The last week has been quiet on this blog as I took a break from writing and spent the holiday period both enjoying the season, to the degree that was possible, and watching a lot of online concerts.

But fear not! I bring tidings of, well, not necessarily great joy, but of articles in the pipeline, something for you all to read while sitting around the internet yule log.

Yes, there will be more service analyses including:

• A few more reviews of short routes and their less than stellar service.
• A review of major bus routes in Scarborough including the short-lived express services on Kennedy and Warden.
• An update on the review of travel times on existing and proposed “red lane” corridors.

Of course it’s budget season, and I have an update on the TTC’s Capital Budget based on the presentation and discussion at their recent Board meeting. That’s waiting on feedback on some questions I posed.

City Council will have its own budget launch on January 13, and we will see just how deep a hole we are in for the coming year.

At its December meeting, Council endorsed the Net Zero 2040 plan aimed at getting the City’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions down to zero in two decades. This includes not just the municipal government and its agencies, but homeowners, businesses, drivers of all manner of vehicles and transit.

Transit makes a small direct contribution mainly through diesel exhaust, and this will decline as the bus fleet is electrified. The larger benefits lie in diversion of trips that might otherwise be taken by car. The City’s plan includes proposals for considerably more transit service, but this does not appear to have been endorsed by Council (along with other aggressive portions of the plan). There is certainly no provision in TTC capital or operating budgets for the scope of expansion required for the NZ2040 plan.

As I write this, I await replies to a series of questions posed to the City to clarify portions of their transit proposal.

With luck, this will be a year of modest recovery if the pandemic can be brought under control, but it will certainly not be a year of bold expansion, except for a few political egos tied to certain rapid transit construction projects.

At the end of January, this blog will celebrate its 16th birthday, and I will reflect on where we go from here in the anniversary article.

A happy 2022 to everyone!