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BY JESSICA BELL

We all know the Toronto Transit Commission has issues.

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The TTC needs $33 billion over the next 15 years for maintenance so rush-hour delays are the exception, not the expectation. Regional fares need to be integrated so people can travel throughout the GTA without paying double. And then there’s the sardine-overcrowding and the long, frustrating waits.

Doug Ford has been scheming to rip Toronto’s subways away from the TTC – a provincial takeover and TTC breakup, leaving the rest of the TTC and the City of Toronto owning just buses and streetcars.

This will make things even worse for commuters.

Once Doug Ford and his developer friends get their mitts on our transit system, they can manipulate the pricing structure and charge even more to ride the subway. They can set fares independent of TTC buses and streetcars. This means higher costs and less fare integration. It could lead to a pay-by-speed or a pay-by-distance model where families priced out of our downtown core and living in the furthermost reaches of the city are saddled with higher subway fares, further squeezing the family budget. For commuters, Ford’s plan means less coordination between routes, higher costs, and even more crowding.