Matthew, Miller is not going to cut a thing. He is just trying to set the agenda for the provincial election hoping parties will have a bidding war to see who will give the most to Toronto.

I take the TTC everyday, and it’s $2.75 a ride, and all transfers are one way only, so I don’t know how you see an average of $2.50 outside of the Big Smoke as “higher”.

If the fare hike actually happens (I doubt it will, but we’ll see) it’ll be $3 to ride the TTC. I don’t know anywhere else in Canada where the bus is $3 (of course, you can save a bit with a TTC MetroPass, but that’s $99.75 a month - again, MUCH higher than most cities, though the only example I have at my figertips is Montreal, where a monthly STM Metro Pass is $65).

As for how much less subsidized the TTC is than any other systemn in North America, check out the chart a little bit down this page .

Th highlights (these are 200/2001 numbers,so it’s actually worse than this now…):

The TTC’s subsidy was $148 million which is an overall subsidy of 35 CENTS per rider.

Montreal’s system got $254 million for a system of 70 million less riders (but still, just 73 CENTS per rider).

Vancouver - $1.97 per rider.

Chicago $2.31 per rider

New York - $1.05 per rider (a $1.7 BILLION dollar subsidy).

Atlanta - $4.34 per rider

Philadelphia has HALF the ridership of the TTC, but while the TTC got $148 million in 01/02, Philadelphia’s system got $597 million.

It’s pretty well established that the TTC is more dependent on fares (and less dependent on government spending) than any other major transit system in North America. It’s also pretty well established that this is part of the reason the system is breaking down.

Meanwhile, the idea that Toronto is sucking money from the rest of the province is so ludicrous as to hardly be worthy of comment. If you think the flow of money in Ontario is from the rest of the province into Toronto then I encourage you to get your MP to fight that trend. If you can get him or her to stop laughing long enough, have them explain which way the revenues in Ontario ACTUALLY flow.

As for the TTC, I don’t know where you’re getting the stats that say it’s the least-subsidized system but I do know that it’s a pretty sweet deal to ride it compared to the other systems in southern Ontario. Take a trip out of the Big Smoke one day and go to a city an hour away; the bus fare averages over $2.50 a ride now…much higher than a TTC ride costs.

If Toronto is a thief, we’re the kind of thief that breaks into your house and leaves piles of money lying around.

I wish someone would rob me that way. I get robbed in a more traditional sense, as the City I live in falls apart, and my tax dollars are sent away to help less fortunate citizens in Quebec and the East. It’s not so bad though. At least I get the disdain and loathing of my fellow citizens whose bills I’m subsidizing.

Oh, and for the record, I can’t afford Starbucks. I live in Toronto, and actually use the TTC, and since it is the least government-subsidized transit system in North America all my coffe money goes to them.