The morning of the second school day. All parents were again waiting at the north side of the street, as we were originally instructed.
All of a sudden, a bus arrived on the other side of the road again. It was the same driver as yesterday. I signed to her that she is not our bus, but she kept waving us over. Another parent finally went over to her and after brief conversation came back and said that this time the bus has the sign up and it's the correct route. It really was the correct route number posted on the bus. So, how could this have been the “wrong” bus yesterday? So, reluctantly, we put the kids on.
I asked the driver how come yesterday she was the “wrong” bus, and today she is the “correct” bus, referring to the bus numbers given to us by the school. She answered that the numbers given to us by the school have nothing to do with the route numbers and that she does not even know which school-issued number she is. Ok, so I asked how come she was the wrong “route” yesterday and today she is the correct route? She only answered that today she is route #XYZ that our kids should be on.
While this was going on, an enormous traffic pile-up was building on this busy, main street, increasing the risk that someone will drive through and injure our children.
Thankfully the school called, again, very apologetic. I talked to the principal who unequivocaly assured me that my child will without a doubt be put on the correct bus on the way back.
I made it clear that having the bus come on the wrong side of the street is unacceptable.
I also stressed that I was terrified not knowing where my child was for an hour and that for these problems to still not be sorted out two bus runs later is really a huge organization failure.
Sigh of a relief. Afternoon should be fine.
Well, afternoon came around and our child was nowhere. Fighting back that panic feeling one gets when they lose the knowledge of the whereabouts of a small child, knowing the probable cause, we again went an to making phone calls to the school. Other parents waiting at the stop were also understandably very, very upset by this time.
Turns out that our child was about to be put on the "correct" bus, but the bus driver refused to take the children who shared in this ordeal. She even radioed the dispatch that said that these children are not on the list (according to her). I know that at least our child definitely is on that route, since I had to get her entered manually and I repeated all the information back to the administrator twice, just to make sure.
So, she was put on the wrong bus yet again and arrived more than half hour late.
Now this experience is beginning to traumatize my child and I am sure that the other children are not taking it lightly as well. To my great surprise, I received an apology form my child and when I asked what it is for, I was told that it was an apology for blaming me for all these mishaps with the bus and that, even though I didn't know it, my child was initially very angry at me. Then I was told that my child no longer wishes to go to the school, because of fear of being misplaced and lost by the bus service and fear of not seeing parents again. Way to start the school year.
I share the same sentiment, I don't feel that my child is safe with a bus driver that cannot figure out her routes or with a company that fails to figure out theirs or hires drivers unable to fulfill the requirements of their job. I would have expected for the driver to learn her route long before she even drives a school bus through it. She could end-up in a dangerous situation by not knowing her route and having the added distraction of a full bus of children. Also, labeling the buses with two sets of numbers, one by the school and another by a route number, without any reference given to the parents and without any of these numbers being displayed on the bus, was an incredibly bad judgment call, as was not paying attention to the route numbers attached to a child's backpack, which we filled out as instructed.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
First day adventures
So, as I mentioned in a previous post, the bus information that was supposed to be available on August 25th was still nowhere to be found on the 29th. After calling the bus company, I finally had our child entered into the system.
Despite calling several times, the staff at the YMCA-run after-school would not let me speak to anyone else aside from the designated person, because this person WILL get back to me within 24 hours. The day of school and many phone calls and messages later, we still have no after-care. No one ever called back.
Morning of the first school-day. Parents are waiting at the bus stop with, as it happens, all first-graders. About 10 min after the designated time and a bus passes us by. Then another one stops in the opposite direction, on the other side of the road. The traffic is piling up, since no one is supposed to pass a stopped school bus. Finally, a couple recognize the bus driver from last year, their child went to the school for kindergarten. The bus driver tells us that she is from our school and that she confused her route and is going in the wrong direction. So, turns out, it really is the bus our children are supposed to take. Thankfully, all children had their parents there, otherwise they would either be left behind, being confused as to what bus this is, or would have to cross a busy street, with cars just barely fighting the nerves at this point not to drive through, as the confusion is being sorted out. It took a few more minutes as parents somewhat reluctantly load their children into this unlabeled bus Being a little hesitant, I went to the school to wait for their arrival.
