March 29, 2008
Philly Has A Crush On The TTC
Photo by concep007.
With all of the recent hand-wringing by the townspeople about every conceivable issue facing the Toronto Transit Commission, it's easy to forget that, to some other major metropolitan areas, the TTC is considered to be a shining example of a well-operated mass-transit system. Yes, we actually wrote that. Recently, a group of distinguished visitors from "The City That Loves You Back" (Philadelphia, yo), including representatives from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and the University of Pennsylvania Design School among others, paid a visit to our fair city for a couple of days in order to study how a super-dope, ass-kicking transit system works. (Yes, we're still talking about the TTC.)
Many of you might be thinking, "They came to Toronto? Don't they know that practically everyone here hates the TTC?" Possibly, but they still think we're on to something up here. Besides, Torontonians don't have a monopoly on antipathy towards their local transit providers.
It's useful to know why Philadelphia chose Toronto to study. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, there are enough similarities between the two cities' transit systems to make a reasonable comparison between them.
The Toronto commission is, in some ways, comparable to SEPTA, with about the same size workforce (roughly 10,000) and operating budget (about $1 billion). But it carries 50 percent more passengers: 460 million, compared with SEPTA's 301 million a year.So, after their grand, two-day tour of our city's transit facilities (not limited only to the TTC and including trains, subways, buses, and streetcars), what elements impressed them the most? The answers will likely surprise some critics. The Inquirer article is absolutely chock-full of praise for the TTC and well worth the read, but here are some of the highlights:
The three top attributes of the Toronto system are "service, service, service," noted Edward D'Alba, president of Urban Engineers, another in the group.There certainly seems to be an element of the "grass is greener on the other side" phenomenon on display here by the Phillies, whose system has had its own share of problems. Still, the visitors did manage to point out some of the inconsistencies and head-scratchers that have been vexing Toronto's ridership for some time: "They also saw some familiar problems, like the struggle to develop an automatic fare card...No train from the airport?...Eleven different transit agencies?" Ummm...yep.
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One thing "that really impacted me was the sheer size of development within a quarter to half a mile of the Toronto subway stations," said Andrew Levecchia, senior planner for the Camden County Improvement Authority."Thirty thousand to 40,000 people at a transit node. This is what we need. . . . They seem to be more willing to intensify density" than suburban Philadelphia residents, he said.
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"SEPTA matches up fairly well against Toronto's transit system," McCaney said. "In my opinion, the real dramatic difference is not between the transit systems themselves, but rather how Toronto and the greater Toronto region seems to have much more effectively exploited its transit system as an economic development asset."
Of course one group's almost overwhelmingly positive review of our system obviously doesn't negate the many glaring problems still facing the TTC. Sometimes, however, a little outside perspective (and praise from Americans, yippee!) is just what we need to help Torontonians realize that, for all its faults, the TTC is...you know. C'mon, don't make us say it.
Second photo by nndosi.
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When I lived in suburban Philadelphia in the '60s, I'd occasionally ride the Powelton Ave. streetcar. When I did, I'd wonder if it was a former TTC car that plied the Bloor Danforth line and would have taken me to my music lessons and school.
Even more development within 500-600 metres of TTC subway stations would be nice.
Tuds
Sure, the TTC works well - especially considering the financial cutbacks they've had to deal with.
Still, it used to run better and we need to make noise to improve it. I'd be concerned if more people didn't care and quietly quit riding.
This makes me wonder if anyone at the TTC has ever gone to a city with a subway system to see how it's supposed to be done.
Philly is a very interesting comp and I've thought about this many times while taking SEPTA. On paper, the two systems really are comparable. Similar sized subways, a few streetcars and light-rail hybrids, and lots of commuter trains feeding the core. Both cities have experienced the downward spiral of increased fares crushing their ridership, though Toronto has recovered somewhat.
The differences are easy to note. Being a much older city, Philly was built on rail at a time when you didn't need a lot of development around train stations to make them work. The SEPTA rail net is inherited from the original railways and is simply massive, dwarfing GO in terms of number of lines, frequency, type (all electric)... There are three, count them, three huge commuter rail stations downtown that all trains pass through. The bones are there for a far superior commuting system.
However, because of demographic and economic changes, Philly declined in exactly the areas where the trains ran -- the older neighbourhoods. Example: In Toronto, Germantown would be Rosedale or Lawrence Park except with a lot more GO stations. In Philly, it is a mess of formerly grand mansions and serious urban decay as the wealthy population moved away and economic opportunity declined. The area is underdeveloped today. Commuter trains are a bad mix with rundown areas -- they are expensive, and you have to have a job in the core to need to ride one -- so ridership is not what it should be. Fares are raised to cover costs, ridership drops more, and there you have it.
On the whole, I would be quite pleased if the SEPTA system was dropped on top of Toronto tomorrow. Let's dream:
- subway would be similar but with express tracks on Yonge-University
- the PCC cars of SEPTA's route 15 would bring back the Harbourfront PCC line the way it should be, with PCC vehicles for tourists.
- the Subway-Surface Trolley lines would mean that the Queen and King and College cars would combine to run in a tunnel through downtown. No more backup at Victoria-Yonge-Bay-University
- SEPTA's Route 100 is comparable to Scarborough LRT, but adopting it means the SRT would extend 13 mies out to Pickering and beyong
- buses are buses, not much difference there though we would miss the TTC's subway-bus interconnections
- adopting SEPTA's suburban Route 101/102 would be like converting Viva BRT to light rail. I'd take that in a second.
- the real gem would be SEPTA Regional Rail. Imagine 13 routes, all electric, with 150 stations coming out of three huge stations at Union, Queen and Bloor. Trains would run both directions 5 am to 1 am, about twice an hour.
- a GO train to the airport. Duh.
- saving the best for last, SEPTA fares are high by US standards but a huge improvement on TTC. Cash fare of $2, tokens for $1.45 each, $78 monthly pass, plus a few small fees for transfers or outer zones. Commuter train fares run $3.50 to $8.
The problem with SEPTA's ridership clearly lies with the city, not the system. Toronto has a lot to learn from Philadelphia in my opinion.
Intersting article...nice to hear a city-to-city comparison.