The realized fears of a York Region transit strike have launched a choir of grumbles from commuters across the Greater Toronto Area this week, and questions about how to survive when one's daily transit lifeline suddenly disappears.
York Region Transit has suggested riders find alternate methods of travel during the current strike, which cancelled routes on Monday across Markham, Richmond Hill, Aurora, Newmarket and Vaughan for the foreseeable future.
As commuters woke up to find themselves stranded, strangers banded together to fill taxi cabs in an attempt to cut costs and make it to work on time.
"It's funny because we just met," said one woman after making fast friends with a neighbour who works nearby her in Richmond Hill.
"We've never met before, but we met at this stop and decided to (share a cab)."
Living outside the confines of the GTA's transit networks is old hat for some people, even those who don't own a car and don't cycle to work.
Car share and carpool programs are already prevalent online, linking needy riders with willing drivers wherever possible.
From Craigslist and Kijiji to sites specifically designed to connect commuters, online carpool networks were common long before the recent strike.
Smart Commute, a program run by GO Transit's parent company Metrolinx, was established in 2004 to bring together those working for the same employer.
The goal is to cut traffic to and from specific offices and benefit the environment, the driver and the passenger.
Other programs offer a wider variety of options, connecting passengers together for trips across the city, province or across the border.
A new service called TripOn lets users create their own public transit network and cater it to their specific needs.
"It allows customers to customize their trip, and tailor it to any way they want to use the buses," Sako Dekirmendjian, TripOn's vice-president of marketing, told CTVToronto.ca.
"It is really an open realm, anything can happen."
With TripOn, commuters can book a bus by setting their destination, departure time and how many passengers they expect to have. Others can then join the trip, reducing the cost per person.
Dekirmendjian said the service is available online or through a smartphone app and has been used for shopping trips, crossing the border to sporting events and students coming home for the weekend.
"There is a definite void in the market. There are always people trying to set up customizable trips," he said.
Dekirmendjian added that the service would come in handy should the York Region Transit strike drag on.
If one passenger sets up a trip to go from Vaughan to downtown Toronto, for example, others from nearby streets can join the commute.
Connect with the writer on Twitter: @mrcoutts
