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| - Being a newcomer to Toronto, one thing I've noticed is that a handful of topics unite this city. And of those, a favorite is harshing on the TTC. Shortly after starting work here I made the mistake of casually bringing up streetcars in a positive light. This was seen as an open door to let out a lifetime of frustration. After the angry eye-rolling was done, everyone took their turns venting. I never spoke of the red rattlers again.
(another related topic is highway traffic/tolls/anything to do with traffic. I've seen otherwise docile work colleagues literally kick their chairs over in a fit of anger at the very mention of the Gardner Expressway.)
So giving the TTC three stars seems almost heretical. You only have to check out the time and effort that has gone into the reviews here on yelp. People who might give the best meal they ever had a paragraph, have spent the effort to write veritable public transport manifesto denouncing the incompetence, injustice, and cruelty of the TTC.
And I respect that. Because people spend a lot of time trying to get places on the TTC and especially if you ride during rush hours, you probably see the worst of the system. If I was reviewing transportation policy down at city hall I would read through this thread carefully and take note.
But as the casual rider - if at all possible I usually travel by bike - I have had a pleasantly efficient experience with the TTC. During the winter we took the King car quite a lot, and used the subway on occasion. We were impressed at how often the cars and buses come. Coming from Montreal might be the reason for this, since the buses in MTL often are annoyingly sparse.
When I first started to come to TO for work I did try to take the Dundas, or King car from the west into the city center at rush hour in the morning and I have to say that was a special kind of torture. As the streets are crammed with cars, the pace of the streetcar is agonizingly slow. Inside is also jam packed. After a couple of attempts we opted to leave early and walk the hour to work. So I can relate to a lot of the more angry reviews here. The TTC loses points for that, but on the other hand, it promotes physical fitness.
On the other hand I have found the drivers pretty friendly for the most part. Try dealing with a Montreal metro system employee and you may have to redefine your standards of crappy attitude.
Clearly the TTC needs improvement, but it is doing somethings right. So, three stars.
On a related note I find that the fare enforcement policy of some city transit systems to be the cause of a lot of unnecessary tension and conflict. The fact of the matter is that most people who are avoiding paying probably can afford it in the first place, and you should just let them ride anyway, and most other people are loyal riders (customers) who don't feel like being treated like a criminal if they forgot to take a transfer. My experiences with transit enforcement in Toronto has been cordial enough but having security ask for your proof of payment is unpleasant at the best of times. I would suggest that the TTC trust that the vast majority of people will pay as they should and spend their time improving the system elsewhere.
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