Parties disagree over fare integration models; agree on need for more operations subsidies at only election transit debate

TTCriders members attended the only transportation-focused provincial election debate, organized by Transport Futures. Read our summary of what the candidates from Green, NDP, and Liberal parties said. 

By: August Pantitlán Puranauth and Zain Khurram

On Wednesday May 25th, 2022 TTCriders attended a spirited provincial candidates debate organized by Transport Futures regarding broad transportation issues ranging from rural transit in northern Ontario to Toronto’s current state of public transit. Candidates Dianne Saxe of the Green Party for University-Rosedale, Laura Mirabella of the Ontario Liberal Party for Thornhill, and Jessica Bell of the New Democratic Party for University-Rosedale participated. Five candidates for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario were invited including Caroline Mulroney, the Minister of Transportation, as well Vijay Thanigasalam, the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transportation. However, all PC candidates declined the invitation to speak at the debate.

Here is a summary of candidate answers to debate questions of interest to transit users:  

How will you improve transit in Northern Ontario?

The first topic on the menu was intercity transportation. Bringing back the Northlander, an intercity train which provided service between Toronto and northern Ontario, was supported by all three parties in attendance. All candidates also brought up the idea of subsidizing intercity bus service to northern Ontario to add to the very limited variety, flexibility, and affordability of commuting options in the north.

Do you support Highway 413?

All 3 parties criticized the controversial highway project, stating the high costs did not justify the 30-to-60 second reduction in commute times and damage to local ecosystems, arguing that the project stands to benefit developers while incentivizing sprawl. 

What should the role of the province be in transit? 

The debate then pondered the issue of jurisdiction in transit, with a focus on the upload of Toronto transit expansion to the province and downloading of operating costs to municipalities. In 2019 the current provincial government passed Bill 107, which uploaded control over four Toronto area transit projects to the provincial government: the Ontario Line (formerly the Relief Line, which the City of Toronto had begun to design), Yonge North extension, Eglinton West extension, and Scarborough subway extension. The Green and NDP candidates said that once contracts are signed it doesn’t make sense to spend millions in court to tear them up. The Liberal candidate said that they are committed to the projects on the table. NDP candidate Jessica Bell brought up questions about the Ontario Line’s service frequency, capacity, above-ground segments and integration with TTC but there wasn’t time for a detailed discussion of each project or how to expand the network further. 

On the role of the province, each party representative criticized the way the current provincial government has treated municipalities like Toronto. In 1998, the provincial 50% transit operations subsidy was cancelled by the then-Conservative government and has not been reestablished since. The NDP and Green parties highlighted their key platform commitment to restoring provincial funding for 50% of local transit operating subsidies, which would amount to about $898 million per year across Ontario. Toronto has also seen many of its own proposals to raise funds for services like transit overridden by the province - for example, failed proposals to toll the Gardiner and Don Valley Parkway in 2017. Green candidate Dianne Saxe brought up the idea of a charter city, which would grant Toronto more say. This could include the power to levy a wide variety of taxes to raise more funding for transit. Liberal candidate Laura Mirabella brought up how community transportation grants should be made permanent which would allow rural communities to improve their transit fares. The NDP commented the same, but added matching funding to municipal transit agencies would allow them to lower fares. 

How will you win back transit users?  

Since the pandemic began in early 2020, ridership had significantly declined on the TTC, and service cuts ensued. Candidates were asked how they would approach restoring service and increasing ridership to achieve a fair pandemic recovery.

The NDP candidate Jessica Bell said that stable funding for municipal transit agencies would be the number one way to bring back riders because the funding will translate to more service. The NDP highlighted their commitment to 10-minute or better service on core TTC and other GTA routes, dedicated lanes, and lowering fares for people who have to take two systems. The Liberal candidate Laura Mirabella focused more on fare schemes as a means to attract riders, touting the plan to subsidize $1 flat fares across Ontario to increase transit usage, speaking on the need for a fare integration, and the $375 million per year that the Liberal party will commit to transit operating funding. Green candidate Dianne Saxe said that “having cheap transit that is unreliable” won’t help, and spoke in support of priority bus lanes and their commitment to electrification of transit as a means of attracting new riders. The Green Party is promising free transit for students and people who earn low incomes.

Where do you stand on privatization? 

Liberal candidate Laura Mirabella said that the deregulation of intercity bus service has resulted in service gaps, and that the Liberal party will restore the Northlander and make investments in intercity transit. Green candidate Dianne Saxe said that privatization was supposed to save money and transfer risk to private companies, but “it’s not working,” giving examples of long-term care, Highway 407, and the Eglinton Crosstown. NDP candidate Jessica Bell said that public transit should be delivered publicly, citing the Ottawa LRT “fiasco,” Eglinton Crosstown delays and cost overruns, and the Auditor General’s investigation that found public-private partnership (P3) delivery costs the public more.

How will you implement fare integration? 

This was one of the debate topics that saw more policy disagreement, though the format did not allow for much back-and-forth. NDP candidate Jessica Bell said that fare and service integration is something that all municipalities want, but Metrolinx is a thorn in their side, which is why the NDP platform proposes reforming it with elected officials and transit operators on the Metrolinx board. Bell said that many of the people taking two transit systems to get to work or school are not high income earners, and that the NDP plans to protect flat fares in municipalities by introducing a single fare transferable across municipal agencies for a period of 2 hours. Green candidate Dianne Saxe agreed that Metrolinx takes a “bully’s approach” and argued that predictable, stable financing will make fare integration possible. Without provincial funding, Saxe argued, fare integration essentially forces cities to subsidize sprawl. The Liberal candidate Laura Mirabella did not commit to a fare integration model, stating that a Liberal government would study various models including zone-based, and that a flat fare system could create other inequities. Mirabella also agreed that Metrolinx “has started to show some serious contempt for communities” and that it has become very secretive.  

How will you improve transit in Scarborough?  

As the debate came to a close, one of our members at TTCriders posed a question towards the candidates regarding transit in Scarborough. Scarborough has long been underserved by transit, and this is symbolized especially with the upcoming closure of the Scarborough RT (Line 3). For the first time, Toronto’s rapid transit network will become smaller in 2023. When the RT closes, riders will pack onto replacement buses for at least 7 years until replaced by a subway extension of Line 2. TTCriders is campaigning for a busway in the RT corridor, more bus lanes and bus service in Scarborough, and free transfers between GO and TTC to unlock the GO train service for more people. Candidates proposed several solutions to improve transit in Scarborough, with the New Democratic platform including support for a busway in the RT corridor and bus lanes across the city, and the Green platform supporting more bus lanes. In addition, the NDP candidate brought up concerns that potential fare integration models based on distance could disadvantage Scarborough residents who cannot afford to live in a more central part of the city and often commute longer distances. The Liberal Party did not offer a clear answer on service solutions, but noted their $1 flat fare plan as an affordability measure that would help Scarborough residents grapple with the cost of living crisis. 

The question and responses marked the end of a passionate transit debate amongst three provincial parties: the Greens, Liberals, and New Democrats. The Progressive Conservative Party did not send a representative to speak about their proposed transit policies. The candidates in attendance have some positions in common: the need for more operations funding for better transit service and lower fares, the need for a more equitable fare system, and opposition to highway expansion. Not all of the proposals for these are well developed or costed, and the amounts of funding vary by party, with the Greens and NDP proposing $898 million for operations per year and the Liberals proposing $375 million.  


Read more about each party platform here: www.ttcriders.ca/2022provincialelection

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