[URBAN NOTE] On the Liberty Village shuttle supplementing the TTC

[rfmcdonald]

CBC reports on a crowd-funded effort to provide private bus transit for Liberty Village, to supplement an overcrowded 504 King streetcar.

I do not think this is good. More funding for the booming downtown core is needed, clearly.

Liberty Village residents tired of trying to squeeze their way aboard the jam-packed 504 King streetcar each morning might want to send Taylor Scollon an email. And a cheque for $25.

In a move to alleviate the cattle-car conditions transit riders in the west-end neighbourhood endure almost daily, Scollon has co-founded a service that will attempt to operate — at least on a trial basis — a private, crowd-funded bus service with daily trips into downtown during rush hour from the fast-growing neighbourhood along King Street West.

"We're trying to empower people in communities where maybe they feel under-served by transit," said Scollon who calls the concept Line 6, in an interview with CBC Radio's Metro Morning. "They just don't have the transportation options that they need or want. We're trying to empower those people to build better transit themselves."

Here's how it will work. For a minimum donation of $25, riders are guaranteed five seats on the bus. Scollon's company will charter the bus using a private company. Line 6 has a $2,500 funding goal before they will launch the pilot. So far, they have raised $1,450.

Liberty Village has seen massive growth in recent years as condos have popped up in the area that was once home to factories and other industries. City services, transit in particular, haven't adjusted to keep up with the growing neighbourhood's needs.

"There's a lot of people trying to get to work every morning and the public transit options are just not efficient to handle that capacity," said Scollon. "We see this as an under-served community."