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Morning Brew: Kathleen Wynne to discuss transit with Ford, zone-based TTC fares, Norm Kelly is skeptical, The Star gets a new look, and a record-breaking January 30
Incoming Premier Kathleen Wynne says transit is a top priority ahead of her first scheduled meeting with mayor Rob Ford. The former Ontario Minister of Transportation has called for new revenue tools in the battle against gridlock in the past and could be a champion for transit expansion in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area. How do you see the Ford-Wynne meeting going down?
Also in transit, a new report says charging TTC users different fares depending on the distance they travel is one of several ways the province could raise enough cash to fund Metrolinx's Big Move, a $50 billion Ontario-wide series of infrastructure projects. Tolls for 400-series highways and parking are also among the ideas floated by the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario. Would this scheme unfairly penalize long-distance commuters?
Toronto's contrarian parks and environment chair Norm Kelly, a noted climate change skeptic, is a little torn. During a presentation yesterday about how warmer weather will effect the city, the Scarborough-Agincourt rep repeatedly questioned the accuracy of climate science, calling it an "issue that has yet to be fully understood." Then, just to be safe, he voted in favour of all motions on the $250,000 study. Right...
The Toronto Star is showing off a new-look website this morning. The paper's GTA section has been broken down into "City Hall" and "Crime and Courts" sections and the site as a while has been tweaked to display more content on each page. The Star is planning to implement a paywall in the next few weeks.
Hey TTC - the "N" in the "Dufferin" sign at Dufferin station is upside down and #topoli tweeter @Neville_Park wants it fixed. A hilarious (and decidedly sarcastic) SeeClickFix posting outlines what's at stake, namely a creative exodus due to poor design leading to a post-apocalyptic, stroller-ruled subway system. The horror!
The new George Brown campus on Lake Shore Blvd. E is looking pretty smart, and the Globe and Mail [$] has an interesting profile on the award-winning building which sits over the mouth of a long-lost river and is partly below the level of the lake.
Finally, today is already the warmest Jan. 30 on record in Toronto. Today's high is expected to be around 14 C, almost five degrees above the old record of 9.1 C. Expect rain and an overnight low back in the normal temperature range.
IN BRIEF:
- Toronto police officer on trial for assault was cleared in fatal shooting [The Star]
- Man stabbed and shot at strip club near Pearson airport [The Star]
- Apartment fire investigation closes Yonge Street [CBC]
- Leafs' Matt Frattin scores 2 in OT win over Sabres [CBC]
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Photo: "Pink" by Dominic Bugatto/blogTO Flickr pool.
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The answer to that oughtta paint a pretty good picture how this meeting will go.
I think the issue is a little more complex than that. And I think the expectation of getting good, objective news reporting for free is completely unrealistic.
Real journalism requires some commitment and contribution from the readership, I'm afraid.
If you have a library card you can also read the papers for free online at the TPL website. Deleting cookies is easier though.
I do have to say, though, that since the paywall at the Globe went up the comments on the stories got a lot crazier.
Plus if anyone is using the TTC to travel a long distance then it generally means they don't have the money to buy a car, and increasing the fare is going to hit them pretty hard. Nobody takes the TTC across more than one transfer unless they absolutely have to.
Having said that, this should mean that going 2 stops should be like $1. The "cheapest" fare shouldn't be the current fare. You could increase ridership on cash fares if this is rolled out.
The idea of tapping on and tapping off (the Presto model) will be hard to imlipment on the bus/stretcar fleet. But tapping at each transfer point can be implimented easily.
They need to look at Montreal -- they have a very efficient electronic transfer system. It's fantastic. And it's not some stupid third party tap card that is only being implemented for other people. You can buy them at every station -- they are implemented with every fare, be it daily, one ride, or other weekly or monthly options. The buses have them as well.
I loathe the current operating inability of the TTC. Get some brains, customer service ability and foresight, you backwater non-major city operating piece of crud.
"Berlin is divided into three fare zones, known as A, B, and C. Zone A is the area in the centre of Berlin [..] Zone B covers the rest of the area within the city borders, and Zone C is the surrounding Berlin. Tickets can be bought for specific fare zones, or multiple zones. Most passengers who live in Berlin buy AB farezone tickets, while commuters coming in from the suburbs need ABC farezone tickets."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_U-Bahn#Tickets
Public transit should be set up to get people out of cars and make it cheaper for them to use.
The reason it works well in London is because the city itself is set up much different than Toronto with a much more equal distribution of economic levels through out the city.
Plus, there are congestion charges in London on cars in zones at certain hours. Which then tends to get more people using public transit.
If we penalize the 10 km traveler, then it will make more sense for them to drive, no matter what the traffic. These people will form a voting block, and elect anti-transit officials, then where do we end up? Oh right, exactly where we are right now!
Also, don't a good portion of regular TTC riders have metropasses anyway? Is complicating the system with Presto tapping and zones even worth it in the long run?
seems like a pipe dream.
I also think it's inevitable the Province and the City will likely screw up whatever plan they decide to implement.
I like the idea of running higher-order transit (subways, LRT, GO trains and buses, municipal express buses, etc.) on a fare-by-distance model, while leaving the local bus routes on a flat fare with time-based transfers. This is almost necessary unless you force riders to 'tap-off' every time they leave a bus.