Dear friends,

The transit strike has left me in near financial ruin. So much so, that I haven’t been able to pay my phone bill this month. As of this morning at 9am, it’s temporarily disabled.

I think we can agree, going from 4.50$/day for travel back and forth from home to work, to 30$/day for the same trip, is an inconvenient strain on one’s budget. That said, I was in a good position where at the beginning, I had some savings set aside. Now, I had thought those savings were going to be put to use somewhere recreationally (a trip, a new phone). As it turns out, I spent MORE than all my savings on taxis in order to get to my place of work. My bank account is not only empty, it’s overdrawn, and on top of THAT, I owe money to a good hearted friend that was able to lend it to me. I hate being in debt, especially to a friend. Unfortunately, the city and the union were too busy counting the thousands in their pockets to notice how much the pubic was suffering.

I’ll be making a video after I’m off work today urging people to petition the city to make public transit an “essential service” so that, in 5 years when this current contract is up, we (the public) are not left in the lurch again. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

For now, facebook message me if you need to get in touch, unless you have iMessage. Email is also an acceptable alternative.

M A