Back on the bike again

On Wednesday this week I think I had my worst TTC experience of the winter. Standing on an absolutely jampacked streetcar waiting for a stampede to happen, then waiting for another streetcar in -15 and windchill for 15 minutes is just not what makes me happy.

So far I had put off riding my bike since mid-December, when we first got a serious amout of snow here. But today I decided to brave the ice, snow and cold and take my trusty bike on the street again. And I loved it. I'll do it again tomorrow.

Toronto's public transit network, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission, comprises three (or four, depending on how you count them) subway and RT lines, eleven streetcar lines and 168 bus routes. The price of a 30-day transit pass, known as Metropass, is $109 CAD (approx. 67 EUR). The population of the city of Toronto, according to Wikipedia, is 2,503,281.

For comparison, Berlin, with a population of 3,424,764, has nine U-Bahn lines, fifteen S-Bahn lines, 28 streetcar routes and 150 bus lines. The price of a 30-day pass is 72 - 88.50 EUR ($117 - $144 CAD) depending on the number of zones the pass is valid for.

New York, with a population of 8,274,527, has about 24 subway lines (local and express), no streetcars and 240 bus lines (local and express). The price of a 30-day MetroCard is $81 USD (approx. $102 CAD).

Helsinki, with the population of just 574,579, has one or two subway lines (depending on how you count them), several commuter train lines (similar to S-Bahn in Germany), eleven streetcar lines (as many as Toronto), 93 local and about 105 regional/metro area bus lines and two ferry lines. The price of a 30-day transit pass is 42.80 EUR (approx. $70 CAD).

The main difference between Toronto and the other three cities - and particularly Berlin and Helsinki - is that in Helsinki and Berlin the system is modern, efficient and on time, and therefore offers reasonable value for the money paid for the fare. In New York, the subway system, which is one of the largest in the world and the only 24-hour subway in the world, moves people better than probably anything in Toronto.

So I'm sticking to the bike now and hoping for warmer weather. ;)