Read the daily “on schedule” posts to find news and other information that affects your daily commute. You’ll learn about public meetings, special events and construction projects that affect transit services today.

Greater Toronto and Golden Horseshoe area media report on public transit issues today.

Greater Toronto Area

• 680 All News Radio post, “TTC GM Gary Webster fired”, here.
• 680 All News Radio post, “Mayor Rob Ford’s statement on the firing of Gary Webster”, here.
• All Fired Up In The Big Smoke post, “Leading with the long knives”, here.
• Blog TO post, “TTC board votes to terminate Gary Webster”, here.
• Canadian Press article, “Premier McGuinty says he’s losing patience with Toronto over transit fight” (from the Global News Toronto website), here.
• CBC News Toronto report, “TTC chief Gary Webster fired”, here.
• Citytv News Toronto report, “TTC GM fired at Toronto Transit meeting”, here.
• CP24 report, “TTC votes to fire GM Gary Webster”, here.
• CTV News Toronto report, “Ford affirms ‘support’ for firing of TTC GM”, here.
• Global News Toronto report, “TTC committee votes to terminate Gary Webster; Mayor Ford supports decision”, here.
• Globe and Mail article, “Transit planning gridlock as TTC general manager sacked”, here.
• Globe and Mail column, “Shameful firing further alienates Mayor Ford”, here.
• Globe and Mail article, “McGuinty on Toronto transit woes: ‘We’re running out of patience’”, here.
• Globe and Mail article, “Finch Avenue LRT faces new opposition”, here.
• InsideToronto.com article, “TTC chief general manager fired after private meeting”, here.
• National Post article, “TTC commissioners move to fire GM Gary Webster”, here.
• National Post article, “Gary Webster not the first general manager to be the victim of ‘political interference’”, here.
• Newstalk 1010 report, “TTC begins search for new GM”, here.
• Newstalk 1010 report, “Province’s transit patience being tested”, here.
• Newstalk 1010 report, “Emery Village BIA Fighting LRT Expansion”, here.
• NOW article, “Gary Webster gets his walking papers”, here.
• OpenFile Toronto post, “In the ongoing transit debate, let’s take a minute to talk about the trains”, here.
• Spacing Toronto post, “Rob Ford’s minority government at City Hall”, here.
• Steve Munro post, “‘So are they all, all honorable men’”, here.
• TalkRail.ca post, “Metrolinx, Ontario Road Builders’ Association contemplate joint transit contractors’ council”, here.
• The Grid post, “Evidence not wanted”, here.
• The Grid post, “About the Mayor’s mandate”, here.
• Torontoist post, “Liveblog: Special TTC Meeting”, here.
• Torontoist post, “Lampy Versus Big Daddy”, here.
• Toronto Star column, “Councillors plot new scenes in transit drama”, here.
• Toronto Star editorial, “Mayor Rob Ford hurts the TTC by unjustly firing Gary Webster as Chief General Manager”, here.
• Toronto Star article, “TTC: Transit commission fires chief general manager”, here.
• Toronto Star article, “While the TTC fires its top guy, TTC middle managers get the low-down from customers”, here.
• Toronto Star article, “Dalton McGuinty to City Hall: Get your act together on transit”, here.
• Toronto Star article, “TTC rider slashed across face at Warden Station”, here.
• Toronto Sun article, “Webster ousted in close TTC vote”, here.
• Toronto Sun editorial, “Take transit plans away from TTC”, here.
• Toronto Sun column, “City Hall firings not invented by Ford”, here.
• Toronto Sun article, “Preem to Toronto: Quit fighting and spend our money”, here.
• Toronto Sun column, “All aboard the sardine can”, here.
• Toronto Sun article, “Stintz on firing Webster: ‘It is just no way to run a railway’”, here.

Elsewhere in the Greater Golden Horseshoe

• Guelph Mercury article, “Guelph Transit to buy four used buses to help deal with demand”, here.
• Waterloo Region Record article, “Artist brushed off rail transit plan”, here.

After meeting for more than two hours “in camera” (meaning, privately), the Toronto Transit Commission today approved a motion to end the contract of the TTC’s Chief General Manager Gary Webster.

The commission approved the motion in a close vote during a special meeting, with five commissioners in favour and four opposing the motion.

Councillors Vince Crisanti, Frank Di Giorgio, Norm Kelly, Denzil Minnan-Wong and Cesar Palacio supported the motion. TTC chair, Councillor Karen Stintz and the vice-chair, Councillor Peter Milczyn opposed the motion, as did fellow commissioners, Councillors Maria Augimieri and John Parker.

