Earlier today, I learned that TTC’s internal security folks, who have nothing better to do with their time than protect employees from the evils of the Internet, blocked my website for access from the TTC’s network.  This lasted about a week.

It is reassuring to know that in these troubled times, TTC staff are not wasting their days reading commentaries that, in some cases, have far more information than they are likely to get internally from their own organization.

The issue of staff “wasting time” on the Internet comes up in every organization, but some are rather heavy handed in how they deal with this.  If the problem is that staff are not doing their work, then manage that problem.  There are many more ways for people to not work than to surf the net.

Now on the subject of budget cuts, I think we have a candidate who surely won’t be missed.

Today the TTC took a big step back from the brink of disaster with a package addressing the current budget crisis.  At last, instead of predictions of widespread service cuts, we actually hear of service improvements with more to come as and when funding is obtained.  This is a much more responsible presentation than we have heard from anyone at City Hall in the past months.

After a long presentation followed by a Q&A between the Commissioners and Chief General Manager Gary Webster, we heard from a series of deputations including me.  The message was consistent throughout — keeping service is a top priority.

You can read the staff report on the TTC’s website although some of the illustrations are missing.  Some of them appear as links from this and future posts. Continue reading →

In the previous post, I detailed the decisions taken by the TTC at its September 12, 2007 meeting.  Here, I will discuss how they will address the budget shortfall in 2007, 2008 and beyond. Continue reading →