Oh! One other problem with public transit...........
No end in sight for Durham transit strike
.....and Miller's buddies at the TTC Unions play their extortion games on a regular basis.
T.O. gridlock above and below ground
The better way: Shoe-horning you in
By ROB GRANATSTEIN, CITY HALL BUREAU
It's crunch time on the TTC.
Across Toronto, riders are pouring onto subways, buses and streetcars, far surpassing the TTC's expectations, pouring extra money into the fare box.
It should be good news, right?
"It's a good news, bad news disaster,"said TTC chairman Howard Moscoe.
The TTC budgeted for 435 million riders, but will likely see 450 million this year.
The result is that in the peak periods it's a squish sandwich on the vehicles. And people are getting left behind.
"There is overcrowding," said Rick Cornacchia, the TTC's general manager of operations. "But it's more of a comfortable overcrowding."
Soaring gas prices, the transferable Metropass and tax breaks on the Metropass have all helped fuel the growth. The TTC expected to grow ridership by 1%-1.5%, but saw 3%.
"We didn't see it coming," said the TTC's Mitch Stambler. "We were too conservative in our plans."
Stambler said at peak times, there's nothing else the TTC can do. It's maxed out.
Get used to being up close and personal with your neighbour.
Get used to trains rolling through subway stations with no room to squeeze on another commuter.
"We're way over capacity in every which way," Stambler said.
There are no extra buses to roll out on the road, the bus garages are packed, there isn't staff to do the maintenance.
There are no extra trains to roll onto the tracks.
Help is on the way, but like everything TTC, it won't happen quickly. This year and next year are catch-up years.
100 MORE BUSES IN 2007
The TTC will get 100 more buses to add to its fleet, but not until November 2007. In the meantime, any new buses go right into service to replace old buses being pulled off the road.
"Between now and next November, we'll be really pressed to accommodate the public demand," Stambler said.
Keeping up also means adding staff. The TTC will train 650 bus drivers, 200 more than in a usual year.
"It's a welcome problem," Cornacchia said. "If we can get through to the middle of 2007, by the fall the extra buses will help us immensely."
Underground, help is on the way -- eventually.
The 234 new Bombardier trains will have 8% more capacity than the trains on track now. The TTC is also resignalling the Yonge-University-Spadina line, allowing it to run more trains, with less waiting between trains.
By 2012, the first section of computer-run, automatic train control will be in place. By 2016, the trains will roll through the stations automatically.
The automatic controls will cost $39 million to install, and increase capacity on the subway system by 35%-50%.
"The automatic train control will add the equivalent of a Yonge subway line," Moscoe said.
* * *
So how did we get here? You stopped riding, is how.
In the early 1990s, ridership slid from 460 million to 390 million, and capacity was cut. The provincial government's funding formula changed, the system's good repair started crumbling.
It's far easier to cut than to grow, so this is the result.
Adding a bus to the fleet takes 18 months, so does training the driver. Cutting the fleet takes no time.
* * *
It's 8:05 a.m. A shoehorn would be helpful to squeeze all the riders onto the Yonge subway. This is the most demanding time of the day for the TTC.
"The rest of the time we have oodles and oodles of capacity," Cornacchia said. "It's a very short period of the day."
Southbound Bloor station in the morning is overcrowded, Cornacchia readily admits.
From 8 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. it's mayhem underground, at the bus stops and streetcar platforms.
"The morning peak is more demanding than the afternoon peak," he said.
To help in critical times, the TTC has four extra trains it can zip in empty to try to help ease the crush.
Above ground, the TTC likes to run its buses with, at most, 55 people on board. The crush capacity is 85. Anything above 55 and complaints roll faster than buses.
On the streetcar routes, when the St. Clair right-of-way is finished, the TTC hopes its Red Rockets won't be lined up one after another, stuck in traffic. If the streetcars are evenly spread out, the crowds will be too.
So the word heading into this election is don't expect anything to change quickly. The TTC will continue to start your day off by shoehorning you in.
Unless you can wake up earlier and miss crunch-time.
---
TTC UNDER MAYOR DAVID MILLER
- Two fare hikes. Metropass up from $98.75 to $99.75. Bulk token purchase gone from $1.90 each to $2.10 each.
- 1 day wildcat strike.
- TTC Chief General Manager Rick Ducharme quits because of interference by politicians.
- Transferable Metropass introduced.
- $710 million contract to buy new subway cars.
- 100 new buses.
- Ridership Growth Strategy slowly rolled out.
- St. Clair Right-of-Way erupts into huge political confrontation, but now under construction.
DAVID MILLER'S 2003 PROMISES
PROMISE: Remain as a TTC commissioner and public transit user.
ACTION: Still rides the TTC when possible. Commissioner for half of this term.
PROMISE: Reduce the cost of Metropasses for students, seniors and workers.
ACTION: The TTC VIP plan reduces cost for students at some schools: U of T, George Brown, Ryerson, Centennial College, Humber College, York University, Seneca.
PROMISE: Improving service on busy routes with designated bus lanes and 100 new buses.
ACTION: 100 new buses are coming, bus-only route in planning stages for York University, dedicated right-of-way for St. Clair is being built.
PROMISE: Beginning a financially responsible long-term program to build subways.
ACTION: Province decided to make a subway to York University a priority while the TTC would rather see cheaper bus and light-rapid transit dedicated lanes built.
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