I'd be terrified of wind burn

I was leaving the subway at about a quarter after 1 this morning,trudging home from a curling loss that was less a game than a total annihilation. The temperature with the wind was -23 degrees Celsius. I was frozen solid, wishing I hadn't ventured out at all that evening, and some guy was using the wall as a urinal. Public urination isn't a good idea at the best of times, but considering my cheeks were raw after a minute, I hate to think of what sort of shrinkage and frozen skin he was dealing with. Plus, there's the whole potential for dripping and freezing yourself to your zipper. Now that's something I'd hate to have to explain to the emergency room doctor.

Who says Torontonians aren't friendly?

I mean, I'm a Torontonian born and bred, and I hugged a perfect stranger today.

For true.

He works at the school bookstore. I was there, hoping in vain that I had left my credit card - and by my, I mean, my parents card that I have for emergencies - there when I bought most of my textbooks on Friday, and that I wasn't going to have to get the card cancelled and have my ass chewed out by the 'rents. He asked me some questions, and then went and got the card. When he handed it to me, I started smiling so hard my cheeks hurt, and then I actually hugged him. He was a little taken aback, but I blame that on the rest of the student body and how they never give him bear hugs to say thanks.

Dear TTC,

Really?

No seriously. Really?

Do you actually think that raising fares so that a one way trip costs almost 3 dollars is going to help? Yes, I grant you that you will get a bit more money from each trip, but I think it will backfire. The fares are already too high, and this I think will be the straw that broke the camel's back. People aren't going to take the subway if they can help it. Most of my friends don't take it every day, and if you jack up the price again (something like the third time in three years) they are going to stop altogether. Because frankly? Aside from it being simply galling that you have no shame in charging almost 3 dollars for a one way trip, no matter how short it is, um, how do I put this delicately?

Your service sucks the monkey.

Overcrowding. Unreasonable wait times in between trains. Subway lines built in the middle of nowhere while the populated core has to continue cramming onto one east-west line. Trains being put out of service in the middle of rush hour, dumping hundreds of people out, who then have to wait for up to twenty-five minutes for a train they can squeeze onto. Drivers who slam on the brakes at every stop, sending people flying. The last train leaves well before 2am. No early morning Sunday service. Frequent stoppages in service along the whole line while an issue is dealt with at one station. I could go on, but if I listed all the problems, I'd get carpal tunnel syndrome.

I know you're scandalously underfunded, and that chafes my ass something fierce. In fact, I think the fact that the provincial government pays nothing into your budget is a crime and I'm considering voting for whomever promises to rectify this situation in the upcoming election, but it seems to me that this notion of raising fares again is cutting off your nose to spite your face. Winning the battle but losing the war. Some other cliché that means the same thing. This is not the way to fix things. Please reconsider.