Car Modern 2011

The GO Transit security team keeps a sharp eye on passengers, including me, on an open section of rail line at Toronto's Union Station.

Commuting in and out of Toronto is always a challenge as the roads are always busy but at rush hour the simple 45 minute drive becomes two and a half hours. Add in the cost of parking and many people end up using public transit. Most public transportation works only within a municipality, although some routes do mingle, so that if you travel through more than one municipality the best bet is GO Transit. Not surprisingly the trains have the same shortcomings as any other method; weather and breakdowns can happen at any time - but sometimes it seems like Friday is the day for breakdowns.
Today, yes a Friday, the Georgetown line had a major problem as the 4:15pm train from Union Station decided to break down in Malton right beside the International Centre. For an hour and a half they worked on the train but could not get it running. Finally another train came and pushed the broken down train to the Bramalea station where we got out of old unfaithful and moved into the working train.

Boinkin on the train! The modern and luxurious GO Transit commuter train comes complete with bathrooms and apparently some of the passengers are getting to know each other quite personally with members joining the "Corridor Club". The practice has been coming up in conversations as people read (and write into) the free evening newspaper t.o.night in their "Shout Outs (email link to submit your own shout out)" column and which includes talk of banana and oreo cookie eating.
The shout outs are usually full of compliments (l laughed so hard, cute, beautiful) and verbal high fives, complaints of other passengers (loudly burping, boring old prude, complete moron, etc) and the occasional request for corridor club action, or boasting of having got some action. Here is a shout out from the October 18, 2010 edition "Looks like BB is looking for more that just initiation into the club, sorry BB I could not wait any longer, I received my initiation last night. Signed, previously Mile high member now Dual Club Membership." For the other side of the coin here is Concerned Observer saying "...there are a lot of weirdos out there, just look at the corridor club".
Now I see bumper stickers pasted over newspaper boxes on the streets of Toronto which state "The Corridor Club .com ....you know who we are". Their online tag is "the place where commuters come together".

Over 1.2 million people are said to commute into and around Toronto and I happen to be one of them. For me the almost two hour ride, each way, on the GO Bus and GO Train is a huge commitment of time to get to work. Like many I enter downtown from Union Station and head up Bay Street towards the Eaton Centre.
The trains and buses disgorge people by the hundreds who grab other forms of public transportation or just walk where they want to go.

I always find it fascinating to see the people as we march in one direction, en masse. Occasionally someone fights through the crowd in the opposite direction - hoping not to get run over. Usually on our city streets there are people going both directions, it never seems a focused movement, that is until rush hour, then with a single minded purpose we are heading north from Union in the morning (pictured) or back south to Union in the afternoon.

Walking is the best part of the commute. During nice weather many people keep above ground, catching a few rays and getting some nice excercise before the start of the work day. If the weather is bad more people stay underground until the last possible minute using Toronto's fabulous PATH system.