Morning Brew: TTC fare evasion on the rise, discounted Metropasses for part-time students eliminated, Urban Affairs library to close, TCHC board won't resign, Giambrone ordered to pay
Fare evasion is on the rise. This is according to the internal report with the punny name "Fare is Fair,"obtained by The Globe and Mail, which says the TTC lost more than $22-million to fare evasion in 2010, nearly double the previous year's figure. Common culprits are those slipping by with expired transfers, flashing expired Metropasses, or those sneaky devils entering at the last second through the streetcar's back door.
One way to cover the lost revenue? The TTC has voted to eliminate discounted Metropasses (PDF) for part-time postsecondary school students.
This is a shame. Despite the fight to keep it open, the Urban Affairs branch of the Toronto Public Library is slated to close after months of negotiations between the board and city council. Yesterday, the library board voted to approve its budget, which doesn't include money to keep the branch open. The collection will be moved to the Toronto Reference Library.
Despite the Ford brother's insistence and fervent analogies, the TCHC board is resisting the call for resignations. "You don't need a vacuum in there, you need a pressure hose to clean the whole place," said Doug Ford. "Right from top to bottom, because it's not just the board, not just the employees, it's a combination of both." However the statement released by the TCHC's citizens board said the auditor's report did not outline specific problems with the organization's policies, for which the board is responsible.
I thought this was already confirmed, but I guess it's official now: the TTC is asking its former chair, Adam Giambrone, to repay the $3,344.92 he overspent on his annual $125,000 office budget. The commission voted to ask for the repayment on Tuesday afer a detailed account of Giambrone's expenses were revealed, which included nearly $3,000 on ground transportation. That's ironic since I'm pretty sure he could've ridden the rocket for free.
IN BRIEF:
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