In an attempt to bolster good relations with the general public, the TTC, starting Monday, May 5, 2008, has opted to offer a refund to TTC Pass holders for the 2 days that the Transit’s union went on strike.
Granted this is a nice gesture on the part of the TTC, but has the damage already been done? Many people who may have found themselves far from home after midnight on Saturday April 26th, had very little recourse. Not to mention the various events that were going on that weekend, must have seen a lower than expected turn out due to the TTC outage. I personally was looking forward to going to the Green Living Show that weekend, but given the TTC outage and the sparseness of GO Transit’s trains, I had to scrap that plan. Fortunately, I was able to salvage what I could of my weekend, however I’ve heard that others (many of my friends included) were not as fortunate.
With negotiations between the union and the TTC higher-ups going back and forth, I heard many people grumbling and moaning saying that they wouldn’t support the TTC workers, because they felt that they were overpaid and that any disruption in service would be very detrimental to the city of Toronto. Needless to say, public opinion of the TTC and its workers was waning considerably. And going on strike on a weekend didn’t help matters much either.
I personally, became less than pleased when I found out the TTC decided to go on strike, especially considering that for me (like many others in the city), TTC is the only means of getting around. I like the TTC, and I’ve seen some of the shit the some of the drivers go through, but I just fear that this deal that they were able to reach is a band aid solution to the overlying problem. I just don’t want to see us in a similar situation 3 years from now. I guess for now, I’ll just enjoy my refund and worry about that when the time comes :P.
If you are a pass holder and would like to find out more information about what you will need to bring with you as well as where you can get the refund please visit the Refunds for April TTC Pass Holders webpage.
