Over the last few weeks, TTCriders has been busy attending public consultation meetings hosted by Metrolinx and the City of Toronto. The purpose of these consultations is to discuss how to pay for transit expansion projects across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area, which are identified in the Regional Transportation Plan, The Big Move.
Thanks to all of you who called your City Councillor asking them to support a motion to put $5 million from our $100 million surplus back into TTC operations for 2013. This money would have alleviated the need for another five cent fare increase. Unfortunately the motion was lost (14 - 31). It is especially discouraging since the TTC generated a $22 million surplus from overcrowding last year due to service cuts -money that could have been used for a fare freeze or to lower fares. Instead it was funnelled back into City coffers.
TTCriders will be attending public consultation meetings being hosted by the City of Toronto and the Provincial agency, Metrolinx. if you want to join us email us at [email protected] We are also developing a position statement on the issue of how we fund public transit.
TTCriders spoke to residents of Ward 29 (Toronto-Danforth) at their Budget Town Hall at the East York Civic Centre on January 7, 2013. Councillor Mary Fragedakis invited TTCriders, along with the Toronto Arts Council and Social Planning Toronto, to give presentations on how the upcoming budget will affect various city services. Two members of the TTCriders Steering Committee spoke briefly on issues facing transit today, and what the upcoming budget means for TTC users. Residents and a member of the media were curious about the recent cut to the TTC Wheel-Trans budget that has left 800 dialysis patients without long-term guaranteed transportation to their appointments, and also about transit funding from other levels of government.
Last October TTCriders held its founding meeting. Dozens of transit users, activists, and volunteers gathered at North York Civic Centre and committed to improving transit in Toronto by helping TTCriders become a fully fledged transit advocacy organization. That initial meeting set the stage for some extraordinary growth in the last year.
TTCriders spoke out against the 5-cent fare increase proposed at today's Toronto Transit Commission meeting.
We argued that public transit benefits all Torontonians, yet riders are being penalized for choosing "the better way." City Hall contributes the least amount per rider than any other jurisdiction in Canada and the U.S.
On October 18th, 2012, a
private member’s bill
is being introduced asking the Ontario Government and Metrolinx to consider the
Wednesday morning, October 3rd, brought the welcome news that, after a week of intense negotiations with the TTC, the provincial government has changed its mind about turning over the operation of the new Light Rail lines to a private company.