When I lived in Toronto years ago, I used to enjoy using their public transport system: the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission). It’s the city’s main public transport system; a vital service for millions of people living in the city. I used it almost exclusively when I went school. I would go to the university, almost every day for 4 years, back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I got on the bus to Finch Station, hopped over to the subway to College Station, and then took the street car to St. George Street. TTC service all the way.
I just read from Dave Fleet’s blog that the TTC is on strike. They’re doing it again! I could recall when they went on strike several times before. It was frustrating for me since I relied on the service to get me to anywhere in the city. It was a major inconvenience since I had to start calling friends and family to drive me to school. A lot of people rely their livelihood on the TTC – after all they need to go to work! This is what happened when you give a unionized government organization the power to control the city. The government should make it illegal for TTC to strike, the same way the police and fire departments are not allowed to strike. The TTC must not be allowed to take the city hostage for their its own selfish needs. The idea is not new, yet the Canadian government still doesn’t have the guts to pass this law and drop the anvil. The government let the union leaders have organized crime-like status.
In Los Angeles and Orange Counties, if the public transport authority is going on strike, everyone will be laughing. The public transport system here is a joke. It’s nothing compared with TTC’s service. Here, we don’t have major bus routes being serviced 24×7, nor more frequent service during rush hours. The buses are small,. There is a lack of subway/train systems. When there’s a train, it leads to nowhere, except maybe the poor neighborhoods and tourist sites downtown. The streets were built with cars in mind, hardly any special lanes for buses. It’s also more expensive to take the bus and trains here, especially when I have to go more than 10 miles. It’s not a big service like the TTC. This is why most people around here are more angry at higher gas prices, because there’s no other alternative to get around.
As of writing this blog, I just read the good news the province is forcing the TTC union workers to go back to work. Maybe the government officials have some guts after all. But they still need prevent the TTC from crippling the city ever again. They need to protect people’s lives.
Photo credit: Howstuffworks – The Toronto City Guide
[Update] Toronto Star reported Adam Giambrone is going to lobby for making TTC service as essential. Giambrone is a city councillor and is the TTC chairperson.
Tags: bus, cars, train, transportation, ttc
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I know it’s tough… I’d be in trouble if buses were on strike in Ottawa.
That said, the TTC is rarely on strike it seems. Compared to the subway in Montreal. Or even compared to the one in Paris, which is on strike at least once a month (minor strikes) or several times a year (major strikes paralyzing the city).
Hope it’s solved quickly. Yet, I believe workers have the right to go on strike. as annoying as it can be for users.
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Thanks for keeping your ear to the ground even though you’re so far away. I see that you’ve still got some Toronto in your blood!
@Zhu:
I think workers have the right to an organized and peaceful protest, but the way TTC pulled off the strike this time was abrasive and unfair. I still think the Union is an obsolete concept to protect workers. It’s costing the tax payers a lot of money. Going on strike is not going to improve anything. It’s just drives people nuts.
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@Periapex:
This incident caught my eye when the Union decided not to give the city 48 hours notice for a strike, per their previous agreement. I’ve always been against the TTC going on strike since the beginning. I have thoughts about it before, and I just had to write it down.
Where I live, the threat of a public transit strike comes up maybe once yearly, and it is always put off at the last moment by pushing back the deadline for an agreement; methinks something awful will happen soon.
I find it interesting to hear about strikes that actually come to pass; thanks for keeping an eye open about that kind of stuff!