Why let a little thing like a TTC strike keep you from getting to work?
BikingToronto is encouraging people to Bike the Strike! if the TTC staff decide to walk out on the job. As of today they are in mediation with staff saying they may consider "work to rule" if the negotiations end in a deadlock. This may mean staff will refuse to wear uniforms or will slow down TTC service before going into a full-blown strike.
Wouldn't it be nice if Toronto had a comprehensive public bike program so that people could jump on all the bikes if a strike did happen? They did in Paris.
Comments
joet (not verified)
bike the strike
Fri, 03/28/2008 - 08:26thanks for the link, Herbie. :)
Anonymous (not verified)
Seriously!!? I am so sick of
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 15:49Seriously!!? I am so sick of these strikes!! How is it that some dude driving a bus is getting paid 100,000 dollars a year to sit on his butt. Mean while all us peeps who actually require university have to shell out $3.00 dollars from their 40,000 dollar salary just because some lazy richy wants four weeks vacation. We just had an INCREASE! I propose a strike, I say ALL the TTC riders should WALK until the union goes bankrupt and we can hire regular employees like any other company. And making campaign donations?? That just REEKS of unethical. They might as well sleep with the mayor too!! I'll be biking...hope everyone else does too.
AaronM
Strike Comments
Fri, 04/18/2008 - 11:35While I too believe TTC workers are grossly overpaid for their skillset, I do understand their point of those being injured on the job not being compesated 100%. This should be addressed. Not all of their employees are lazy or uneducated. My only concern is that some of their other requests, like the salary adjustment request to be higher than Mississauga employees, are absurd. You want that wage and nice open roads, go work there. If I want a higher Telecom wage, I need to move to the states. We can't simply pay them more because someone else is getting more. Let Mississauga deal with that error in their next negotations.
That being said, I'm not here to talk about their negotiations. I think we should all be biking to work regardless of whether or not there is a strike. We should use this time as a 'community' to relay the benefits of biking to work, or anywhere for that matter. Health benefits, personal economic benefits and environmental benefits as well. Hopefully our small neighbourhood bike shops will also benefit from any potential strike.
Pedal strong, pedal smart!!
The EnigManiac
I just chuckle
Sat, 04/19/2008 - 03:23The first day when I can ride without snow, ice or cars extending too far into my preferred line of travel, I abandon the TTC. In fact, I can't wait to get off buses, streetcars and subways. They drive me crazy with the over-crowding, the stupidity, the uncaring, inconsiderate, rude and hostile passengers and operators. Most years I only rely on the TTC for about 4-5 weeks (Dec-Jan, sometimes Jan-Feb). This year it was more like 9-10weeks due to the unusually harsh conditions. I don't like being crowded or confined on the road and while I am confident, and forceful in my way, I do not like being overly aggressive, reckless or careless. Therefore, I ride predictably, well-lit and appropriate for both weather and traffic conditions, at least in the way I see it and I don't ride when I think I am taking unnecessary risks. That's why I don't ride during snow or rain storms---though I saw many who did this year and I applaud them.
I hope the TTC goes on strike for a long time and gas prices continue to rise just so more people will walk and ride. I see strikes like this as great promoters of alternative ways of getting around. More cyclists than ever before took to the streets after the wild-cat strike in 2006 and I hope this year even more will join us. Screw the TTC, screw cars. Let's get back to being a city of people and people power.
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: sick of strikes
Sat, 04/19/2008 - 09:05Why don't you become a bus driver if you think the pay is great and all you do is sit on your butt. I'm sure the guy earning $100,00 a year is working long hours and putting up with a lot of abuse from people like you.
Tone (not verified)
cycle for pleasure, transit for necessity
Sat, 04/19/2008 - 14:07I don't cycle all year ... I'm a pretty confident rider, but my night vision isn't anything to write home about, so I find the dark winter months (even with decent lighting) pretty challenging. So, I end up on the TTC for that long, dark season.
It is such an utter relief when spring comes and I can ride to work again. That's one of the most important messages to get across to people thinking of bike commuting -- you end up doing because you can, not because it's good for you!
The pleasure of getting a couple of rides in a day is its own reward ... the health and environmental benefits are just icing on the cake.
Taking the TTC, on the other hand, is a chore. It's dirty. It's unpredictable. It's packed. It's staffed by people who seem like they'd rather be doing just about anything else. It's really only "the better way" for me when the other option is missing a patch of a ice in the dark, falling off my bike and getting run over by a car.
That said, I wish transit was as good as it could be in Toronto. I wish the people working for the TTC didn't come across as if their job was some kind of community service sentence thrust upon them. I wish the city could see the TTC as a strategic asset for economic development and planning instead of just a cost. I wish the commission would push the limits of what transit systems could do with route planning services and system wide support for multi-modal trips (bike-subway-bike during rush hour would allow a lot more people to ditch the car commute!).
Instead, its run like some kind of holdover from Soviet-era planning. And, this strike is doing nothing to convince people like me that the commission can get its act together and start acting as a progressive force in this city.
Thankfully, the solution has two wheels, a chain and works for a lot of the year. Maybe laser surgery would give me the kind of eyes I need to ditch the TTC altogether :-)