Heppler said:

The most efficient way to travel to any downtown core of a city is public transit. So why then do so many people each day clog our highways to such a huge extent? If you could sum up your main method and first alternative given the option of traveling in a car/van, bus/train, biking, and walking. Then tell us which method of transportation could use the biggest boost in your city area.

I will start: My main method of transportation in Toronto is my bike. I can go anywhere I want with relative speed and agility. The main drawback is that I can only bike 5 months a year, and that many drivers just do not treat me with any respect when I have my own lane or otherwise. I bike because I bought my bike on the cheap and it saves me not only money but alot of calorie watching as I tend to burn them at a much higher rate. My tertiary method of transportation is public transit. I use it as infrequently as possible as the service is often unreliable and plagued by stoppages. It seems that most often when I want it to be smooth, its the most rugged. On top of that it is costing much more now. But still, in the winter it is alot safer than riding a bike and once you are on a bus/streetcar/subway, you go at a pretty decent clip.

If I had a hand in Toronto affairs I would likely try and improve the TTC the most. The buses are often late and the drivers are grumpy. The tardiness and attitude both combine to bring detrimental effects upon both the workers and the view of the TTC for our pedestrians. Not only that but the majority of the employees make very good salaries and I really think we can get so much more from the system if we just work with it, rather than trying to build new sections of track that can take upwards of 3 years per 5 km stretch. Please tell us about your travel options!

oLahav said:

What a cool discussion topic!

My primary method of transportation is my left leg, when used together with my right leg. I can’t bike, and absolutely despise all forms of motorized vehicles. I have to use the bus and the subway to get to work each day because I leave in North York and work downtown… but whenever I can get to wherever I need to be by walking, I’ll always choose that method. It’s certainly the most reliable- no traffic or anything, and totally up to your control.

Biggest transport boost? Push the $@&x%x# subway up North! They keep talking about doing it, but I haven’t seen any action yet. The bus systems North of the city are a joke (they just added a whole new bus system, Viva, instead of the much more logical solution of updating the current bus fleet and improving bus frequency. Who’s the idiot that made this decision?), and that’s why it can take me 2 hours to get to work and back every day- a waste of 1/6 of my life right there!

albrecht said:

Right now I’m using a combination to get myself around. I use the subway multiple times a day to get around but I still have a car that’s a legacy from before I moved. I’m looking forward to selling it and being off gasoline dependancy (kinda…) for awhile and getting a new bike.

Maybe it’s just that I’m new to getting to use a mass transit system on an everyday basis but I’m really enjoying the convenience it has added. I’m living right on a subway line though so that’s a big reason. Having come from a a town where it was next to near impossible to get around on the bus system (which forces everyone to have a car), the mass transit system is nice even with the grumpy employees and occasional delays. Plus, I enjoy just sitting there and passing the time ‘people watching’. You rarely find a boring group of people all packed into a tight subway or streetcar!

oLahav said:

albercht- “occasional delays??” I’ve experienced one week when there were delays literally every day last month. There was a major delay just this Monday and I was stuck in a ridiculously jammed situation. Suffering from mild claustrophobia, I nearly had a panic attack! Normally though I agree, the subway isn’t all too bad and watching people can be fun (until they cough or step on you)...
I really hope they fix all their problems and stop these delays, because I can honestly say that if they don’t, I’m liable to stop using the transit at some point in my life, and that’s not good for the environment or for anyone.