Listening T.O. History

7 - Getting Around Toronto, Part 1: When Public Transit was Private

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This episode is the first of a two-part series on the history of the TTC, and particularly streetcars, in Toronto! In these two episodes, we get into how Toronto's streetcar system came to be, why it moved from private business to a municipal agency, why the city kept using streetcars when other cities got rid of them, and how streetcars have shaped the development of the city. We also get into the history of streetcars from various perspectives—those of riders, workers, and owners.

The early period of public transit in Toronto, the focus of this first episode, is a surprising tale of conflicts between gilded-age industrialists clashing with city hall, their workers, and the public more generally—a tale of the conflict between private profit and public good.

For those interested in learning more, here are some further resources we used in putting together these episodes:

  • Brian Doucet and Michael Doucet, Streetcars and the Shifting Geographies of Toronto: A Visual Analysis of Change (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2022)
  • Michael J. Doucet, “Mass Transit and the Failure of Private Ownership: The Case of Toronto in the Early Twentieth Century” Urban History Review 6, no. 3-77 (February 1978), 3–33
  • Donald Davis, “Mass Transit and Private Ownership: An alternative Perspective on the Case of Toronto” Urban History Review 7, no. 3 (February 1979), 60–98
  • Christopher Armstrong and H.V. Nelles, The Revenge of the Methodist Bicycle Company: Sunday Streetcars and Municipal Reform in Toronto (Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 1977)
  • Howard Levine, ”Streetcars for Toronto Committee: A Case Study of Citizen Advocacy in Transit Planning and Operations” Transportation Research Board Special Report, Issue 221, 1989, 190–198
  • Jay Young, “Search for a Better Way: Subway Life and Metropolitan Growth in Toronto, 1942–78” (PhD diss., York University, 2012)
  • Jonathan English, “The Better Way: Transit Service and Demand in Metropolitan Toronto, 1953–1990” (PhD diss., Columbia University, 2021)
  • Steve Munro’s Transit blog: https://stevemunro.ca
  • Sean Marshall’s transit blog: https://seanmarshall.ca/blog/

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    Listening T.O. History is created and hosted by Steve Penfold and Louis Reed-Wood. Our artwork was made by Nethkaria, our intro music was recorded by the National Promenade Band, and our outro music was created by Holizna. Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/listeningt.o.history) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/people/Listening-TO-History/61553456499160/) for additional content and announcements, and get in touch at listeningTOhistory[at]gmail.com!

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    Listening T.O. HistoryBy Steve Penfold and Louis Reed-Wood