Several articles in today’s Star deal with Rick Ducharme’s departure from the TTC and his view of the transit world in Toronto. Although I’m already working on a post on related subjects, Rick’s comments deserve a reply now. Continue reading
Author: Steve
Rick Ducharme Resigns From TTC (Updated)
[Updated June 8, 7:30 am]
The TTC has accepted Rick Ducharme’s resignation effective immediately. Gary Webster, the General Manager of Operations, has been named interim Chief General Manager pending a formal search for Ducharme’s replacement. I’m not sure that “congratulations” are appropriate under the circumstances, but I wish Gary Webster well.
He is the best choice of potential internal candidates for the position, and I hope that the Commission will let him do his job. We cannot afford to lose another seasoned member of TTC management who actually understands how the system works.
I am not going to duplicate the many comments from other sites and leave it to readers to track down media coverage. However, I have started on a long post with questions for everyone: the union, the Commission, Council and the Mayor on what their positions really are and what the future holds for the TTC. Stay tuned. Continue reading
Spadina, Front and Queen’s Quay
This has been an interesting week to think about Toronto’s ongoing battle for better transit and for saying “no” to every road-widening and expressway that comes down the pike. We started with the one day transit strike (covered in a separate post) that got all the attention, but three related events were far more important: Continue reading
Goodbye to the Café Brussel
A wistful, lighter note to a stress-filled day of bad news for transit advocates. If you want to read about the TTC, please scroll down to the next post.
Last Saturday was the closing night at the Café Brussel. Let’s remember the food one last time. Continue reading
Back on the Rails?
This item has been updated with many comments from readers. For the original post, click on “more”. Continue reading
To Scoff or Not To Scoff? (Updated)
Three comments originally posted here were on the subject of the TTC strike on May 29th. I have moved them to the post specifically dealing with that issue. If you want to comment on the strike, please do so there as it makes my editing job simpler. If you want to talk about fare collection issues, please comment here. Thanks.
Sometimes, events unfold in unexpected ways. What seemed like a bit of late afternoon trivia has turned into front page news. Continue reading
Old Wine in Old Bottles
Today the Feds were on hand to announce funding of the Union Station expansion. Shhh. It’s a secret. This contract was awarded at the TTC meeting in April and tendered much earlier. You were not supposed to notice. Ottawa is trying to convince Toronto that they love us.
Earlier today, I was on CBC’s Ontario Today show talking about this announcement and its implications for transit in Toronto and surrounding communities. Here is a precis of my position. Continue reading
Streetcar Fleet Planning
May’s TTC meeting included a comprehensive presentation on the streetcar fleet situation in response to the Commission’s clear desire to proceed with plans for new cars as soon as possible. The intent is to take this presentation (along with the Bus Fleet Plan described in a separate post) to Budget Advisory Committee on June 9, to Policy & Finance on June 20, and to Council on June 27. Continue reading
Bus Fleet Planning
TTC staff presented a Bus Fleet Plan at the May Commission meeting as part of a general overview of the fleet situation. This brings to the foreground important issues that are part of the TTC’s and the City’s budget planning process. Continue reading
New Subway Car Update
Those of you who follow other Toronto blogs will already have read much of the update on the new subway cars. You can read the spacing wire coverage here.
A few additional tidbits: Continue reading
Steve Munro 