Media by: Georgina Parker
Story by: Santiago Ramer
Nearly a fifth of Ryerson students feel that Toronto’s most pressing issue is improving public transit, according to a recent poll done by Ryerson School of Journalism students.
With commuters facing daily issues like overcrowding, multiple delays, unreliable and infrequent schedules, it is no wonder that transit has been a forefront issue for not only students, but in the upcoming mayoral election as well.
“A really big issue for students is the fact that they’re travelling across municipal boundaries to get to school and have to pay multiple fares as they cross them,” says Shelagh Prizey-Allen, the Executive Director at TTCriders.
Students that have to travel long distances tend to have to make multiple transfers to different transit companies, which in turn can lead to a very pricey commute.
“All I could ask is for a consistent student discount across the GO, YRT and TTC since myself and so many other students have to take various transit companies to get to and from school” said Yasmine Mirkovic, a second-year RTA student who commutes from Markham.
Interactive Production by Laura Dalton
Prizey-Allen also mentioned how “ridership has stagnated over the last 4 years and adult ridership has actually dropped.” She believes that this is due to the lack of fast improvements, funding and overall user frustration.
“If my commute was reliable that would be great,” says Abbey Humphreys-Morris, a Ryerson student commuting from Newmarket. “There are days where we just sit there on the tracks for 15-30 minutes, and there is no reliability with that.”
Students are encouraged to go out and vote in the mayoral election on Oct. 22, 2018 if they want to see change in not only their commutes but their city.
Social Media & Design by: Lauren Knowles
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