This is neither true nor fair.
If you told TTCRiders (professional rabblerousers) that we were reducing service on a bus route to protect valuable public art, what do you believe the response would be? If, say, councillor Doug Ford were on the TTC board, and you told him that you had a curator and a budget for art, what would you imagine the response would be?
The degradation of art and the system itself is a function of our inability to decide - in a liberal democracy - how large public institutions should be and how to fund them. To some, art is clear second fiddle to transit. To others, there is a place in a public transit agency for art which is as important as SOGR maintenance.
Everyone here needs to remember that the TTC is a public institution which is governed by our politicians. If the institution lacks funds, don't blame the civil servants running it. They are paid to run it within the budget envelope provided. They are doing their jobs competently.
None of us criticizes doctors when the waits in emergency rooms is long. We aim at the government funding healthcare. A similar approach is necessary here. I would bet money that no TTC employee ever let anything joyfully go to ratshit, rather that was just the way the wind was blowing.
Canadians I think have done a poor job of holding politicians to account. This discussion is off the mark and letting the guilty - or at the very least - responsible parties off the hook.