It took at least another half hour before they arrived, about fifteen minutes after the last of the other buses of arrived. I think the driver was lost. At first I was satisfied with the way things were handled, One of the staff boarded boarded the bus and gave the children stickers as to which bus they will be taking home. The problem was, these numbers had nothing to do with the actual route numbers given to the parents, who were told to write them on the tags and attach these to their backpacks. I think you can see where this is going.
Anyway, in the mean time, the children came off the bus and were told to go around to the back of the school. All by themselves. I was happy I was there to escort my child, especially when I saw the back of the school, which is a soccer field, full of children and adults, trying to sort out where their children belong. The teachers were holding up small signs with their name, which didn't help, as we were not told who the teacher will be. To my surprise, there was no organized way of catching the children as they enter and escorting them to their group. It looked like a mayhem. I'm really not sure how a lone first-grader would find their teacher, with all the towering adults, blocking any possible chance of seeing a sign with a name, even if the first-grader knew who the teacher was and could read the sign. Perhaps they mopped-up the last few lost souls when the crowd dispersed?
I was able to catch one person with a list who, eventually, after wondering if we are registered at all, did find my child's name and sent us in the right direction. Once in the group, I was satisfied that my kid had a fighting chance making it to the classroom and I left.
What else could possibly go wrong? After all, I called the school to make sure that there would be no more hiccups with the bus and they assured me that our child will get onto the correct bus. So, everything should go smoothly now, right?
End of the day. We were waiting for 35 minutes for the school bus, then we started making phone calls. I called the school inquiring about my child. Finally, another 10 tense minutes and a bus approached, we were relieved, our child was there. Finally the school called back, we were told that our child was on the wrong bus, among a couple of others, and that they are being taken back to school. They were surprised when we told them that we have our child already.
Turns out that the bus in the morning wasn't our bus after all, although it went to the right school. Because it wasn't labeled, we didn't realize that there are two routes on that street for the same school and neither did the bus driver. The fact that she said that she confused her route and that she is going in the wrong direction assured us that this is the correct bus. So, by getting on the wrong bus, getting the wrong sticker on arrival and the bus numbers having no connection to the sticker numbers indicating which bus the kids should board on their way home, therefore making the school bag tags useless, our kid and the others who boarded the same bus in the morning, got sent home on the wrong bus, arriving about 40 min later than they should.
I sure hope for a smoother ride to morrow!
Despite calling several times, the staff at the YMCA-run after-school would not let me speak to anyone else aside from the designated person, because this person WILL get back to me within 24 hours. The day of school and many phone calls and messages later, we still have no after-care. No one ever called back.
Morning of the first school-day. Parents are waiting at the bus stop with, as it happens, all first-graders. About 10 min after the designated time and a bus passes us by. Then another one stops in the opposite direction, on the other side of the road. The traffic is piling up, since no one is supposed to pass a stopped school bus. Finally, a couple recognize the bus driver from last year, their child went to the school for kindergarten. The bus driver tells us that she is from our school and that she confused her route and is going in the wrong direction. So, turns out, it really is the bus our children are supposed to take. Thankfully, all children had their parents there, otherwise they would either be left behind, being confused as to what bus this is, or would have to cross a busy street, with cars just barely fighting the nerves at this point not to drive through, as the confusion is being sorted out. It took a few more minutes as parents somewhat reluctantly load their children into this unlabeled bus Being a little hesitant, I went to the school to wait for their arrival.
It took at least another half hour before they arrived, about fifteen minutes after the last of the other buses of arrived. I think the driver was lost. At first I was satisfied with the way things were handled, One of the staff boarded boarded the bus and gave the children stickers as to which bus they will be taking home. The problem was, these numbers had nothing to do with the actual route numbers given to the parents, who were told to write them on the tags and attach these to their backpacks. I think you can see where this is going.
Anyway, in the mean time, the children came off the bus and were told to go around to the back of the school. All by themselves. I was happy I was there to escort my child, especially when I saw the back of the school, which is a soccer field, full of children and adults, trying to sort out where their children belong. The teachers were holding up small signs with their name, which didn't help, as we were not told who the teacher will be. To my surprise, there was no organized way of catching the children as they enter and escorting them to their group. It looked like a mayhem. I'm really not sure how a lone first-grader would find their teacher, with all the towering adults, blocking any possible chance of seeing a sign with a name, even if the first-grader knew who the teacher was and could read the sign. Perhaps they mopped-up the last few lost souls when the crowd dispersed?
