Light Rail plan delivers more winners than Subway Extensions

Take action: send an email in favour of the light rail network to your Councillor and the Mayor here: http://emailthem.ca/transitcity/ Toronto City Council will soon be considering two, very different transit
expansion plans; one that will build a network of light rail transit lines to all four corners of the city, and the other that relies on subway expansion. To help Torontonians, the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) created a map which neighbourhoods would benefit from the 8 light rail transit lines vs. subway expansion along Sheppard Ave. and the Scarborough RT.

The map shows that the proposed light rail transit plan will bring 630,000 people to within a 3 minute walk of rapid transit, over half a million more people than the proposed subway expansion plan, which will serve only 61,000 people. Should the subway expansion plan proceed, one in five Torontonians will lose access to fast, reliable transit. Light rail transit is also better for the environment (see TEA's report below), and is better for taxpayers: light rail costs less per kilometre at $111 million versus $344 million per kilometrefor the subway plan. The information on the map comes from a just released, report called “Making tracks to Torontonians: Building transit where we need it” written by the Pembina Institute. The report provides a detailed comparison of the light rail transit expansion plan adopted by the City of Toronto and the Province and the proposed subway expansion plan. Check out TEA's recent report Clearing the Air on the TTC: Recommendations to Increase the Environmental Benefits of the TTC to read our analysis of the environmental benefits of light rail transit over subways, and recommendations for the new Council.

Latest posts

How are your Don Valley West candidates promising to improve public transit?

We’ve asked candidates whether they’ll invest in more TTC service, protect door-to-door Wheel-Trans service, expand TTC’s low-income discount, approve fare capping and more. View candidates’ detailed answers to our survey, information about their transit platforms, and more.

Letter & Survey: TTC must exchange expired tokens and tickets

Do you still have TTC tokens or paper senior/student tickets or day passes? The TTC has announced that they will stop accepting TTC tokens and paper tickets after December 31, 2024. But the TTC will not be issuing exchanges. This is unfair to people who have saved up tokens and tickets, especially low-income seniors. Gift cards and permanent stamps never expire --  why are transit fares any different?

“Rally to Fix the TTC” calls for investment in repairing subway slow zones during National Transit Week

(Toronto, ON) – Transit advocacy organization TTCriders will hold a rally today at 5:00pm outside Bathurst Subway Station to call on federal Members of Parliament to invest in TTC repairs and new subway trains on Line 2 by accelerating implementation of the Canada Public Transit Fund. The rally is part of a national “Transit Action Week” being organized in 5 Canadian cities. (Cantonese, Mandarin, French spokespeople available.)

Take action

Add your name for Fare Capping!
Tell Your MP: Sign the Transit Pledge
Bus lanes now
Protect Wheel-Trans Service
Keep and Expand Free TTC Wi-Fi!

Connect with us