[PRCo] Re: Off__Topic---BUT__Pertinent

[John F Bromley]

Don't concern yourself with this bullcrap - it was a slow news day.  TTC
streetcars are not nor will be in any danger.  Can you spell ":institution"?
Or "lynch-mob"?  First is what streetcars are here, second is politico's
fate if they try anything.

Forget this stuff - as I said it's pure BS.  Don't spread it around.

JFB


----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Holland" <pghpcc at pacbell.net>
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2002 4:28 PM
Subject: [PRCo] Off__Topic---BUT__Pertinent


>
> Good Morning!
>
> Bill Robb of Toronto shares this extremely bleak article from a local
> newspaper.   Please note these 3-paragraphs:::::::
>
> "Streetcars cost $3 million to $5 million apiece; repairing and
> maintaining the tracks costs $30 million a year."
>
> "Buses cost $450,000 each, are much less expensive to repair, and run on
> roadways maintained at city expense."
>
> "'You have to ask, at some point, is it cheaper to run buses than
> streetcars - and that, I know, is a dynamite question,' Webster said."
>
> While Toronto is strictly streetcar in streets which slows efficiency,
> I-F  such a stellar system abandons, it will make easy fodder for others
to
> follow suit.
>
> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
>
> Budget crunch puts beloved but costly fleet at risk
>
> Toronto Star, Tue, 26 Mar 2002
> Joseph Hall
> Transportation Reporter
>
> Toronto's "sacred" streetcar fleet could start rolling off into history by
> the end of next year unless significant new funding is poured into the
> city's transit system, TTC officials say.
>
> The rumble and clang of the system's Red Rockets, so much a part of the
> city's history, psyche and appeal, could be silenced to ward off crippling
> maintenance and operating shortfalls, senior staff and city politicians
> warn.
>
> "Taking the streetcar off of Toronto's streets would be like taking the
> maple leaf off the Canadian flag," acknowledges TTC chair Brian Ashton.
>
> "But the financial picture we face, both in our capital and operational
> costs, could potentially slay the streetcar, which is sacred in this
city."
>
> The city's 248-car fleet needs a $180 million overhaul over the next
> several years, Ashton said, and a potential $50 million TTC operating
> shortfall in 2003 will put added pressure on the system to cut back on the
> expensive vehicles.
>
> "Either one of these things (the operational or capital costs) has the
> real potential to knock the streetcars off the rails," Ashton said.
>
> "And we can't just keep raising fares. The pressure on the fare system by
-- Trailing quotes stripped by Listar --