a bit off-topic (but pms are still down):
having not enough money shouldn't be a problem for a public company as the TTC. they should have excellent credit ratings. lending the money wouldn't be a weight on the balance when they buy a vehicle with it. dunno if new buses are written of in 10 or 15 years.
driving that old stuff should cost plenty in maintenance. it maybe also doesn't attract a lot of riders. and taking the buses for a short part is almost inevitable for any trip here.
i encountered the first streetcar last summer on college street. i thought it was just a touristic thing, with a historic car. i knew those rod-like pantographs from the museum only. same for the small doors. learned quickly however (spadina) it's on the 'rapid' lines too. (oh, did i mention i kind of love them streetcars? they remind me of the old P Reihe in Munich

here in front of Löwenbräu Biergarten and brewery. when i commuted on that line they were extremely rare already. Toronto and Munich both have 11 lines with 75km track!)
well, as i said only for a month here, but it's already enough to get surprised everyday how planless TTC and much more the political responsible in toronto act and acted. seems like they start to build a random major high profile project, just to scrap it after a few years. leaving for example half finished subway stations or a dedicated tram track without any trafic signal priority or dedicated entry points behind. my guess is some mayor wins an election with some big plans for TTC, the next one wins it by promising to cut down the TTC.
on the other hand it works almost well enough, and i'm pretty glad it's there. i'd be screwed without th TTC. i also think the people here in toronto are rather proud of it, and i don't want to hit a nerve, so don't consider it as complaint. it's more of being surprised abouth how differently the transport can be run.
what i find kind of symphathetic about the TTC is it's very outfashioned way. a lot of old people working for it. and i almost couldn't believe it: an employee the 'collector' at every subway station!