I was able to catch one person with a list who, eventually, after wondering if we are registered at all, did find my child's name and sent us in the right direction. Once in the group, I was satisfied that my kid had a fighting chance making it to the classroom and I left.
What else could possibly go wrong? After all, I called the school to make sure that there would be no more hiccups with the bus and they assured me that our child will get onto the correct bus. So, everything should go smoothly now, right?
End of the day. We were waiting for 35 minutes for the school bus, then we started making phone calls. I called the school inquiring about my child. Finally, another 10 tense minutes and a bus approached, we were relieved, our child was there. Finally the school called back, we were told that our child was on the wrong bus, among a couple of others, and that they are being taken back to school. They were surprised when we told them that we have our child already.
Turns out that the bus in the morning wasn't our bus after all, although it went to the right school. Because it wasn't labeled, we didn't realize that there are two routes on that street for the same school and neither did the bus driver. The fact that she said that she confused her route and that she is going in the wrong direction assured us that this is the correct bus. So, by getting on the wrong bus, getting the wrong sticker on arrival and the bus numbers having no connection to the sticker numbers indicating which bus the kids should board on their way home, therefore making the school bag tags useless, our kid and the others who boarded the same bus in the morning, got sent home on the wrong bus, arriving about 40 min later than they should.
I sure hope for a smoother ride to morrow!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Toronto, the city that decided to cut itself off from the rest of the world?
There seems to no longer be a way to get into Toronto. Between 9am an 9:30 we made it from the suburbs to the level of Lakeshore exit off the QEW/Gardiner highway. Then the traffic stops and one is allowed to progress at 10km/hr at the most, so staying on Gardiner is not an option. Everyone is trapped from that point until the Spadina exit, sitting in their cars, barely moving at all, for about 45 minutes. Lakeshore is one option, but since everyone has learned their lesson on Gardiner, this route too is averaging 10-20km/hr and today a construction has added more hassle and further reduced progress, cutting 3 lanes to 1. Are we really reduced to 1 lane from the three on Gardiner, now unusable, and three on Lakeshore? This is the only major route from the entire west suburbs.
Leaving even earlier form the highway, one could take Parkside, but that is only one small exit and the traffic is often at standstill. Then one has to make a very slow progress through the city, not much of an option either. The only other major route is the north end of the city, on 401, far out of the way and no less packed with cars. It seems that the city has decided to cut itself off the rest of the world, making it just impossible to commute in. Perhaps this is the only way to force people to live within its confines. (For an explanation on why I don’t take the public transit, see earlier post on the topic.) Personally, I would far prefer to work and live in the suburbs, so if I would have to choose to work in Toronto or in the suburbs, there would be no contest. I am just waiting for a chance to stop working downtown.
Since the exodus from the city, the suburbs became nothing like the old stereotype. We have far more entertainment and shopping options than anyone in Toronto, yet ironically, entertainment access is still the biggest argument of Torontonians for why some of them still stay in the city. If I want to get to the movies, I can pick from 3 to 5 theatres in the nearest area and many more fairly close by, all with convenient parking and a slew of restaurants and other entertainment, such as laser quest or mini golf, etc., etc. In Toronto, we actually gave up on going out at the thought of having to park or use TTC, which stops running at 1 am anyway. Not to mention that it is so much safer in the suburbs (another point on which Torontonians are somewhat deceiving themselves. The level of dissociation became from “not in my neighborhood” to “not on my block” to not reading the stats, which in any case became hard to come by these days. Not knowing has become the new option.). In the suburbs, I have so many restaurants to choose from. We have at least three a walking distance away, including a pub. Not to mention services such as a hair dresser, a store, a coffee shop, three different ethnic European bakeries and cafes, etc. The design and accessibility to services has greatly improved since the early subdivision designs. I find the selection of theatres and art centers comparable, if not better, and much more accessible.
