Markster
Senior Member
Also, a tax credit is only redeemed by people who are industrious enough to claim it. Much cheaper than a blanket subsidy.
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That is not a problem at all. We SHOULD be focusing on local transit, as well as regional transit. The bulk of transit trips is local,and that is never going to change. More people travel short distance, than long distances. We should be looking at making transfer between the local agencies and GO easy and predictable. At the moment, it's not.
But that would give money to the poor. The whole point of these Tory credits is to make sure that the poor don't get an extra cent. Couldn't have that ...I will never understand why the government doesn't just do away with the tax credit and directly subsidize the price of transit instead. It wouldn't cost a penny more and would be far less complicated for transit users.
There might be parking lots that expensive ... but there are cheaper ones. The big Green P at Church south of Front is only $9 a day on weekdays. With over 2,000 spaces, it normally seems to have space.Considering that many people pay $20-30 a day for parking downtown, there is considerable room for pricing.
We are. She notes that she's near Steeles and Kennedy, and the Milliken GO station is near her house - however the train service doesn't run late enough for it to work. Plans are well advanced to increase service on the Stouffville line, which would drop her daily 1-way commute from from 90 minutes to 45 minutes, which compares much more favourably to the 30 minutes driving. Meanwhile driving times are only predicted to get worse. In many ways this is a dream commute, living near a GO station, and working very close to Union Station.
I used to find a 70 minute commute borderline compared to a 25-30 minute drive. I can see that when it gets to 90 minutes, especially in the evening, that driving makes more sense. Back then, I used to use TTC most of the time, but on days I knew I'd be staying later, and especially heading into work later, I was much more likely to drive.
So transit is improving ... another issue that could be addressed is living choices. One doesn't have to live 26 km from their workplace. I can see that one might have to do this for short-term. But in the long-term I'd strive to find a workplace closer to the office, or an office closer to the workplace. Though it is a dream GO commute ... 30 minutes with a bit of exercise thrown in!
I find these articles annoying ... they adjust the driving times by leaving earlier / or later, and the same applies when work is done. That makes a huge difference.
This is why Union's being expanded and RBC is building a building in Southcore.
I think an enormous number of people don't think about their commute when they buy a house, which I find mystifying. (Changing jobs once you've bought a house is another matter entirely.)
Who works at College Park? There's more offices at Y&E or Y & Sheppard than at Yonge & College. But, yeah, if I was working at College Park, I'd want to live on the Gerrard car rather than Oakville.
I haven't ridden transit since I moved to Waterloo. However, I haven't driven a car either. It doesn't really make much sense to wait 15 min for a bus when I could bike to any of my destinations in less than that time.
*cough* BIXI *cough*
$95/year = $7.92/month
Not practical for everyone, is it. It is hard to imagine a 55 year old manager to get on the bike, carrying a laptop in his hand every morning. Or a 35 year old office lady in her nicely ironed pensil skirt, a purse across her torso. And they probably need to wear helmets as well
As for the idea of moving closer to work: given how outrageous Toronto real estate prices have gotten recently, it may be very difficult to afford anything other than a tiny condo closer to work. Forget it if you have kids and a limited budget.
It isn't hard to imagine any of that if you've been to a city like Paris that has a large, established bike-sharing system. The laptop bag or purse goes in the basket, and no, they don't need to wear helmets.
I was in Paris only 4 months ago, and given the number of subway stations in the city, I doubt anyone really NEEDs a bike to get to the office, as there is bound to be a metro/RER station within less than 10 minutes walk. And unlike Toronto, the RER is fully integrated with the metro.
Plus, as mentioned, people in Toronto do have to work from November to April as well, during which time the bikes are almost useless.
all being said, I think the city made a mistake in placing Union Station at Front st, almost the very south end of the city.