goal. I went off about it awhile ago, but I didn’t want to just let it die there. Blade Diary isn’t a big enough [...]