Another benefit of being in the suburbs is that there is far less concrete, so we don’t face the heat that the concrete absorbs and then gives off, making Toronto an oven. I also don’t miss the inescapable noise, something one gets used to and blocks out while living in the city and only realizes its presence coming to the city from the suburbs in the morning. I suppose Toronto is bearable for the single person that can bike around, but once children come and car becomes a necessity (I can’t imagine taking a sick child to the doctor on a bike in the winter, or grocery shopping for the family, with kids in tow, on a bike), living in Toronto gets progressively less enjoyable and less feasible. Not something I would have said fifteen years ago, but so much has changed since then. Not necessarily the fact that I am no longer a young university kid, but the way that the livability of the city has changed. Except for one of my married friends, who has no children, all have moved out of the city.
Leaving even earlier form the highway, one could take Parkside, but that is only one small exit and the traffic is often at standstill. Then one has to make a very slow progress through the city, not much of an option either. The only other major route is the north end of the city, on 401, far out of the way and no less packed with cars. It seems that the city has decided to cut itself off the rest of the world, making it just impossible to commute in. Perhaps this is the only way to force people to live within its confines. (For an explanation on why I don’t take the public transit, see earlier post on the topic.) Personally, I would far prefer to work and live in the suburbs, so if I would have to choose to work in Toronto or in the suburbs, there would be no contest. I am just waiting for a chance to stop working downtown.
Since the exodus from the city, the suburbs became nothing like the old stereotype. We have far more entertainment and shopping options than anyone in Toronto, yet ironically, entertainment access is still the biggest argument of Torontonians for why some of them still stay in the city. If I want to get to the movies, I can pick from 3 to 5 theatres in the nearest area and many more fairly close by, all with convenient parking and a slew of restaurants and other entertainment, such as laser quest or mini golf, etc., etc. In Toronto, we actually gave up on going out at the thought of having to park or use TTC, which stops running at 1 am anyway. Not to mention that it is so much safer in the suburbs (another point on which Torontonians are somewhat deceiving themselves. The level of dissociation became from “not in my neighborhood” to “not on my block” to not reading the stats, which in any case became hard to come by these days. Not knowing has become the new option.). In the suburbs, I have so many restaurants to choose from. We have at least three a walking distance away, including a pub. Not to mention services such as a hair dresser, a store, a coffee shop, three different ethnic European bakeries and cafes, etc. The design and accessibility to services has greatly improved since the early subdivision designs. I find the selection of theatres and art centers comparable, if not better, and much more accessible.
Another benefit of being in the suburbs is that there is far less concrete, so we don’t face the heat that the concrete absorbs and then gives off, making Toronto an oven. I also don’t miss the inescapable noise, something one gets used to and blocks out while living in the city and only realizes its presence coming to the city from the suburbs in the morning. I suppose Toronto is bearable for the single person that can bike around, but once children come and car becomes a necessity (I can’t imagine taking a sick child to the doctor on a bike in the winter, or grocery shopping for the family, with kids in tow, on a bike), living in Toronto gets progressively less enjoyable and less feasible. Not something I would have said fifteen years ago, but so much has changed since then. Not necessarily the fact that I am no longer a young university kid, but the way that the livability of the city has changed. Except for one of my married friends, who has no children, all have moved out of the city.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Working at an academic institution in Canada.
I can't do much better than this article, so here is a link to "Taxing times for Canadian postdocs : Nature News".
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Daycare and schools
Daycare
When I went to look for daycare in Toronto, I was often told that the waiting list is about 2 years long (for an 18 month old to get in). So, I would recommend registering at a number of daycares before having a child, in some cases I was told that people register when they first start trying to get pregnant.
When I looked for daycares in the suburbs west of Toronto, I called about 18-20. I am still receiving phone calls from daycares, not even that I would be at the top of the list, but that they are checking who is still actively on the list. From the 18-20 daycares in my area that I called, I was very lucky and a spot suddenly freed-up in about 2 months, I happened to be available when they called and take the spot right away. I did not receive another phone call that there is actually a spot available at one of the daycares until about six months later and none since. The other option is home care and placements are more readily available there, but one has to trust the care giver that she will not run her errands and clean her house while taking care of your child. We did try this option while waiting for a daycare spot and did like the care giver, as did our child, but were concerned that all day is spent with much younger children and that our child may need interaction with someone her age and age-appropriate learning experience.
