Buses, Streetcars, Subways

I love riding buses. There's an amazing show going on every circuit, every trip, for just for the price of a bus ticket. Sadly, many people don't see it, but I do. You just have to know how to look...

As a child growing up in north Toronto, I spent a lot of time by myself. My mom would give me just enough money to head downtown and ride the buses, streetcars and subways - just me and my imagination. I loved experiencing the independence and autonomy, while most of my friends were not allowed to go anywhere alone. My mother always found unique ways to teach my brother and I lessons in life, for which I am grateful for today. I fondly recall those days as I would sit in front of a big window of a bus and watch the world unfold - being utterly fascinated by what I saw. To a twelve year old, the world is a mysterious place full of wonder, excitement and strangeness. In fact, all last year while I was in Taiwan teaching English, I explored the curiosities of Taipei by bus, feeling like a twelve year old all over again, in a strange new foreign world.

I think my love affair with cities started during those Saturday and Sunday afternoons in the mid 70s, on the bus. I was amazed by the pulse of the rushing traffic, the pace and rhythm of people going about their lives, and just the way light & shadow play off each other. It was, and still is, a treat for all my senses.

Of all the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) routes, I think my favourites were, and still are, the Dundas and King streetcar routes. They leave Broadview station on the Danforth line, finishing at Dundas West Station on the Bloor line. They rumble through the heart of Toronto but each show a much different side of my hometown. The Dundas streetcar travels through the more ethnic and blue collar parts of the city, including Chinatown. It's the spicy, working class route showing hard working immigrants and just plain every day folks living their lives. My mother worked in that same district for a many years, taking the same Dundas streetcar to work. The King car, on the other hand, rolls through much different confines. This is where you see the well-to-do theatre crowd and 'the suits' of the financial districts. BTW, both the Skydome, or what they just renamed it to - 'The Rogers Centre' (yuck!) and Air Canada Centre are also located near the financial areas, which make sense to me since it costs an arm and a leg to attend games anyways! The King car also hits many of the spacious loft and studio neighborhoods. It's the posh, ritzy, upscale route, where the creme of the crop come out to play. Both the Dundas and Kings routes show Toronto as a vibrant, diverse and multicultural metropolis. Both are the reason why I love this city so much.

You know I still get a kick out of watching the subway rumble into a station. There such an air of excitement about it. It's even more fun today because the subways have these high beam lights mounted in the front. This past week, I was waiting for a train at St Clair Station on the Yonge line. At first, I'd see this white light bouncing off the shiny walls & rails - then the low rumble starts to build. The whole station starts to shake and builds to a thundering arrival of the train, sparks and all. Is there anything more exciting, I ask? And how can a male not like the subway, I ask further....