Ed Drass, transportation writer for The National Post, doesn't own a car. He does, however, drive a van when he's delivering bundles of Toronto's weekly Now magazine. So he knows Toronto's traffic woes. But when not on delivery, he sticks to his principles and rides public transit.

You'd think the York grad ['94] would be sick of streetcars, buses and subways after years of shuttling between Glendon and Keele campuses. But as the Post's traffic guru, he's found a Friday soapbox for issues dear to his heart such as GTA gridlock, red-light radar, road rage, transportation subsidies and highway tolls. He also answers commuters' questions in a Saturday column.

Drass made his journalistic debut in excalibur with his article, "York, the Drive-Thru U". Says Drass, "York was such a test case for transportation grief."

Drass dreamed up the idea for a question-and-answer transportation column and fashioned it after the Washington Post's popular column, "Dr. Gridlock".

Now, since his first column appeared three years ago, readers, drivers, cyclists and even pedestrians have told him their traffic beefs. "When you tell people the cause of things, even if there's no solution, people relax a bit."

While studying urban geography and romantic languages at York, Drass also co-founded the Toronto Transit Users Group, now known as the Rocket Riders. "Transportation is a big issue and a popular one. I didn't want to just complain. I wanted to do something." With 300 members, the Rocket Riders now has the attention of the Toronto Transit Commission and a seat on the Toronto Environmental Alliance.

What's the best part of his current freelance gig? Drass says you can't beat the short commute ­ from his bed to his computer.

photo: Horst Herget