On the other hand, the current daycare center my child attends seems very stressful for the children. Often the little toddlers are in the hallway, all crying, while being rounded-up by an overwhelmed worker, to go to the yard. This stresses the older kids coming in, who then go from happy to distressed, crying and not wanting to separate from the parents. It seems disorganized and I am not particularly happy with the daycare, but given the shortage of daycare spaces, what choice does one have. At least in the suburbs the daycare playgrounds are not at a busy intersection. It made mi cringe every time I though of my child playing during the day steps from cars on two sides of the daycare play yard. There should be a law setting a minimum distance of a playground from a busy road. During traffic, i.e. most of the day in Toronto, the streets were full of bumper to bumper traffic. And this was supposed to be one of the "better" daycares in Toronto. It was actually about a third more expensive than most daycares, with special attention to languages and education, which was fine, but we chose it only because we couldn't find a space anywhere else (ok, we did find one, but the yard was pure concrete and there were graffiti on the wall).
Costs: in suburbs daycare costs about $41-$45 per day. I never got a call from the $41/day, I assume those spots are extremely hard to come by. In Toronto it used to be about $55/day or more, but lately I am being told that the prices are more in the range of $60-$75/day. Not sure how accurate that is.
Grade School options – Public or private
Private:
Private costs about $1,100 per month plus after-school care, which totals about $1,700. From my experience with the private system, there is a wide range in the quality of education these schools provide. I find it difficult to rate them, since the information obtained in an interview is of little use. Best is to look around, if most pre-teens wear their skirts extremely short, one can make a judgement about the focus of the students and of the school. Did they participate in science competitions? The odd student doesn't count (credit parents in that case), good portion of a science class should be involved. The education is not "easier", as suggested by some public school proponents, by no means. For the most part the children do extremely well on the provincial tests, mainly because they do get more attention and better resources. Retrospective look at individuals I know who have gone through the public vs. the private system, the private system alumni seem to have done very well in life and not necessarily because their parents are well off. There is usually much more involvement by the staff in training the children to be responsible, goal-oriented individuals and to complete their work, which are important skills in life. The schools themselves were usually well organized.
The other option is catholic or public, which are pretty much the same thing, except for the religious component. We chose public due to finances and we will wait and see what our experience with the public system will be.
Public:
Registration went smoothly enough. The only drawback is that you fall within a catchment area of a school and that is your only choice, regardless of the quality of education within that school.
The bus information was supposed to be available on August 25th, but the bus website, which was supposed to list the bus routes was still blank on the 26th. The lists which were supposed to be posted at the school, of course, were not there when I passed by the next morning. The school office informed me that they “aim” for the date, but things often don’t happen until much later.
After-school care. That is still an open issue, a week before the school starts and the person responsible is "on training" until two days before the first day of school, so I will have to wait an see if anyone gets back to me at some point. If you wonder why I still don't have after-school, it took since about March to sort out where our child will go. From my previous experience, the after-care is usually full and parents aren’t given any other option but to either hire someone or to work part-time in order to be home early when the child is dropped off. The school ends at 3:45pm. In Toronto, a friend of mine had her daughter attend a school far from their house just because no school in their area had after-care spaces (how she got her daughter into a school not in their catchment area, I don’t know). It took from junior kindergarten until Grade 2 before she reached the top of the list (3 years) and even then she only got in partly due to luck. Another friend waited from senior kindergarten until Grade 4, having to hire a High School student to watch her daughter.
When I went to look for daycare in Toronto, I was often told that the waiting list is about 2 years long (for an 18 month old to get in). So, I would recommend registering at a number of daycares before having a child, in some cases I was told that people register when they first start trying to get pregnant.
When I looked for daycares in the suburbs west of Toronto, I called about 18-20. I am still receiving phone calls from daycares, not even that I would be at the top of the list, but that they are checking who is still actively on the list. From the 18-20 daycares in my area that I called, I was very lucky and a spot suddenly freed-up in about 2 months, I happened to be available when they called and take the spot right away. I did not receive another phone call that there is actually a spot available at one of the daycares until about six months later and none since. The other option is home care and placements are more readily available there, but one has to trust the care giver that she will not run her errands and clean her house while taking care of your child. We did try this option while waiting for a daycare spot and did like the care giver, as did our child, but were concerned that all day is spent with much younger children and that our child may need interaction with someone her age and age-appropriate learning experience.
