below John Tory's offices. (Yep, he noticed us.) Thanks to our awesome M.C.,
Kamilla Petrick, and our speakers, including: Bill Reno representing the transit
workers; Herman Rosenfeld from TTCriders; Brenda Thompson from Scarborough
Transit Action, and Mike Xie from the Ontario Chinese Seniors Association. And
thank you also to PTP, Acorn, OCAP, and the Fair Fare Coalition for joining us
as well.

After the brief rally - it was COLD! - we went inside and packed the TTC
Commission meeting.
It was so full not all of us could get a seat. We had more people at the
TTC budget meeting than the City Budget meeting next door.
Over 20 of us gave a deputation and shared our views on the
operating TTC budget and the
capital TTC budget.
Jessica Marsden, who depends on social assistance while she upgrades her
skills, told the TTC Commission she uses the TTC to go to school, volunteer
and hand out resumes. She said if she buys a Metropass and pays her rent,
she’s left with only $186 a month to meet her other expenses.
Helen Lui, of the Ontario Chinese Seniors Association, told the Commission
that “some seniors walk for hours to save $1.85." (Helen is a retired hotel
worker who lives on $1200 a month).
Brenda Thompson from Scarborough Transit Action said in her deputation
that, "If we believed in public transit, we would reward riders instead of
punishing them with fare increases."
TTC riders pay a higher percentage of the TTC’s operating costs than riders
in all other North American transit systems. Even with the proposed service
improvements - which are great - the government subsidy per ride the TTC
receives will jump from about 80 cents to 85 cents. This is a big
improvement from what riders got during the Ford era, but the TTC actually
received more funding per ride (about 93 cents) under Mayor Miller.
In the end, the TTC Commission approved the good service improvements, and
also the fare hike. The budget now needs to be approved by City Hall in the
coming weeks.

TTC riders pay a higher percentage of the TTC’s operating costs than riders in
all other North American transit systems. Even with the proposed service
improvements - which are great - the government subsidy per ride the TTC
receives will jump from about 80 cents to 85 cents. This is a big improvement
from what riders got during the Ford era, but the TTC actually received more
funding per ride (about 93 cents) under Mayor Miller.
Globe and Mail,
City News,
MetroNews,
Toronto Star,
Global News, and more reported on our concerns. Read the stories and please comment. In
the end, the TTC Commission approved the service improvements, and also the fare
hike. The budget now needs to be approved by City Hall in the coming weeks.