Foreword by andy byford

• Author: C. Ian Kyer
• Pages: 11-13

xi

FOREWORDBY

ANDYBYFORD

me to write the foreword to his thoughtful and very

timely book, I was both honoured and pleased to be asked.

A Thirty Years’ War describes, in great detail, a dynamic and a political

dialogue that is still s o relevant today. Just six years short of its centenary, the

TorontoTransitCommissionTTCcurrentlyndsitselfattheheartofthe big

politicalandsocietaldiscussioninTorontoandthewiderGreaterToronto

and Hamilton Area today: how to tackle growing congestion through the

provisionofworldclasspublictransitandhowtopayforit

Concerns about the growing economic and healthrelated impacts of

everincreasingtraccongestiondominatedboththeprovincialandToronto

mayoralelectionsinTheTorontoRegionBoardofTradehasraisedever

more urgent warnings about the adverse impact on the region’s economy if

congestion is not addressed. Politicians have responded to these concerns

withaseriesofproposalstoexpandtransitcoupledwithprotractedandas

yetunresolveddebatesaboutthemeanstopayforthemAdominanttheme

is that of funding: which revenue tools are appropriate and what should the

funding formula look like?

In Toronto itself, the TTC is coping with an exponential increase i n rider

ship on an aging inf rastructure against a backdrop of the lowest operational

subsidy of any major transit service in North America. As chief executive

oceroftheTTCImaintainthatforwhatitreceivestheTTCanditssta

perform miracles in keeping Toronto moving against these odds.