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Why will transit fail? Because people expect to be subsidized for living on the
periphery? The outer region of the City is not dense eoungh for subways. A buried Eglinton east line to Kennedy will lose money and then everyone is complaing that TTC is losing (even more) money. People cannot have it both ways.
- Fair Wharn?
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The outskirts of Toronto are not that far out, and are a natural extension of city growth. Not everyone can fit into the old City of Toronto.
And in addition, the density argument is really getting old. Transit is a success in Toronto, because our service does not discriminate based on density, and provides a similar level of service across the city, regardless of density.
Toronto's transit success stems from this and the fact that suburbanites got onto transit, when they were abandoning it in most other North American cities.
Sounds like you need to read the history of Toronto's transit a little.
If Toronto's suburbs can't support suburbs, then why are some of the busiest sections of the subway in the suburbs? Because Toronto's transit network works on the network effect, where buses extend the catchment area of the subways. This has created a very well used rapid transit network, regardless of if in the inner city or the suburbs.
In fact it can be said that it is the suburbs that keep Toronto's rapid transit system performing at such a high level. Ride the Yonge subway at 10pm at night, and it is standing room only. But almost all the riders are destined to the suburban stations. It is actually shocking how little riders get on and off at many of the inner city stations.
So the argument against the suburbs and the density arguments just don't wash.
If you pull out those arguments, then transit is never going to succeed.
And I will close with the fact that inner city bus and streetcar routes tend to have the same or worse cost recovery as the suburban bus routes.
So the inner city is no less subsidized than the suburbs.
Keep up this attitude and our traffic will just keep getting worse, as people continue to flock to their cars. Transit either rises to the challenge or loses out.