On the other hand, the current daycare center my child attends seems very stressful for the children. Often the little toddlers are in the hallway, all crying, while being rounded-up by an overwhelmed worker, to go to the yard. This stresses the older kids coming in, who then go from happy to distressed, crying and not wanting to separate from the parents. It seems disorganized and I am not particularly happy with the daycare, but given the shortage of daycare spaces, what choice does one have. At least in the suburbs the daycare playgrounds are not at a busy intersection. It made mi cringe every time I though of my child playing during the day steps from cars on two sides of the daycare play yard. There should be a law setting a minimum distance of a playground from a busy road. During traffic, i.e. most of the day in Toronto, the streets were full of bumper to bumper traffic. And this was supposed to be one of the "better" daycares in Toronto. It was actually about a third more expensive than most daycares, with special attention to languages and education, which was fine, but we chose it only because we couldn't find a space anywhere else (ok, we did find one, but the yard was pure concrete and there were graffiti on the wall).
Costs: in suburbs daycare costs about $41-$45 per day. I never got a call from the $41/day, I assume those spots are extremely hard to come by. In Toronto it used to be about $55/day or more, but lately I am being told that the prices are more in the range of $60-$75/day. Not sure how accurate that is.
Grade School options – Public or private
Private:
Private costs about $1,100 per month plus after-school care, which totals about $1,700. From my experience with the private system, there is a wide range in the quality of education these schools provide. I find it difficult to rate them, since the information obtained in an interview is of little use. Best is to look around, if most pre-teens wear their skirts extremely short, one can make a judgement about the focus of the students and of the school. Did they participate in science competitions? The odd student doesn't count (credit parents in that case), good portion of a science class should be involved. The education is not "easier", as suggested by some public school proponents, by no means. For the most part the children do extremely well on the provincial tests, mainly because they do get more attention and better resources. Retrospective look at individuals I know who have gone through the public vs. the private system, the private system alumni seem to have done very well in life and not necessarily because their parents are well off. There is usually much more involvement by the staff in training the children to be responsible, goal-oriented individuals and to complete their work, which are important skills in life. The schools themselves were usually well organized.
The other option is catholic or public, which are pretty much the same thing, except for the religious component. We chose public due to finances and we will wait and see what our experience with the public system will be.
Public:
Registration went smoothly enough. The only drawback is that you fall within a catchment area of a school and that is your only choice, regardless of the quality of education within that school.
The bus information was supposed to be available on August 25th, but the bus website, which was supposed to list the bus routes was still blank on the 26th. The lists which were supposed to be posted at the school, of course, were not there when I passed by the next morning. The school office informed me that they “aim” for the date, but things often don’t happen until much later.
After-school care. That is still an open issue, a week before the school starts and the person responsible is "on training" until two days before the first day of school, so I will have to wait an see if anyone gets back to me at some point. If you wonder why I still don't have after-school, it took since about March to sort out where our child will go. From my previous experience, the after-care is usually full and parents aren’t given any other option but to either hire someone or to work part-time in order to be home early when the child is dropped off. The school ends at 3:45pm. In Toronto, a friend of mine had her daughter attend a school far from their house just because no school in their area had after-care spaces (how she got her daughter into a school not in their catchment area, I don’t know). It took from junior kindergarten until Grade 2 before she reached the top of the list (3 years) and even then she only got in partly due to luck. Another friend waited from senior kindergarten until Grade 4, having to hire a High School student to watch her daughter.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Commuting
Because I use the highway, my drive to downtown was extended only by about 30 min when we moved to the suburbs. When we lived in the city, making my way around by car was a slow and tedious process, the 6 km I had to drive through the downtown core took at least 30 min to 45 min. Even now, most of the time spent on my commute to Toronto is within the city border. The first 25 km to highway 427 intersection with QEW often takes only 30 minutes in the morning, but form there to the center of the city (20 km) the traffic jams and no matter which route one takes, it usually takes about an hour.
