Today’s federal budget falls short on delivering the public transit funding needed to fix Toronto’s transit crisis, says transit advocacy group, TTCriders.
In today’s budget, the f
Federal Budget promises to give us half a subway stop a year
Federal Budget promises to give us half a subway stop a year
href="http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/03/22/public-transit-unsexy-infrastructure-gets-nod-in-federal-budget.html"
>ederal government committed to giving Ontario’s public transit systems
$1.49 billion over five years.
This will mean Toronto gets about $191 million a year since the TTC carries
65% of Ontario’s riders.
“The federal government’s funding commitment is far short of the $1.4 billion a year needed to get Toronto moving,” said TTCriders spokesperson Suhail Barot. “$190 million a year will buy us about 500 metres of subway line,” he said.
$190 million could also buy 31 street cars, or 318 buses.
“We are sick of the being sardined on overcrowded subways, street cars, and buses, and we’re sick of watching important transit projects get delayed because of a lack of funding,” said spokesperson Jessica Bell. “This budget does not do enough to address our transit crisis,” she said.
The TTC receives the least amount of government funding per ride of any major transit system in North America.
TTCriders welcomes the government’s decision to fund up to 50% of all costs of projects, up from the traditional funding formula of the federal government contributing a third of the cost of transit projects.
TTCriders is calling on the federal government to contribute $1.4 billion annually over the next decade to public transit to get the city moving. Funding should go to:
• $5 billion ($500 million for 10 years) in federal funding for TTC operations to improve service and lower fares immediately.
• $2.8 billion in ‘State of good repair’ funding to make necessary repairs to the TTC to stop the frequent subway breakdowns, install elevators, replace old buses, and more.
• $0.6 billion toward building the Sheppard and Eglinton East LRTs. The total project costs $2 billion. The federal government should pay at least a third of the cost.
• $2.7 billion to electrify and increase service on GO lines / Smart Track. This project is estimated to cost $8 billion total, and a third of that is $2.7 billion.
• $2.7 billion to build the Relief Line. The Relief Line will cost $8 billion, and a third of that is $2.7 billion.