Mixing Up the Commute (and Improving Bike Share)

Back in March 2022, I got an e-scooter to make getting to the office in Vaughan easier. At the time, transit users needed to pay double fare between the TTC and York Region Transit (or other GTA transit agencies). With the cost of the e-scooter being $700 plus tax at the time, the savings from the double fare more than paid for itself. However, the Ontario government introduced the “One Fare” program in February 2024, while the TTC banned e-bikes and e-scooters on their subways, buses, and streetcars during the winter months in December 2024. Add the high cost of maintenance after having a third flat tire in less than three years back in November (and a battery replacement earlier in 2024) and I gave up on the e-scooter ever since. Of course, York Region Transit’s bus service could use some serious improvements with the Jane bus (#20) sometimes being full during the afternoons.

While I no longer see the e-scooter as a viable long-term commuting option, I recently took on a different way to mix up my thrice weekly commute.

I got an annual 30-minute bike share membership!

July 2024 Ride The Meadoway

This morning, about 75 people took part in “Ride the Meadoway” which was hosted by Toronto East Cyclists, Scarborough Cycles, and Regenesis Cycle UTSC. Bike Share Toronto provided some bikes for those who needed them, while Patty Time served some Jamaican beef patties and vegetarian samosas. Let’s reflect on what happened during the ride.

Addressing Food Courier Train Crowding Concerns

Recently, there have been photos circulating on social media about food courier bikes crowding GO trains along the Kitchener GO line, including on dedicated bike cars used on the Niagara trains during the summer months. This has unfortunately been the latest round of criticism towards food couriers with last year seeing accusations of them hogging Bike Share Toronto’s e-bikes prior to the pricing changes and Councillor Dianne Saxe’s motion calling for e-bikes and e-scooters used by couriers to have “unique identifiers”. These incidents of blaming food couriers are unacceptable and must be called out. Instead, we road safety advocates need to work with the couriers and groups like Gig Workers United to come up with some solutions to remedy the situation. Especially since we should be encouraging deliveries by bike over those done by motor vehicles in order to pursue meaningful climate action.

A crowded GO train bike car on February 2, 2024 (via Janice Jim)

Reflecting on Cycle Toronto with Alison Stewart

Since 2008, Cycle Toronto has become Toronto’s main active transportation advocacy group. You may have seen them speaking at a recent press conference about Yonge Street, handing out lights during the October “Get Lit” campaign, hosting “Bike Valet” parking at special events, or organizing group rides such as the “Coldest Day of the Year” Ride happening on Saturday, February 10. I spoke with Alison Stewart – their Director of Advocacy and Public Policy – on Sunday, December 17 to learn more about what the group accomplished over the past year and her perspective on cycling in this city.

Alison at a 2025-27 Bike Plan consultation in November 2023

Let's Talk Bike Share Toronto Pricing

There has been a lot of discussion within Toronto’s cycling community regarding the proposed 2023 Bike Share Toronto pricing which was approved at Friday’s Toronto Parking Authority meeting. Especially regarding the new 24 hour and single ride rates, as well as e-bike surcharges to discourage food couriers from hogging e-bikes. Cycle Toronto called for revisiting the e-bike surcharges and delaying the new pricing to allow for further study, while some users have considered switching to driving in protest of the per minute rates. Let’s take a look at the new rates, how they compare to those for BIXI Montréal, and suggest some improvements ahead of the March 20 Infrastructure & Environment Committee meeting.

Final Bikeway Tally for 2022

It’s hard to believe, but another year has just about come and gone. The City of Toronto’s Pedestrian and Cycling Unit recently tweeted that this year saw approximately 20 kilometres of new bikeways and upgrades to another 20 kilometres. When I crunched the numbers based on some information provided by the City, I determined the final number of new bikeways to be closer to 13 kilometres. A far cry from the 30 kilometres installed in 2020 and 20 kilometres in 2021, but there were some notable additions to highlight.

Danforth at Victoria Park Avenue in July 2022

Your 2022 Toronto Budget Check Up

Get out your calculators, folks! It’s budget time again at Toronto city hall after having released their 2022 tax supported budgets on Thursday, January 13. One budget item which captured considerable media attention is the $25 million increase in the Toronto Police budget to $1.1 billion despite numerous groups and advocates calling to #DefundThePolice during the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement. While I’m sure Torontonians have lots of competing interest for this budget such as housing, transit, childcare, or long-term care, I will focus on the cycling perspective and refer to the Transportation Services budget notes.

Cycling in the 2021 Toronto Budget

On Thursday, January 14, the City of Toronto released their 2021 tax supported capital and operating budgets. With budgets forming the basis of where Toronto’s priorities lie, it’s time to investigate what this budget has in store from a cycling perspective notwithstanding potential shortfalls exceeding $1 billion triggered by COVID-19. For this purpose, I will consult the Transportation Services budget notes.

The 2021 budget presentation can be viewed here

What's Next, Bike Share Toronto?

Back in 2013, Toronto held the “Feeling Congested” consultation series to reduce gridlock and included a recommendation to expand Toronto’s bike share to 5,000 bikes. Earlier this month, this goal has been fulfilled with the newest of the 465 stations being installed in the Junction, Bloor West Village, the Beaches, East York, and Midtown. With this goal achieved, where should Bike Share Toronto go next?