Paul Bedford on the TTC: 'You get what you pay for'

As part of my project, I'm interviewing people with insights into issues around the TTC. One of the people I called up is a former city planners for Toronto. I wanted to get the perspective of someone who's witnessed city-building first-hand.

Paul Bedford
Courtesy of canadascapital.gc.ca

Paul Bedford was chief city planner for the City of Toronto for eight years. A self-described passionate advocate for GTA transit and city-building, Bedford became a city planning professor at both the University of Toronto and Ryerson University after his 2004 retirement. He actively advises many city-planning organizations.

What is main cause of TTC service interruptions?

Lack of consistent funding. You get what you pay for. Almost all the funding now comes from our city, and it shows. Since amalgamation in 1998 we've had funding cut from the province.

We need new revenue sources, whether it's from the public or private sphere. Taxpayers can’t make up for the lack of funding, and the TTC can't even keep up with the future of growth. We need light-rail and bus rapid-transit.

What other TTC issues do you see?

Maintenance is obviously a big one. It isn't clean. There’s broken escalators and poor service. There are times when my bus is half an hour late or more, and I’ve just walked. In September 2011 they reached their highest ridership. It’s grown a lot since amalgamation.

We’ve been going downhill for a long time; it has to be turned around. We’ve got great transit for a city of 1 million, but we’re 3 million people!

Why do you think funding hasn't been fixed then?

The average person doesn’t understand governance at all. Because they have their own life to live. They need to have a better understanding of transit issues; how it affects us as a city and what we can do to fix this awful situation.

What could the TTC be doing about this?

The TTC should embark on a  public awareness campaign. Same as GM did around the time of the bailout.

One of the ads in the TTC's
ongoing awareness blitz.
TTC photo

They've posted a lot of ads lately about their funding shortfall. What do you think of this campaign?

It's better than nothing. But they need to be in-your-face. It's a really hard fight for them.

This interview has been edited and condensed.