Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-01-15

only in the lightly travelled outlying
zones.
2. The Yonge street subway, a As
mile rapid-tranSit line, partly under
ground, partly in cut, which links the
northern part of the city with the bust
ness and financial district. Total cost
OF the line, which opened March 80,
1854, is estimated to have approached
$50 million.
The subway, streetcar and bus system
Of Toronto is heavily patronized II
carries 800 million revenue riders year
twice as many as in Cleveland and
half again as many as in Washington,
which are cities of comparable size.
The original TIC was created in 1920
and started operating formerly private
properties in the city proper year later.
At the start of 1854, after the Munich
pality of Metropolitan Toronto" was
created to centralize the area govern
ment, the present TIC took over
There are five members of the COM
mission, three from within Toronto City
and two from outlying areas. They are
appointed for staggered flve-year terms
and may be reappointed. Present chair
man is Allan A. Lamport, former Mayor
of Toronto, who receives $4,000 and
currently is seeking raise to $4,000.
The vice chairman gets $4,000 a year
and the three other members receive
$4,000 each.
Monosers Poy Is SCI 900
Operations come under a general
manager, w. E. P. Duncan, whose salary
is not matter Of public record but is
understood to be about $4,000, This
salary would be low in the United States,
but is not out of line as Canadian ex-
ecutive salaries 60.
TIC has a labor contract with the
Amalgamated Union which provides an
operators top rate Of $167 an hour
The contract tends to give operators
somewhat more overtime than their
colleagues get in the States Pay aver
ages about $4,000 a year for about A
working hours a week Washington
operator would receive 81 leo a year on
a 40-hour basis.
Ontario law provides compulsory arbi-
tration of disputes arising during the
life of labor contract, but does not
require arbitration of new contract
terms.
TIC gets only moderate tax relief, but
its tax bill is not high by United States
standards. Total taxes paid amount to
a. C7En for
SIS to So million TIC is receiving in
direct cash subsidy from Metro Coun-
Gil" Chairman Lamport, asked last
week about taxes, said, IF they can
celled all our taxes on gas and oil at II
cents gallon; If they cancelled all our
property taxes and license fees, and If
they cancelled our debt and took over
payment for the subway, we'd have
made million dollars last year"
This year, under those circumstances,
TIC would stand to make 100000.
Though TIC wishes it did not have
to pay for the subway, it is by no means
unhappy with the line. Commissioners
and citizens alike are delighted with
what has been called "the prettiest sub
way this side of Moscow" About IS
per cent of Torontos average daily load
Of million riders travel part or all the
way via subway. TIC is now planning a
12-mile, eaSt-weSt line crossing Yonge
street and paralleling busy Bloor street,
about miles north of Lake Ontario.
BY United States standards, TIC
service Is too good. Last Sunday, when
traffic was negligible, the subway was
running four-car trains on 4-minute
Roadway in the daytime and 5-minute
Roadway at night. In rush hours, six
car trains operate minutes apart and
the delivery of additional cars will make
it possible to run eight-car trains on
2-minute Roadway. On the streets, troll
ley cars run in tWo-car trains at peak
travel times. Toronto has lot of equip
ment, all of it good and most of it new,
and uses 1t all.
This costs money, of course. TICS
answer is that people want service and
don't seem to mind paying for it out of
taxes as long as they don't have to drop
the money in the fare box In fact, Mr..
Lamport said, when Toronto taxpayers
found they were substituting the system,
the riding increased. Apparently the
public felt that if it had to pay for the
system anyway, it might as well get
some good out of it.
Unlike the two American authorities,
TIC does not float its own bonds. Capt.
tai and equipment OUTLAWS are paid for
by metropolitan Toronto bonds, backed
by the faith and credit of the munich
pality These bonds pay about 3.6 per
cent interest.