today is boycott the TTC day!

today, as a statement against the proposed TTC fare hike, people are supposed to boycott the TTC.

that means: don't use the TTC yo.

boycotts are an interesting tactic, they've worked sporadically in the past but in reality they need to be well organized and air tight to effect real change.

the problem is that a boycott of the TTC can't be well organized and airtight because it's an essential service. eff and i were discussing the boycott the other day and she nailed it: boycotting the TTC just says that we don't need the service and that we can do without it.

exactly. people use transit every day out of necessity, not for fun. it's not fun to take the subway/bus combo to school, but i have to. it's not fun to pack yourself into a crowded subway car at bloor station to go downtown into businessland, but people have to.

we don't want the fare to go up because we HAVE to use the TTC and therefore we will HAVE to pay the new fare and we can't afford that shit!!

so eff and i propose a different tactic.

there will, inevitably, be a fare hike. we all know how things work in toronto and we can all tell already that the fare hike is on. if there was still any chance with the fare hike they wouldn't have put those creepy token rations into effect.

so, on january 3rd, when the city announces its precious fare hike we should all do something that hasn't been done before to show how pissed off we are:

everyone should jump the turnstiles.

we're not even kidding. you have to use the TTC but you can't afford the fare? well then jump the 'stiles and utilize the service.

if enough people continuously jumped the 'stiles there would be safety in numbers and it would work like a protest. but, rather than just having a protest that is noisy it would effect the TTC where they've proven to be most vulnerable: $$$$$$.

anyone who takes the TTC has already spent like a bgillion dollars more than they should have on public transit, so why not cash in on your free ride?

for people who don't think this is a good idea because you might get "arrested" or "fined"--that can happen regular protesting as well. if no one ever took any radical action because there could be some consequences, nothing would ever change and we'd probably be paying a $10 fare on the TTC by now because our interplanetary reptilian rulers would need the money for the metro system on their home planet.

so we think that from now until january 3rd there should be some serious organizing so that when they announce the fare hike everyone is has on their best pf flyers*, ready to run and jump.



*if you haven't seen the sandlot recently, you should probably re-watch it.