By Shaun Cleaver
Scarborough transit riders know how difficult it is to get around Scarborough. This is precisely why there is an urgent need for a network of rapid transit that counters the problems we face today:
Right now there are two proposals (Smart Track, Scarborough Subway Extension) to increase rapid transit in Scarborough that could improve some things, but are only designed to move people downtown and are expensive. Furthermore, they are stuck in the idea that transit should be “moved out of the way” of cars.
Those of us who ride transit want to be able to easily travel along Sheppard East to Malvern, to UTSC, to Kingston-Galloway, and to Centennial College. And we want to travel easily between these places, not only to be able to get to them from the subway.
We know that 40 of us riding in a bus or 150 of us riding in an LRT vehicle are not “in the way” of other people: we use space more efficiently than the average of 1.1 people who ride in a car. The Scarborough LRT has its own track. In other places the LRT is designed to use its own share of the road, something that will get all people moving faster. In much of the network designed for Scarborough, the LRT is above ground on a platform and in some places it is in a tunnel. This is part of the advantage of an LRT; unlike a subway it can come to the surface and therefore get to many more places. In order to allow us to get to these many more places we need to start building LRTs now.
You can sign our petition for a rapid transit network here
Read our position statement on the Scarborough Subway Extension here.
We’ve asked candidates whether they’ll invest in more TTC service, protect door-to-door Wheel-Trans service, expand TTC’s low-income discount, approve fare capping and more. View candidates’ detailed answers to our survey, information about their transit platforms, and more.
Do you still have TTC tokens or paper senior/student tickets or day passes? The TTC has announced that they will stop accepting TTC tokens and paper tickets after December 31, 2024. But the TTC will not be issuing exchanges. This is unfair to people who have saved up tokens and tickets, especially low-income seniors. Gift cards and permanent stamps never expire -- why are transit fares any different?
(Toronto, ON) – Transit advocacy organization TTCriders will hold a rally today at 5:00pm outside Bathurst Subway Station to call on federal Members of Parliament to invest in TTC repairs and new subway trains on Line 2 by accelerating implementation of the Canada Public Transit Fund. The rally is part of a national “Transit Action Week” being organized in 5 Canadian cities. (Cantonese, Mandarin, French spokespeople available.)