Toronto Star

Some time during the last two decades, public transit in Toronto took a wrong turn. As a result, what was once "the better way" is now the lesser way. But Sunday Star readers made it clear after the recent What If? package that they want the Toronto Transit Commission back on the rails. Of course, the TTC isn't entirely to blame for its woes. The government of Ontario, starting with former Conservative premier Mike Harris and continuing under Premier Dalton McGuinty, has done most of the damage through devastating funding cuts. The TTC is now the only major transit operation on the planet that must make up the bulk of its funding through the ticket box. Under chief general manager Rick Ducharme, the TTC has adopted a strictly nuts-and-bolts mentality that leaves the organization unable to see the big picture.