UTTRI associated faculty Professor Matti Siemiatycki, Interim Director of the School of Cities, was a panelist on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin episode “Rethinking transportation after COVID-19” June 9, 2020.
Also joining the discussion were U of T alumni Professor Murtaza Haider of Ryerson University and Professor Sherena Hussain of York University.
Host Steve Paikin opened by saying:
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put out guidance, saying things such as, in the re-opening, people should avoid mass transit, employers should incentivize commuting via single occupancy vehicles – essentially the opposite of what everybody has been telling us to do for the last several decades. After some outcry, they agreed to include things like biking and walking and carpooling with family members only. But mass transit is still not recommended.
He then invited panelists to share their views. Siemiatycki stated:
This is a real crisis point for our urban transportation systems and it could go one of two ways. If we end up with transportation systems that are much more dependent on the automobile, we’re going to be heading down a path towards greater congestion, greater pollution, more accidents, and greater social inequality for people who don’t have access to automobiles. The other alternative is that we find safe ways to provide mass transit. Mass transit has really faced a pandemic paradox at the moment. Costs are rising, as they have to do deep cleaning, as they have to lower capacity, and yet it remains a critical lifeline service for many people. So I think we have to continue investing in mass transit. We have to continue to ensure that it’s safe, and provide other alternatives like cycling or walking for people where it’s available. If we go down the path of car dependence, this is going to be really challenging for our cities in the short and long term.
The lively 34-minute discussion went on to touch on telework, how to make transit safer, transportation infrastructure projects, and more.