The downside of moving out really is the commuting. There are only two choices, either to drive or take the commuter train, the GO train and then transfer to the subway. Over the past month, driving the 45 km distance took me on average 1hr 20 min-1hr 30 min. (In a rare instance of no traffic, perhaps between 1am to 4am, the trip takes about 35-40 min). Very tiring, frustrating and unpredictable, especially when one has to pick up children from school. Often, about once a week, it took me up to 2 hours to get home. The major problem is getting through Toronto. Within Toronto the highway, as well as the streets, are standing still. It can take up to an hour to get onto the highway from University Ave and Bloor (2.5 km – yes, really, that is not a typo), or Spadina and Bloor, while it takes only 30 min from just past the city limits (at Highway 427) to the west end of Oakville (25 km). There really are only two major on-ramps (third is closed during rush hour), at University and at Spadina, so all the commuter traffic from the city core empties onto these.
Commuting by transit: the GO Train and TTC (subway/streetcar) combination. I found this option to be very expensive. An adult 10-ride ticket is $67.00 (i.e. 1 work week worth of passes); adult monthly pass is $239.00. Subway is $2.50 per ride (if tokens bought in bulk) or $121 for a monthly pass. So, the range is ($67 x 4.33 = wks/month = 290.33 in GO passes + $25 in TTC /wk which comes to $108.33 in TTC/m = total $398.66, or if passes are bought, $360). So, about $18.40 to $16.61 in just transit expenses per day!
Then you have to consider the total lack of parking at the GO Train, but this is being finally remedied and the western-most stations are getting extended parking lots. Any time after 8 am you will have to count on walking at least 5minutes to the station from the very end of the lot, that is if you are lucky to park to begin with. I often spent 20 minutes looking in the furthest outreaches of the dirt-road parking lots subcontracted by the GO Transit, only to have to drive in anyway and spend $20 on a day parking permit. Also, one has to keep in mind the now notorious unreliability of the system. I stopped counting the number of times we were stopped on tracks for an hour or more, outside of a station, not being able to exit, and everyone who had children to pick up was making emergency phone calls to any relative they could get hold of.
Door–to-door, driving is probably faster. To use the train, I would leave 35 min before the train arrived to drive the 5 min distance to the station, which in morning rush of commuters to the lots takes 15 min, and take 10-15 minutes to park and 5 minutes to run to the station. The train ride is about 40-45 min, depending on a station. Then transferring to the subway, it takes another 25-30 min to the level of Bloor St. In total, driving takes up to 1.5 hours; public transit about 1hr and 40-50 min, with not much buffer zone for extra slow parking or an extra dense traffic to the station, so it's more stressful. Also, I had to walk a number of times from the Union station because of subway closures, which are not infrequent. The system was built in the 50’s, I believe, but not much has been done since. Even the stations pass as 1970's decor at the most. Leaving or going to Union station, the trains must make a slight turn and the noise of the wheels is unbearable, undoubtedly above any safe noise limits. The last I heard is that it would be too expensive to upgrade the trains.
To compare the costs, driving costs about $40 on gas per week and $100-$120 in monthly parking, so about $273-$293 per month, saving me around $100, especially if you share a ride (not counting car depreciation). I also find that it is much more flexible, since outside of the narrow window of commuter rush hour, one has to wait an hour between trains, which is extremely inconvenient and seriously extends ones commuting time. My car is also much more reliable then the trains, and warm in winter, compared to the -20oC on unheated platforms.
The downside of moving out really is the commuting. There are only two choices, either to drive or take the commuter train, the GO train and then transfer to the subway. Over the past month, driving the 45 km distance took me on average 1hr 20 min-1hr 30 min. (In a rare instance of no traffic, perhaps between 1am to 4am, the trip takes about 35-40 min). Very tiring, frustrating and unpredictable, especially when one has to pick up children from school. Often, about once a week, it took me up to 2 hours to get home. The major problem is getting through Toronto. Within Toronto the highway, as well as the streets, are standing still. It can take up to an hour to get onto the highway from University Ave and Bloor (2.5 km – yes, really, that is not a typo), or Spadina and Bloor, while it takes only 30 min from just past the city limits (at Highway 427) to the west end of Oakville (25 km). There really are only two major on-ramps (third is closed during rush hour), at University and at Spadina, so all the commuter traffic from the city core empties onto these.
