If your commute has become more frustrating lately, have you ever
considered doing something about it? I don’t mean leaving earlier or
trying a different route – instead, what about trying to influence
the people who actually oversee the transit system? Many of the
far-reaching decisions made about transportation start as ideas
advanced by private citizens asking for a better commute. My
understanding of public transit issues came from working with others
interested in the way our urban fabric is woven. As a university
student in the early 1990s, it seemed to me that bus riders deserved
much better service, and that improvements would take a long time
unless more of us spoke up.
By good
fortune, I found other people who saw the need to keep the TTC from
deteriorating in the 1990s, and were trying to influence government.
The Toronto Transit Users Group came into being around 1994, almost
a quarter century after an earlier group of citizens raised the
alarm around plans to dismantle Toronto’s streetcar network. Back
then, a secretive TTC board tried to axe the various tram lines that
connected to St. Clair subway station. A group of savvy activists
discovered and publicized the threat, and in the process helped
preserve one busy line –the existing 512 streetcar.
Another
important change that followed the actions of these advocates was
the eventual opening up of the transit commission – the meetings
became public and municipal councillors gradually replaced private
businessmen. Public scrutiny can improve the way transit agencies
are run – depending on how clear the big picture appears to the
general transit rider. Over the last decade, looming fare hikes have
often grabbed public interest, sometimes overshadowing more complex
issues. The systemic funding problems that the TTC has weathered for
years are connected to larger forces at work – changes in the
economy and provincial politics that are not easy for small groups
of citizens to address.
The Ontario
Progressive Conservatives under Mike Harris brought in their Common
Sense Revolution in 1995, and it became a lot harder to get anyone
to pay attention to the quality of public transit. It was at this
time the Transit Users Group got a catchier name – the Rocket
Riders. This collection of volunteer transit supporters took a few
pages – or pamphlets – from the granddaddy of such organizations,
New York City’s Straphangers Coalition.
The Straphangers
took their name from the widely used New York term for subway
riders, and are now celebrating 25 successful – and eventful --
years. Helped by funding from university student levies, the
Straphangers Coalition have attracted the attention of thousands of
volunteers, the general public and the city’s media. By having this
voice, the average bus and subway rider is now a much more potent
factor in New York politics.
Back in
Toronto, the Rocket Riders are part of a larger pro-transit
sentiment held by people across the political spectrum. Complex
economic forces still seem to overshadow urban planning reform, yet
public interest in better transportation now influences decisions at
Toronto City Hall, Queen’s Park and even Parliament Hill. Although
having left the Rocket Riders to write about transit, I still like
to keep tabs on their latest projects. One important campaign is to
implement the TTC’s Ridership Growth Strategy, putting more buses
and streetcars on Toronto’s streets. If you want to get involved or
are just curious, the November monthly meeting of the Rocket Riders
happens tonight at Toronto City Hall, steps from Queen subway
station. It’s scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Committee Room 1, or you
can call 416-596-0660 for more ways to help make transit better.