TTC to become essential service.

[Mr.Canada]

The Liberals introduced a so-called time-allocation motion that will end second-reading debate on the bill declaring the Toronto Transit Commission an essential service. Source

"The banning of TTC strikes - very very popular - 72 per cent approval rating."Source

As we can see most people in Toronto are supportive of a strike free TTC which will provide transportation for the poorest of people in Toronto at all times. This coupled with the TCHC firings is revealing Rob Ford to be a friend to the poor that he has always been. People are starting to see that the left wing alliance against Rob Ford is misplaced. This Mayor cares about poor people. He truly is a Mayor of the people, for the people.

Mayor Rob Ford is getting things done is such a short period of time and the people are noticing.

"The Mayor is off to a good start. He's at 60 per cent which is a pretty high approval rating for a public official."

Ford's approval is highest in Scarborough at 71 per cent and lowest in the downtown area and East York at only 46 per cent.

Source

[Jack Weber]

As we can see most people in Toronto are supportive of a strike free TTC which will provide transportation for the poorest of people in Toronto at all times. This coupled with the TCHC firings is revealing Rob Ford to be a friend to the poor that he has always been. People are starting to see that the left wing alliance against Rob Ford is misplaced. This Mayor cares about poor people. He truly is a Mayor of the people, for the people.

Mayor Rob Ford is getting things done is such a short period of time and the people are noticing.

Good!!

Now any contract dispute goes to Binding Arb...

that's a 50/50 crapshoot...

[Shady]

This is excellent news. Not only for the general public, but also for Toronto's city budget issues.

[M.Dancer]

Unfortunately, service on the TTC is essentially bad...

[Black Dog]

This is excellent news. Not only for the general public, but also for Toronto's city budget issues.

You must be using FordMath: you can expect TTC salaries to go up, not down.

[Mr.Canada]

You must be using FordMath: you can expect TTC salaries to go up, not down.

Salaries always go up due to inflation. Your argument isn't fair.

[Black Dog]

As we can see most people in Toronto are supportive of a strike free TTC which will provide transportation for the poorest of people in Toronto at all times. This coupled with the TCHC firings is revealing Rob Ford to be a friend to the poor that he has always been. People are starting to see that the left wing alliance against Rob Ford is misplaced. This Mayor cares about poor people. He truly is a Mayor of the people, for the people.

Mayor Rob Ford is getting things done is such a short period of time and the people are noticing.

Rob Ford likes the poor so much he's cutting services in their neighbourhoods, slashing bus routes and driving up the cost of transit. A real champion of the downtrodden, our millionaire mayor. He'll even buy you drugs if you ask.

Edited March 3, 2011 by Black Dog

[Black Dog]

Salaries always go up due to inflation. Your argument isn't fair.

You can't see, but I'm actually shaking my head at you.

Arbitrated settlements pay out more than negotiated ones.

[Mr.Canada]

Rob Ford likes the poor so much he's cutting services in their neighbourhoods, slashing bus routes and driving up the cost of transit. A real champion of the downtrodden, our millionaire mayor. He'll even buy you drugs if you ask.

People shouldn't support the TTC bleeding money continuously. The TTC takes up 50% of the cities budget and its rising. Something needs to be done to stem the bleeding.

Explain how cutting routes with one passenger on them is going to drive TTC costs up. I'm not convinced that this is the case.

A budget needs to be balanced. Dragging the city further and further into debt isn't going to help.

What services are being cut? Which neighborhoods are being affected?

[Black Dog]

If TTC salaries were 0.8 percent higher owing to an essential services designation, this would amount to a $6 million annual increase in labour expenditures, which currently total approximately $850 million.

CD Howe Institute report from 2008

[Black Dog]

People shouldn't support the TTC bleeding money continuously.

If making the TTC more cost effective is the goal, you are backing the wrong horse. Between this move and his subway fixation, transit costs under Ford are going to increase significantly. Guess who'll end up paying the bill there?

Explain how cutting routes with one passenger on them is going to drive TTC costs up. I'm not convinced that this is the case.

It's not. But if you depend on the route to get to work, you're pooched. BTW: What routes have one passenger?

A budget needs to be balanced. Dragging the city further and further into debt isn't going to help.

So why did Ford freeze taxes and plow the Miller surplus into the operating budget instead of the city's debt?

What services are being cut? Which neighborhoods are being affected?

Really? 41 bus routes for starters.

Edited March 3, 2011 by Black Dog

[Mr.Canada]

Really? 41 bus routes for starters.

This is what you said.

Rob Ford likes the poor so much he's cutting services in their neighbourhoods, slashing bus routes and driving up the cost of transit.

As you can see you said Ford is "cutting services in their neighbourhoods, slashing bus routes"

I want to know which services outside of "bus routes" they are cutting and which neighborhood s are being affected.

Or is "cutting services in their neighbourhoods, slashing bus routes" both talking about TTC routes?

This is from the article you provided.

The commission voted Wednesday in favour of a staff recommendation of service reductions on 41 routes. That move will yield $4 million in savings that will be reinvested in other heavily used routes. The TTC initially wanted to cut service on 48 routes, and redirect an estimated $7 million in savings to the busiest routes.

Also from your article.

No routes are being cut entirely.

the TTC said Wednesday that it is no longer considering cutting routes where there are between 10 and 15 riders and hour and an alternate stop is more than 600 metres away.

All quotes are from this same article found here

All routes being cut are one with less then 10 riders per hour and when there is an alternate bus route running less then 600m away. This all sounds fairly reasonable to me.

