toronto: communicating transit’s hard truths to the public

The Ontario Transit Panel, convened by the province's Premier in September, released its first 'discussion paper' this week entitled "Hard Truths About Transit in the Toronto Region". This group exists to advise the Province on whether or not to support the agenda of the regional transit agency, Metrolinx.

While specific points will be familiar to readers of this blog, the document is notable as a good example of how to educate local people in a local context. This paper asks people to consider the real consequences of choices based on the facts of how transit works, rather than reproducing stereotypes or promising impossible outcomes. As the report says:

These are hard truths, but until we accept them, we will not be able to have a mature discussion. Decisions will not be based on reason and evidence, but will be one-off decisions aimed at short term political gain.

Have a look for yourself here: http://transitpanel.ca/

 

2 Responses to toronto: communicating transit’s hard truths to the public

  1. Neil October 30, 2013 at 7:43 am #

    They forgot to add, “It’s kinda hard to get anything done if you change your mind about the route, mode, funding, and every other design detail every 90 days”.

  2. Bob Patrick October 31, 2013 at 6:22 pm #

    Oh you mean the Sheppard East LRT could of been running in 2014 if it had not been cancelled by Rob Ford? Toronto deserves to suffer!