A rich and robust transit system

Toronto Streetcar photo, Bay and Dundas streetcar stop, from Top Left Pixel.

Ken sends us an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer, which compares transit in Toronto including a focus on streetcars, as opposed to Philadelphia, which has de-emphasized streetcars for many years. See "Phila. visitors compare SEPTA to Toronto transit."

From the article:

One of the prime lessons for the Philadelphia-area visitors was that a transit system that is extremely convenient, dependable and safe gets lots of use. And, because it gets so many riders, it requires a smaller government subsidy than any U.S. transit agency. "It's a chicken-and-egg thing," said Harris Steinberg, director of PennPraxis, a planning arm of the University of Pennsylvania Design School, who was on the tour. "They understand you have to make the investment to develop the ridership."

The three top attributes of the Toronto system are "service, service, service," noted Edward D'Alba, president of Urban Engineers, another in the group. "With frequent and quality service, public transport works for everyone," Alba said. "The fur-coat crowd rides transit as well," he said. "It is not the mode of last resort."

It took a couple extra years for the Route 15 streetcar to be restored, because residents on a particular block fought commencement of service because the turnaround spot for the streetcar required the removal of a few parking spaces.