Webster’s termination comes into effect immediately. The TTC’s chief operating officer, Andy Byford will replace Webster on an interim basis.

We’ll be writing more about this action over the next several days. (As a former City of Toronto employee, I’m much too angry to write objectively about this issue right now). In the meantime, here’s what some of the local media are reporting:

• Blog TO post, “TTC board votes to terminate Gary Webster”, here.
• CBC News Toronto report, “TTC chief Gary Webster fired”, here.
• Globe and Mail article, “TTC special meeting votes to terminate transit chief”, here.
• National Post article, “TTC commissioners move to fire GM Gary Webster”, here.
• Toronto Star article, “TTC: Transit commission fires chief general manager”, here.

Greater Toronto area media report on public transit issues today.

• CBC News Toronto report, “TTC chief Webster faces possible firing today”, here.
• Citytv News Toronto report, “TTC GM may be fired at Toronto Transit meeting”, here.
• CP24 report, “TTC chief’s job expected to be on the line today”, here.
• CTV News Toronto report, “Ford allies could axe TTC GM [today]”, here.
• Ford for Toronto post, “Down with Webster: Ford to spend half-million dollars because transit GM disagrees with him”, here.
• Global News Toronto report, “‘Personnel matters’ on the agenda at [today]’s special TTC meeting”, here.
• Globe and Mail article, “Toronto transit chair to commissioners: What’s next?”, here.
• National Post article, “Information booth: Subway cars’ loyal service rewarded with cutting torch”, here.
• Newstalk 1010 report, “New petition to save subways”, here.
• Newstalk 1010 report, “Gary Webster to Meet With TTC Board”, here.
• OpenFile Toronto post, “What’s really at stake at Council’s special TTC meeting today”, here.
• Toronto Star article, “With TTC head Gary Webster likely to be sacked, Karen Stintz asks why now?”, here.
• Toronto Star column, “Ford looking for a TTC lackey”, here.
• Toronto Star column, “Mayor Ford making a mess of the TTC”, here.
• Toronto Star column, “The Fixer: Missing tiles, barricaded entrance paint an unflattering picture at TTC’s Museum Station”, here.
• Toronto Star article, “TTC reunites lost items with patrons”, here.
• Toronto Sun column, “TTC riders want change”, here.
• Toronto Sun article, “TTC’s Webster faces axe [today], here.

Greater Toronto and Golden Horseshoe area media report on public transit issues today.

Greater Toronto Area

• 680 All News Radio post, “Emergency TTC meeting could leave several senior transit managers jobless”, here.
• National Post article, “Planners struggle to fix Toronto’s ‘third-world’ bus station”, here.
• Newstalk 1010 report, “Scarborough city councillor changing transit debate”, here.
• Torontoist post, “Historicist: Test Drive a Metropass”, here.
• Toronto Star article, “TTC transit chief Gary Webster may not be the only one to lose his job: DiGiorgio”, here.
• Toronto Sun column, “Changes needed at the TTC”, here.
• Toronto Sun article, “Roll no more”, here.

Elsewhere in the Greater Golden Horseshoe

• Cambridge Times editorial, “End of the line for LRT fight”, here.
• Cambridge Times article, “Council offers feedback on Hwy. 401 changes”, here.
• gokw.org post, “PRESTO cards come to Kitchener and Guelph, February 21”, here.
• gokw.org post, “Changes to GO ticket handling, further PRESTO deployments coming”, here.
• Guelph Tribune article, “Feedback sees Guelph Transit route changes”, here.
• Guelph Tribune article, “Gordon Street closure”, here.

During a recent meeting, Durham Region’s Transit Executive Committee approved the public’s choice to name Durham Region Transit’s new bus rapid transit service “DRT Pulse”.

The Region plans to operate the new DRT Pulse rapid transit service from the University of Toronto’s Scarborough Campus on Military Trail to the Durham Consolidated Courthouse in downtown Oshawa. It expects to start service in July 2013 with:

• bus rapid transit (or “BRT”, for short) buses operating in mixed traffic;
• 7½-minute service during rush hours;
• 26 new buses dedicated to the BRT service.

The full system, which the Region intends to complete by 2016, will have passenger amenities, intelligent transportation systems, improvements to six major intersections along the Highway 2 corridor, two maintenance and storage facilities and a new transit control centre.

