• ⇤
• ⇽
• ≡
• ⇾
• ⇥

TTC transit passes from the late '90s

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

These are monthly transit passes issued by the TTC in the late '90s. They all have the letters MMW written on them because in those days the TTC was fighting the sharing of their passes between users. The first letter, "M" indicated my gender. And yes, kids, it was strictly binary in those days. The last two letters are for my initials. In those days you had to carry around some form of identity when you used a monthly pass. I vaguely recall there being a photo ID card issued by the TTC itself, but I don't recall possessing one.

Nowadays of course, the TTC actively supports the sharing of their transit cards, which are now virtual - being paid on your permanent Metrolinx card rather than a new physical card issued monthly. Also, I can't imagine any arm of the city government daring to constrain people to a binary gender system in 2020.

Sadly, the TTC is currently ramping up its class war I mean war on people riding without paying. They have an army of cops patrolling for people with no proof of payment. The fines are in excess of $200 - vastly more than a fine for leaving a car on a sidewalk, by comparison.

So some things have improved but overall the attitude remains one of clumsy over-policing.