Toronto beats Chicago on transit with more riders, funding

Toronto is a Great Lakes city like Chicago in many ways: It has about the same population, hot summers, freezing winters and a colorful patchwork of ethnic neighborhoods.

But there are differences north of the border. The money is prettier. Crime is less violent. Milk comes in plastic bags.

One major contrast is in the sister cities’ transit systems. Despite having fewer rail lines and stations, Toronto’s public transit ridership has seen years of steady passenger growth — up 15 percent from 2008 to 2015, while the CTA’s is down 1.6 percent over the same period…Please click here to read Mary Wisniewski’s story in the Tribune.