In this episode, Nashwa sits down with two transit organizers to discuss the TTC. Austin Jafri of TTCriders and Jamaal Myers of Scarborough Transit Action share present issues with the TTC as well as some small victories; they also shed light on the ways they have organized to push back and ongoing issues with how transit is made and built in Toronto. This episode highlights the need for ongoing advocacy around transit in Toronto and why it is an integral struggle for working class people. The pandemic brings the fault lines to the foreground as we witness the disproportionate impacts of an overcrowded system with limited routes for specific neighborhoods and people.
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Guest Information:
Guests of the Week: Austin Jafri of TTCRiders and Jamaal Myers of Scarborough Transit Action
TTCRiders:
TTCriders is a membership organization of transit riders. We have a vision for an accessible, affordable world-class public transit system. Help build the power of transit riders by volunteering or becoming a member.
Austin Jafri is a low-income, post secondary student living in Scarborough. He is a lifetime TTC rider and recently led a March Metropass Refund Petition initiative that resulted in 206, 000 Torontonians getting refunds. He does activism around education, transit and equity as a member of TTCriders, Scarborough Transit Action, Scarborough Civic Action Network & Scarborough Families for Public Education.
Scarborough Transit Action:
Scarborough Transit Action (STA) is a grassroots organization that speaks up for transit riders in Scarborough. We are fighting for a publicly delivered, operated and maintained LRT network in Scarborough.
Jamaal Myers is a proud resident of his beloved Scarborough and is an organizer and activist with Scarborough Transit Action. Outside of organizing, he's a lawyer for TD Bank and he currently serves as a director and vice president of Malvern-based TAIBU Community Health Center, which is dedicated to serving the health and wellness needs of Black Canadians, and a director of the Scarborough Business Association, the voice of Scarborough businesses, where he chairs the organization's advocacy and policy committee. You can find him on twitter.
Production Credits:
Hosted by Nashwa Lina Khan
Show Music by Johnny Zapras and postXamerica
Art for Habibti Please by postXamerica
Production by Andre Goulet
Production Assistance by Raymond Khanano, Nashwa Lina Khan, Ali McKnight, and Johnny Zapras
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