Commuting by transit: the GO Train and TTC (subway/streetcar) combination. I found this option to be very expensive. An adult 10-ride ticket is $67.00 (i.e. 1 work week worth of passes); adult monthly pass is $239.00. Subway is $2.50 per ride (if tokens bought in bulk) or $121 for a monthly pass. So, the range is ($67 x 4.33 = wks/month = 290.33 in GO passes + $25 in TTC /wk which comes to $108.33 in TTC/m = total $398.66, or if passes are bought, $360). So, about $18.40 to $16.61 in just transit expenses per day!
Then you have to consider the total lack of parking at the GO Train, but this is being finally remedied and the western-most stations are getting extended parking lots. Any time after 8 am you will have to count on walking at least 5minutes to the station from the very end of the lot, that is if you are lucky to park to begin with. I often spent 20 minutes looking in the furthest outreaches of the dirt-road parking lots subcontracted by the GO Transit, only to have to drive in anyway and spend $20 on a day parking permit. Also, one has to keep in mind the now notorious unreliability of the system. I stopped counting the number of times we were stopped on tracks for an hour or more, outside of a station, not being able to exit, and everyone who had children to pick up was making emergency phone calls to any relative they could get hold of.
Door–to-door, driving is probably faster. To use the train, I would leave 35 min before the train arrived to drive the 5 min distance to the station, which in morning rush of commuters to the lots takes 15 min, and take 10-15 minutes to park and 5 minutes to run to the station. The train ride is about 40-45 min, depending on a station. Then transferring to the subway, it takes another 25-30 min to the level of Bloor St. In total, driving takes up to 1.5 hours; public transit about 1hr and 40-50 min, with not much buffer zone for extra slow parking or an extra dense traffic to the station, so it's more stressful. Also, I had to walk a number of times from the Union station because of subway closures, which are not infrequent. The system was built in the 50’s, I believe, but not much has been done since. Even the stations pass as 1970's decor at the most. Leaving or going to Union station, the trains must make a slight turn and the noise of the wheels is unbearable, undoubtedly above any safe noise limits. The last I heard is that it would be too expensive to upgrade the trains.
To compare the costs, driving costs about $40 on gas per week and $100-$120 in monthly parking, so about $273-$293 per month, saving me around $100, especially if you share a ride (not counting car depreciation). I also find that it is much more flexible, since outside of the narrow window of commuter rush hour, one has to wait an hour between trains, which is extremely inconvenient and seriously extends ones commuting time. My car is also much more reliable then the trains, and warm in winter, compared to the -20oC on unheated platforms.
Out to the suburbs
Two years ago we moved out of Toronto and I gained a little bit of perspective on the living conditions in the city. This is my comparison of living in the city to living in the suburbs of Toronto.
Our decision to move out of Toronto was solidified when the mayor of Toronto announced a 3% land transfer tax. That and the fact that our daughter had difficulty breathing at age three, which seemed to occur when we were in the city. In some way, this was no surprise when one notes the smog cover visible on approach to the city from weekend trips. Not to mention having to pay for parking on our own front-yard parking space.
We were able to escape the dreaded tax just in the nick of time and our daughter's breathing problems disappeared within a couple of weeks.
Coming back into the city on daily basis for work, I can see the thick brown cover that Torontonians can's see above them. It makes me want to turn back and stay away. Thankfully, once you are in the city, at least there is no visual reminder. Deceiving, but at least somewhat less unnerving than having to look at it while there. It is very characteristic of Torontonians to be in a total denial and take their morning “health” run on the trails by the lake, right beside the 6 lanes of traffic standing there on Lakeshore Blvd. in the morning rush hour, right beside the QEW, which supplies another 6 lines of bumper-to bumper traffic.
I suppose when I lived there I didn't miss what I did not have. We are in a new suburb, quite far from Toronto (Oakville is 45 km away from the centre of the city). It has plenty of interconnecting parks for running, walking and strolling with the kids, with frequent playground areas. Most of the schools are new, modern and bright. For the same price as the house in Toronto, we bought a house three times the size and gained a large backyard. In Toronto we did not have anything that could be classified as a yard. It was possible to perhaps have a house with a yard, but not in an area I would considered safe and still under 10 km from the city core where I work.
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