Among the few positive aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, some localities have taken the impressive step of implementing free transit. Several cities in Ohio, including Akron, Canton, Toledo and Youngstown announced free fares as of March 16. Towns in Vermont and Nevada have done so as well. Unfortunately, local officials are quite clear that these are only temporary for health purposes and will be reversed once it is “safe.”
Since late last year, a number of cities — big and small, east and west — have launched on-demand public transit pilots. Despite COVID-19’s impact on overall ridership, early reviews are encouraging
TransLink has been cutting bus service for years. This Labour Day most cutbacks are in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond and North Vancouver.
Totally suspended until 2021 are Route Nos. 32, 44, 143, 258, and 480.
Frequency on other bus routes will be cut back by 10 to 33%. (Changing from every 10 mins to 15 mins or from every 20 mins to every 30 mins is a 33% cut.)
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected public transit in cities and towns across Canada. There are fewer riders as people who are able to stay home avoid public transit to physically distance. For those who rely on it, however, transit remains a necessity as it was pre-pandemic. Our governments’ responses have been to threaten massive transit budget cuts.
While the U.S. border remains closed, Joe Biden’s election slogan has found its way into Canada. “Build back better” is what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is now promising as Canada rebuilds from the coronavirus pandemic.
For Toronto, building back better starts with changing the TTC for the better. Toronto needs a safe and reliable public transit system to fuel our economic recovery.
For a century our cities have been transformed by the car industry, making way for drivers at the expense of cyclists and pedestrians. A renewed movement for urban public transport is pushing back.
Review of James Wilt, Do Androids Dream of Electric Cars?: Public Transit in the Age of Google, Uber, and Elon Musk (Between the Lines, 2020)
