fcheblog » the lefter way

2005-02-07 12:45 | fche blog enun-dorsals the lefter way

I had the pleasure to use The Better Way, as Toronto’s mass transit system calls itself, a few times lately to commute. Advice: if one keeps one’s senses turned strictly inward, it’s not so bad.

But if you turn on your senses, beware:

your skin will tell you how close you are to a cattlecar or station filled with rush hour travelers, how you are part of the mass in “mass transit”
your nose will want to go numb with the odorific movement of thickly recycled air
your eyes will fill you with propaganda: ordinary advertisements (“street people need your credit card”, “psychic expo this weekend”), unsold space filled with TTC self-promotion (“you riders are so gosh darned intelligent for not driving”, “drivers are idiots for spending so much money”, seriously), free mini-newspapers filled with lefty articles (“gun bust in Scarborough”, “mothers should breastfeed more”, “wipe out racism with Black History Week”, “brave students march on the Bastille”)
your ears will be mellowed by the constant murmur
your throat will pass sickness into your system if you inhale or ingest the aerosol cloud of everpresent caugh droplets

your brain will notice how, unless your trip is very fortunately routed, time passes so much slower

It still beats walking and suicide biking, I guess.

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Together with the island airport, walking and taking the subway are two of my favourite things about Toronto. I used to love cycling, too, during the six years I lived there, but I do agree that that can be a little scary, especially when trying to keep your wheels from falling into streetcar track ruts. I’d love to have a subway in Ottawa, even if we did have to put up with all the things you listed (if you think they’re bad in a subway car, try them on a diesel bus in stop-and-go traffic with frosted-over windows).
David Megginson (URL) - 2005-02-07 14:01

I can see the romance and novelty in casually walking around downtown or the lake shore, or taking the subway in off-peak hours, or biking around. Commuting to work under those conditions takes out much of the charm.
Frank Ch. Eigler (Email) - 2005-02-07 15:32

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2005-02-07 12:45 | fche blog enun-dorsals the lefter way