An update on the TTC

I wrote a post titled "Life in Taiwan: Taipei Metro" about three months ago after taking the transit system in Taipei. Generally impressed by what I experienced, I listed five things about the Taipei Metro that, as a transit rider, I appreciated, or thought was really neat. I preceded/introduced the discussion with a rant about the ease of using the Taipei Metro for someone new to the city, as opposed to the TTC.

One main issue was the failure of the TTC to have an integrated system with Google Transit, a feature used by many main transit systems around the world, including the Taipei Metro, which made it easy for someone like me, who can barely read Mandarin, to have confidence that I won't get lost on my first trip to some place in Taipei I'd never visited before - and get there on time. The Hamilton transit system is also seamlessly integrated with Google Transit, and it's a feature that was not only very helpful in my first few weeks in Hamilton, but a feature I still use to plan my trips around the city.

Well guess what. As of about 1-2 weeks ago, the TTC announced that it had [finally] reached an agreement with Google Transit, and had been collaborating with the search company to provide TTC details on Google Maps. That feature is now online, and though not perfect, is a great tool for planning your trips involving the TTC. I suggest you try it out: just ask Google Maps for directions, e.g. Ontario Science Centre to Toronto Union Station, and click the icon that looks like a subway (between the car and the walking person).

I am pleased that the TTC has taken this move, and I hope that the TTC can take more steps into making our transit system more representative of a world-class city, an image that our mayoral candidates are trying very hard to sell. Unfortunately, I haven't heard many concrete ideas from the current frontrunners of the race, though the keepttcpublic campaign seems to cast a light on the issues that lie ahead. It seems like we're in for a long battle between public funding and private funding before we actually get to see any significant improvements in the TTC.