T.T.C. [Toronto Transit Commission aka Take The Car]

I get so tired of the debate currently raging in Toronto about what to do with the TTC. The voices are never ending.

The TTC needs more money!

No – its workers need to be paid less!

We need an expansion to York University!

We should have a computerized system and do away with drivers altogether!

Allow me to indentify the elephant in the room shall I?

You can’t take the “public” out of public transit. Being around a lot of people you don't know generally sucks, so any transportation system that can minimize this factor will excel.

I took the TTC up to The Shoe Company today at lunch. It was absolute bliss; a quick, efficient run up Yonge Street, with a manageable amount of people on board the subway car. Any solution proposed for the TTC must aim as much as possible, to make this scenario the norm on transit.

What do we have instead? Subway stations that leak and creak and that are generally falling to pieces. Cars, on both subway and streetcars in which passengers are packed like sardines for at least two hours during prime commute times. Or the streetcars are so infrequent on some routes that “rush hour” is a moot point. It’s going to be hell no matter what time you board. This crowding is particularly fun during the winter when the collective coughing and spluttering turns the TTC into a petri dish on wheels.

I like the idea of public transit, just not the idea of the public. I admit it. Satre was right. Hell truly is other people. I loathe it when others infringe on my personal space. I think most people feel this way.

Then compound this with the fact that manners are at a premium in today’s society. Enroute, you are more than likely have to listen to cellphone yammerers, loud conversations, or cranked ipods. People cough on, shove or elbow you. And the chronic crowding means your forced exposure to these outrages is made all the longer.

Elsewhere, I’ve encountered the transit system Toronto is meant to have. In places like New York or London, you’d be crazy NOT to take public transit. Even the rush hour pile on is endurable due to each respective system’s speed and reach, both of which Toronto’s system lacks.

It currently takes me just as long to commute to work in my car as it does on transit. What tips the balance in my car’s favour is that I don’t have to contend with other people other than in their capacity as drivers. And with the hours I have to work right now, I simply don’t want to contend with the endurance test the TTC would put me through on a daily basis. The waits, the smells, the unrelenting noise; I could put up with any and all of them if the system was fast and efficient, but it’s not.

Things could be worse, some might say. “Crowding? Try Japan’s public transit!” they’ll holler. But you know what? Twas ever thus. Things can ALWAYS be worse and I don’t see failures elsewhere as our excuse to be lacklustre. But that seems to be the new way of life here in Toronto. Our reputation as a world class city is quickly being overshadowed by the perception that our city is a place where innovation and bold ideas go to die.

Why? Money.

Government, taxpayers, oh everyone has the will as long as their wallet isn’t involved. But whether the system remains public or goes private, someone’s going to have to pony up the cash.

This reluctance to pay is a ridiculous notion for two reasons: One – everything costs. Everything. Two – everybody pays. Everybody. If it’s not in tax dollars, it’s in time, quality of life, safety or the day-to-day grind of living in a city light years from where it could be.

I’m just thankful that I have the ability to afford to take my car to work right now. I don’t feel good about it. But here’s the thing. In its current state, I know for sure that taking the TTC would make me feel worse.

And that’s a shame.