A sigh of relief coming from one-and-a-half-million people
I heard it. Sunday just before 6 p.m. I was in my car, glued to the radio, sharing a piece of pizza with my dog, and I heard it –- those three magic words, sweeter than “I love you,” NO TTC STRIKE. Then I heard the huge sigh of relief from the one-and-a-half-million commuters who use the TTC services every day.
Having lived in Toronto for almost 30 years I have experienced several of the eight TTC strikes and slowdowns. I remember the six-day work to rule campaign of 1985: how jammed the entire in town roads were. I remember buying a small television and walking home with it because walking was faster than driving.
I remember the eight-day strike of September 1991. I lived in the west end, worked at Yonge and Eglinton, was going to school at Ryerson and doing a work placement in the east end. I had to ride my bike to work in the morning, then school downtown, then my placement and home. It was exhausting and I remember getting the flu part way through, but I did it because I had to.
I remember the two-day strike of April 1999 and the wildcat strike of May 2006. Both times I was working as a traffic reporter and I remember the panic and the mayhem.
After all of these experiences I was so glad to be able to add a happy TTC memory to my list.
No TTC Strike.
I would like to thank both the TTC and the Union for being so fair and keeping us in the loop. I can only imagine how tough it was, since both sides had such valid points. The union only wanted what was fair, and the TTC was trying to work within the parameters of financial constraints that are a part of all aspects of our lives these days.
But they did it. There are rumors that the city stepped in last minute, but regardless of how it happened … it happened.
So we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief and continue on with our lives, confident in the knowledge that the TTC is going to be there.
This city is so big and so reliant on the TTC that we cannot function properly without it. As each year goes by and the city grows we cannot even entertain the thought of a day, or even an hour, without its services.
We can only hope that, in the future, reason will continue to prevail and TTC service will carry on uninterrupted.