Edited March 3, 2011 by Mr.Canada

[The_Squid]

Public transit is not an essential service. Hospitals, ambulances, police, fire services.... Inconvenience due to labour strife does not equal essential.

[Moonlight Graham]

i think major public transportation like city buses should be deemed essential services and strikes not be allowed. I think this is a good thing for the city of Toronto.

[Mr.Canada]

Public transit is not an essential service. Hospitals, ambulances, police, fire services.... Inconvenience due to labour strife does not equal essential.

If poor people are going to get to their jobs to hopefully pull themselves out of the gutter they need to get to work. Striking by the TTC whose members make a minimum of $28 per hour don't get much sympathy to the majority of the working poor people.

[Michael Hardner]

If poor people are going to get to their jobs to hopefully pull themselves out of the gutter they need to get to work. Striking by the TTC whose members make a minimum of $28 per hour don't get much sympathy to the majority of the working poor people.

I was about to roast you for that one, but Google U found me a similar rate.

$26.58/hr

[Mr.Canada]

I was about to roast you for that one, but Google U found me a similar rate.

$26.58/hr

I knew I was quoting a number that was too high. I originally posted $25/hr but I raised it to $28 for shock value.

It doesn't really change the fact that most of these people working for the TTC would be driving a car at least some of the time when at home. Whereas the people that depend on the TTC to get to work generally don't have a car.

I'd also like to add that a service reduction isn't the same as a service cut. Some routes are going to be having a service reduction during non peak times. For the most part this will effect holiday/Sunday service and service after 10:00pm.

So the alarmist stance that "they're cutting the TTC to the routes we need"! is misplaced. Either deliberate or through ignorance.

[Shakeyhands]

As we can see most people in Toronto are supportive of a strike free TTC which will provide transportation for the poorest of people in Toronto at all times. This coupled with the TCHC firings is revealing Rob Ford to be a friend to the poor that he has always been. People are starting to see that the left wing alliance against Rob Ford is misplaced. This Mayor cares about poor people. He truly is a Mayor of the people, for the people.

You do realize that the TTC ridership is made up of more than "poor people" right?

[MapleLeafAlliance]

The TTC should be a private entity. Right now everyone's paying for a system not everyone uses, and it's a system being run very inefficiently. Great, now it's an essential service...that means the exorbitant wages get to be paid around the clock without end. It's great that they're cutting useless routes, but really a government body doesn't need to be paid to figure this out...privatize transit and the market will determine what routes are necessary and which are not.

[nicky10013]

The TTC should be a private entity. Right now everyone's paying for a system not everyone uses, and it's a system being run very inefficiently. Great, now it's an essential service...that means the exorbitant wages get to be paid around the clock without end. It's great that they're cutting useless routes, but really a government body doesn't need to be paid to figure this out...privatize transit and the market will determine what routes are necessary and which are not.

This is idiotic. With the TTC network privatized, you'll see fares skyrocket. You can't break up the network and therfore there won't be any competition. You'll be giving a private operator a blank cheque to fleece riders as the private operator would be the only game in town.

We've been down this road (pun intended) before with the 407. The government built it and sold it off to a private company and since then rates have skyrocketed.

The notion that private companies handle things better and for cheaper always is flawed ideological nonsense.

[jbg]

Rob Ford likes the poor so much he's cutting services in their neighbourhoods, slashing bus routes and driving up the cost of transit. A real champion of the downtrodden, our millionaire mayor. He'll even buy you drugs if you ask.

Yes, the poor are really hurt by being enabled to get to work. Try another one for humor.

[nicky10013]

Yes, the poor are really hurt by being enabled to get to work. Try another one for humor.

Since when is slashing bus routes enabling people to get to work? We've had 2 strikes in the past 11 years, one of which over a weekend. Something tells me that the escalating cost to use the TTC due to mandatory arbitrated settlements (they always favour labour) will hurt the working poor far more than the off chance of a strike.

[Mr.Canada]

Since when is slashing bus routes enabling people to get to work? We've had 2 strikes in the past 11 years, one of which over a weekend. Something tells me that the escalating cost to use the TTC due to mandatory arbitrated settlements (they always favour labour) will hurt the working poor far more than the off chance of a strike.

Slashing bus routes?

NO bus routes are getting canceled. Some routes are having their schedules reduced during off peak times and only if these two criteria are met. 1. They have less then 10 riders per hour and 2. there is an alternate serviced bus stop less then 500m away.

I would hardly call that slashing bus routes. The TTC is bleeding money and it cannot keep operating in this manner. Something has to be done. Pouring endless amounts of money into it as we've been doing for the last 50 years just isn't sustainable.

[Black Dog]

The TTC should be a private entity. Right now everyone's paying for a system not everyone uses, and it's a system being run very inefficiently. Great, now it's an essential service...that means the exorbitant wages get to be paid around the clock without end.

The TTC's largest source of revenue (~70%) is fares, not transfers or subsidies.

It's great that they're cutting useless routes, but really a government body doesn't need to be paid to figure this out...privatize transit and the market will determine what routes are necessary and which are not.

Transit is a public good and should be run on that basis, not on the basis of profitability.

[Black Dog]

Yes, the poor are really hurt by being enabled to get to work. Try another one for humor.

For a fare-dependent system like the TTC, essential service designation and subsequent cost increases will mean fares will go up. And who d'ya suppose that will impact most?

Edited March 4, 2011 by Black Dog