Candidates Kate Graham, MPP Mitzie Hunter, and Alvin Tedjo responded to each survey question below.
Key transit policy promises from candidates MPP Michael Coteau, Steven Del Duca, and Brenda Hollingsworth have been summarized below, but these candidates did not respond to the survey questions.
1. Will you reverse the gas tax cuts made by Premier Ford and move forward with doubling the share of provincial gas tax transit funding to municipalities?
Kate Graham |
Mitzie Hunter |
Alvin Tedjo |
Yes, and I acknowledge merely reversing cuts is not enough. I will triple the provincial transfer to municipal public transit by increasing the Ontario Gas Tax Fund transfer from 2 cents to 6 cents a litre. When fully phased in, this would provide municipal transit services with an additional $800 million per year for public transit expansion and electrification. Funding will be at the rate of 4 cents a litre in 2022-23, rising to 5 cents in 2023-24 and then 6 cents in 2024. |
Yes, I will reverse gas tax cuts made by the Ford government and review the funding provided to municipalities. |
Yes. |
2. Some Ontario Liberal leadership candidates have promised lower transit fares. How much operating funding to local transit agencies will you provide each year to accomplish this?
Kate Graham |
Mitzie Hunter |
Alvin Tedjo |
Our plan will:
1. Provide an additional $30 million over 4 years to the Community Transportation Grant Program for zero-emission buses and charging infrastructure in areas that are underserved by public transit.
2. Work with Metrolinx to significantly expand GO Bus service, using zero-emission vehicles, to more communities in the province, to provide more Ontarians with affordable intercity transit options.
3. Recognizing that small, rural and northern communities also need funding for critical
transportation projects, increase the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund by $100 million annually.
Each of these commitments relates to affordability and quality of life. Lowering transit fares is a conversation I am happy to be a part of and I am especially interested in incentivizing both off-peak and youth ridership. However, before we take more money away from municipalities, I believe in making transit greener and improving access to transit right across the province.
|
I believe in a seamless transit system, with fare integration, making it easy for commuters to choose transit. I would negotiate with local transit agencies to offset lost revenues from fare reductions so that they can operate efficiently. Boosting ridership on existing transit systems provides a greener transit system with low emissions, that reach emission targets, towards a carbon neutral economy. |
This is outlined in my climate plan: A portion of carbon tax revenues would be used to support access to transit. Balancing accessibility to transit with the need to build more of it is part of Tedjo’s plan. The faster we electrify the system, the cheaper it will be to operate. Those savings can help Ontarians reduce fares and build more transit lines. |
3. Will you reverse Bill 107 and let Toronto make decisions about transit expansion?
Kate Graham |
Mitzie Hunter |
Alvin Tedjo |
I have no desire to prohibit the City of Toronto from moving ahead with their own transit plans but instead envision a productive partnership between the City and Province that puts riders and improved access (new transit) first.
I am open to amending or reversing Bill 107 in consultation with municipal partners. There are a number of items in the Bill, from deploying school bus stop arm cameras to highway workers safety that have the support of municipalities and are unrelated to the concerns around municipal autonomy. I have no intention of walking back parts of the Bill that work well for municipalities but am fully committed upholding and expanding the principles of municipal autonomy related to transit expansion decisions.
|
I voted against Bill 107 due to the lack of consultation with the City of Toronto. I do not support the way these decisions were unilaterally made by the province and believe that the government must have all affected parties at the table before making such decisions. |
Yes. |
4. The proposal to upload Toronto’s subway system to the province appeared in both the 2018 Ontario Progressive Conservative Party platform and the 2018 Provincial Budget under the Liberal government. Toronto City Council and transit users made it clear that they firmly oppose the upload, and the Ford government has now abandoned this policy. What is your position on the subway upload proposal?
Kate Graham |
Mitzie Hunter |
Alvin Tedjo |
I have no plans to revisit this issue. |
I did not vote in favour of this proposal. The manner in which the subway upload proposal was handled displayed a lack of respect for municipal governments by the provincial government. |
This should be a decision that is made through consultations. |
5. Public-private partnerships like the Presto fare card, Eglinton Crosstown LRT, and Ottawa LRT were promised to transfer financial risk onto the private sector, but the public has picked up the bill for cost overruns. Are you open to changing Ontario’s P3 model?
Kate Graham |
Mitzie Hunter |
Alvin Tedjo |
Yes. |
I am open to a review of the P3 model. The P3 model was designed to create efficiencies and transfer risks, keep projects on time and within budget. We need to protect public sector worker jobs and not have contracts that undermine their employment agreement. |
Yes. |
Key transit policy pledges from candidates who did not fill out the survey:
Steven Del Duca is promising to cut the price of off-peak transit fares in half, to ease congestion during peak travel periods.
MPP Michael Coteau is promising to “develop and implement a plan to eliminate transit fares incrementally over the course of a decade,” involving all local, regional, and provincial transit entities. Coteau would prioritize fare-free transit to young people, seniors, and Ontarians whose mode shift from private vehicle to public transit would have “the most significant impact toward achieving targeted environmental, economic and social objectives.”
Brenda Hollingsworth is pledging to reinstate the Hamilton LRT project and improve transit options between Kingston and Toronto and London and Toronto.
Questions about this survey?
Contact [email protected].
Sources:
Candidates’ responses to the TTCriders survey have been reproduced in their entirety.
References for Michael Coteau, Steven Del Duca, and Brenda Hollingsworth transit policies:
https://www.stevendelduca.ca/
https://www.anewfocuson.com/a_green_ontario
https://www.brendahollingsworth.ca/climate-action
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/02/06/analysis/getting-going-ontario-liberal-candidates-transit-and-electric-vehicles