The number of people on the Bloor subway line spikes dramatically after 7:30am. At that time, it is likely there will be some seats available out at the Runnymede stop. Twenty minutes later, completely packed trains leave people standing on the platform, waiting for the next one.
I suppose it is this morning crush that subsidizes all the hours when trains are near-empty. The distribution of people leaving work seems to be less concentrated, compared with the ubiquitous 9:00am start time.
Author: Milan
In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford.
Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here.
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Well, we won’t be running into each other on the bus anymore, but watch out for XUP!.
All the best in your TO life!
Obviously people are in a rush to go to work. Before 7:30am would be too early to leave, however its better being early rather than being late for work!
The 8 page article on “How Toronto Lost Its Groove” provides insight in how the Toronto transit system got to the state that it currently is in. It appears in the November issue of The Walrus Magazine and can be read in its entirety at http://www.walrusmagazine.com. The deals with the broader issue of how Toronto`s infrastructure has become outdated, especially in dealing with the level of urban sprawl that has occured there. Toronto does have strong transit usage. Plans were developed to extend the rapid transit system. Unfortunately at various times those were not pursued. They would have involved serious expenditure of funds. Shortsightedness prevented these investments from being made.
I don’t know if any kind of investment in the transit system would make my current awful commute much better.
Perhaps the root problem is people working so far away from where they live. There is the social phenomenon that a commute of an hour or more isn’t considered too objectionable, and the economic phenomenon that people cannot find suitable work closer to home.
I hope that the future involves a lot less commuting, and pointless travel in general. Much higher fossil fuel prices could help to prompt that, reducing the harmful impact of cars in cities.