DRT will apply the new DRT Pulse brand and graphic elements to the new dedicated BRT fleet, associated infrastructure and promotional material to identify the enhanced service.

The TTC is in the process of revamping all public washrooms in its stations so that the facilities are modern, efficient and clean — instead of the smelly, dank, dreary caverns that most of them have been for many years.

The bad news is that each washroom will be closed for about six weeks, while contractors tear them completely apart and install new tiling, sinks, toilets, hand driers and other amenities.

The Toronto Star’s “The Fixer”, reporter Jack Lakey, recently investigated the closing of washrooms at Kipling Station, which the TTC is currently renovating.

He interviewed the TTC’s Chief Infomation Officer, Chris Upfold, who told Lakey that the work at each station is extensive. He explained that the floors are 30 years old and have an aroma that can’t be scrubbed away, while the toilets and urinals are also outdated and much harder to clean than modern fixtures.

Lakey writes that the new washrooms “‘will be cleaned every 90 minutes so we can maintain them in this good state,’ Upfold said, adding that some janitors from TTC offices will be redeployed to keep up with the new cleaning regimen.”

The renovation program started at Finch Station, which the TTC closed in December and reopened in early February.

Currently, work is proceeding at Kipling Station. The TTC closed the washrooms there Monday, January 16 and expects to reopen them Friday, March 16.

Coming up:

• Bloor - Yonge Station. Closes: Monday, February 27. Reopens: Friday, March 30.
• Don Mills Station. Closes: Monday, March 26. Reopens: Friday, May 18.
• Downsview Station. Closes: Monday, April 16. Reopens: Friday, June 8.
• Kennedy Station. Closes: Tuesday, February 21. Reopens: Friday, April 6.
• Sheppard - Yonge Station. Closes: Monday, June 11. Reopens: Friday, June 29.
• Warden Station. Closes: Monday, April 30. Reopens: Friday, June 15.
• Wilson Station. Closes: Sunday, April 8. Reopens: Friday, May 18.

Starting Tuesday, February 21, GO Transit is opening a new temporary ticket kiosk on the southwest corner of Centre View Drive and Station Gate Road at Square One GO Bus Terminal. It will be open Mondays to Fridays from 5:30 until 11:30 a.m.

Also starting that day, GO passengers have access to 66 more parking spaces beside the terminal in the westernmost part of the Playdium parking lot.

Greater Toronto and Golden Horseshoe area media report on public transit issues today.

Greater Toronto Area

• Bow. James Bow post, “Dispatches from other blogs”, here.
• NOW article, “Rob Ford’s crass coup”, here.
• OpenFile Toronto post, “A roundup of reaction to the TTC putsch”, here.
• Steve Munro post, “A Few Questions About Presto”, here.
• Torontoist post, “In Service to the Public Good, Not Mere Power”, here.
• Toronto Star article, “TTC’s Gary Webster would be tough to replace: David Gunn”, here.
• Toronto Star editorial, “Gary Webster, general manager of the TTC, doesn’t deserve to be fired”, here.

Elsewhere in the Greater Golden Horseshoe

• BrantNews.com article, “GO proposal for Vincorp property”, here.
• HSR Transit Blog post, “Public Works - Transportation 2012 Budget”, here.
• HSR Transit Blog post, “56 Confederation Park - New Service Details”, here.
• HSR Transit Blog post, “HSR Service Advisory: Wilson Street Reconstruction”, here.

While debate rages on over whether the City of Toronto should bury Eglinton and fund a Sheppard subway (somehow) or bring it partly back to the surface and route the savings to LRTs on Sheppard East and Finch West (or some variant in between), Metrolinx and Bombardier have been working together building a very early mockup of the proposed LRT vehicle design, for possible use on the Eglinton-Crosstown LRT. This mockup, which is being built at GO Transit’s Halton Hills garage, in Milton, is a very early design mockup which likely won’t be shown to the public. The features installed here will be assessed, and changes will likely be made before the LRT reaches the prototype phase.

A number of images were snapped and submitted anonymously to us here at Transit Toronto, and we have taken the liberty of posting these on our Toronto LRT Vehicle web page here.

The City of Guelph is closing

• Gordon Street between Vaughan Street and Heritage Drive

this week, during a project to connect the services at #1440 Gordon Street.

GO Transit is detouring buses operating along the 29 Guelph / Mississauga and 48 Guelph / York U routes and Guelph Transit is detouring buses operating along the 5 South Gordon and 21 Hanlon Industrial routes, while the road is closed.