Put simply, the TTC inflates ridership numbers as it is really collecting 'revenue ride' numbers, whereby one rider doing two journeys a day is double counted.

The TTC will then use this figure (generally 1.5 million a day) to assert they take one million cars off the road. (If ridership is actually less than one million how can they claim this, particularly when a large number of users do not own a vehicle, others are GO users and many park at the stations?)

Next, the TTC would have us believe they have a greening policy based mainly on the streetcar, but the streetcar is a main cause (along with poorly located and unrecessed bus stops, of which there are many) of additional and almost completely avoidable pollution, pollution that I think is equivalent to at least 200,000 cars commuting one hour each day.

Are people not concerned about how the mayor and the TTC are 'killing' this city with their rigid stand on streetcars, a surface system that costs us well more than $1 billion every five years in avoidable track and road maintenance, $1 billion that could be saved or spent better?

Please do not ignore these issues as they will soon be irreversible and future Torontonians will pay dearly for them, with avoidable dollars spent, congestion and pollution.

M. Haynes