Fare Increase and Empty Service Cuts

It is the truth that Chris Selley writes in TTC fare hike makes sense. Transit fares should go up because the city's taxpayers are paying them one way or another. But they should also be planned in advance. We should know that it will be going up 10 cents Feb 1 and 5 cents June 1, 2012, etc, beyond the end of the current mayors term.

And some routes should be cut at night because they are empty. I have three such routes within walking distance of my house that are only slightly closer than the subways I can use as an alternative. One of these routes runs from Queen's Park station to Eglinton and at no point is further from the Yonge subway (about a 10 minute walk) than when it begins at Queen's Park station.

I don't like the seeming desperation to balance each year's budget with a mix of service cuts and fare increases every year, and then to have service cuts rescinded come September because "more people are riding than we thought would". But that is what you get when you ask an agency/department to budget for this year and any budget they don't use gets taken away never to be seen again.