Frequent questions about TTC delays, Jan. 23

On Wednesday, Toronto once again had an awful transit day. Yet, all I see from the TTC are posters telling me not to evade my fare, announcements about planned shutdowns, plans to raise fares and suggestions that the service is “improving” by running fewer streetcars with a 25-per-cent increase in wait times.

The TTC seems to have lost sight of the fact that its business is, in return for my fare, to provide me with a reasonably reliable and efficient transit system.

I am trying to be environmentally conscious by leaving the car at home, but the TTC is making that increasingly difficult by charging me more and providing less service — or sometimes, like Wednesday, no service.

By the way, Uber is quite competitive with transit fares, I don’t have to stand, I get dropped off at my destination, and I don’t have to share space with a 10-year-old who is riding for free and occupying a disabled seat.

Brigitte Nowak, Toronto

We need to start considering transit as a public good. Cities around the world offer free public transit and, after the recent TTC delays, we need Toronto to seriously consider waiving fees.

The TTC is chronically underfunded. The city’s current piecemeal solutions to an inoperative transit system are nonsensical: Hire more fare inspectors who target poor and racialized people; direct the transportation budget toward travel routes that most commuters do not use; and increase fares.

None of these solutions address our transit issues and all of these solutions continue to perpetuate inequality.