The opinions of a non-commuter – being held hostage.
I’ve just realized in writing this series of posts about the TTC, that I’ve most likely written about it all before. Meh. My blog, I’ll write, and repeat myself, as much as I want.
So one more thing I can think of that would cause riders to suddenly start, en masse, to be on the look out to snap, record, and publicize every single fault by TTC employees.
They hold “us” (the general public who takes the TTC) hostage, on a regular basis.
On average, every other year there is threats of a possible strike. Because every other year the union contract is supposed to be renewed. And more often than not, the union workers end up on strike. Making the majority of Toronto to grind to a halt while they hash out pay rises, job security and vacations.
Apparently in 2007 the TTC reported they had 459,769,000 paid rides over the course of the year. That would be on average 1,260,000 rides per day, and I would say should equal somewhere between 420,000 and 600,000 some odd people that use the TTC on any given day.
So every time the TTC goes on strike, they are holding hostage just around half a million people, who can not go to work, can not go to school, can not go to the doctor. (Well, the wheels-trans I believe still runs even during strike time. But for people who are still self-mobile, they’re screwed.)
It’s actions like this, that make me dislike unions.
And I’m all for making the TTC an emergency service. Just so they’re no longer allowed to strike & shut down the city when contracts come up for renewal, like they have been, for as long as I’ve known them.
Because they always have this habit of striking right around the time all the universities and colleges are going into exams. And if there’s one thing a university student can’t afford, it is a $20-50 one way taxi trip twice a day just because the TTC has gone on strike!
