Transit funding 101: no money, mo’ problems

Transit funding 101: no money, mo’ problems

After digging through the numbers, municipal affairs blogger Matt Elliott has made a less-than-startling discovery: the more you spend on transit, the higher your ridership—which in turn can (in theory) ease gridlock and improve air quality. Not earth-shaking stuff, perhaps, but when the reigning municipal government is bent on cutting TTC service at all costs, it almost reads like a revelation. Elliott takes a close look at the Ridership Growth Strategy that council approved in 2004, which saw ridership steadily increase along with service—and this despite falling employment levels. And now the folks at city hall are crying poor, asking riders to pay a premium to ride ever-more-crowded vehicles. And have we mentioned there’s a surplus just begging to be spent? Sigh. Read the entire story [Ford for Toronto] »