TTC: A Broken, Flawed System

--- THIS BLOG HAS BEEN ABANDONED. OUR NEW HOME IS: THE WEASEL SOAP BOX ---

The TTC, and other forms of public transportation, at least in North America are part of a greater system that broke many years ago due to the "Common Sense Revolution" in which the funding for such systems were massively clawed back, despite that the energy crisis of the 70s had served as a stern walk-up call for car owners, who switched from their large land yachts to smaller, more economy-efficiant vehicles for a short time. They threw aweay that idea in the 90s with the introduction of the "SUV" - the bane of the road!

The roads are crawling with over-sized inefficiant SUVs and mini-vans,which in rush hour are driven by only one person. These vehicles aren't alone on the road, there are also standard size cars and pick-up trucks. In the midst of the traffic jungle exists another type of vehicle that embraces a more "communist" way of getting around, public transit!

Buses, subways and street cars make up the types of vehicles in this particular class. They carry massive numbers of people, often crammed into a tiny space with no breathing room, giving the commuter the unmistakeable experience of being a "sardine" in a very tightly packed can.

One can get such an experience in Toronto rush hour, especially if they ride one of many "frequently" running buses that speed through the streets, ignoring stops because they're packed to the teeth with disgruntled workers and the like. But, don't fret, there will be another bus just behind it that has nobody on it. They prefer to pack one bus before using a more spacious one to accomdate the many bodies.

There is nothing quite like sitting on a bench seat in the bus and having some very LARGE person sit next to you, and be pushed to one side because their ass is unable to fit in the standard size bus seat. Matters are made worse if you're unluck enough to be seated between two people of this size. They seats are unable to contain the oozing masses of fat that seem to roll over the seat and into yours, making you not only extremely uncomfortable at the close quarters, but, it leaves you feeling like a breast in a mammogram.

The drivers, while some are friendly, I find that some are often surely and unhelpful. Or, they don't stop the bus when you clearly want to get on and they haven't even left the station.

No matteyr how much you run, it is often futile because these drivers refuse to stop once that foot feels the very tip of the pedal. What the hell is this, Speed? The bus can't go under 50km/h lest it blows up simply because there is room for one more person to get on?

Or, the subways. I find that often they don't give you any time at all to get on or off during rush hour. There is only time for the massive number of bodies to depart before the bells ding signalling that the doors will close, despite that people haven't got on yet.

The trains either run too close together or too infrequently...

Or... the drivers, whether of a bus or train wait at a station for a long period of time, making us people impatient, while they go do something other than their job.

I thought this was supposed to be the better way?



I doubt it is... it's just one more headache.