Transit expert says 'not so' to Star's criticism of TTC

May I beg to differ with the Star’s opinion about the TTC’s management abilities by looking at examples of TTC’s past performance on two major projects: the Sheppard subway (completed in 2002) and the Eglinton Crosstown (as it stood in 2012). As a matter of fact, the Sheppard subway, from Yonge to Don Mills, was completed on-time and within-budget and, for that achievement, the Canadian-based contractors received the International Project of the Year award for 2003 from the Construction Management Association of America (as well as the 2004 award for Project Management excellence by the Consulting Engineers of Ontario). In speaking at the 2003 awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., the TTC executive who had worked with them said, “it is to the Delcan-Hatch joint venture’s credit that the project was completed on time and within budget—something extremely unusual for public projects of this magnitude. … I can truly say that the Sheppard Subway Project fully met and exceeded TTC’s requirements and is an excellent example of project management in the public sector.” And who was that TTC’s project manager? The same Andy Bertolo who was fired on March 19^th.

Fast forward to 2012: The TTC had engaged designers and contractors for the Eglinton Crosstown project and begun the tunneling work. The TTC’s Transit Expansion Department had also completed plans for the Sheppard Avenue East LRT and was ready to begin building it. Enter the provincial transit agency, Metrolinx, who announced that it intended to take over these projects using Alternate Financing and Procurement (AFP). In other words, it intended to contract out the entire set of projects (management, construction, financing, and maintenance) to a multinational consortium with a thirty-year contract. In response, TTC executives brought in an expert panel from the American Public Transit Association (APTA) to evaluate two options—continuing with TTC management versus turning the whole thing over to a private consortium. Here are some excerpts from the APTA Final Report of May 17, 2012:

“Based on the panel’s initial impression and review there was uniform agreement that the project is ambitious compared with many projects around the world yet decidedly well conceived … . The panel was impressed with the extent of project planning, assessing risks to price and schedule, and selecting delivery methods that address complexities of the project, effects on the public and current station operation, and contractor competition.” (p.9)

“TTC would be expected to lead the effort and have primary authority because of its extensive experience with transit projects, the seasoned expertise contained within its organization … .” (p.9) “The TTC’s capabilities in managing a project of this size and complexity are shown in the extensive planning done to date.” (p. 10)

Thus, the TTC had received high praise from the APTA panel for the planning and organization of those large and complicated projects. And who was the TTC manager in charge at the time? The Chief Capital Officer, Sameh Ghaly, who was also fired on March 19^th.

Thus, it is not accurate for the Star editorial to state that “… the TTC has shown that it’s simply not up to the job.” If there are delays, cost over-runs, and confusion besetting the Spadina subway extension to York, perhaps we should look more deeply into flaws in the conception of that project, rather than supporting the evisceration of the TTC’s existing management capacity.

In fact, the decisions surrounding the Spadina project have been highly political, rather than based upon professional planning principles. TTC staff cannot be blamed for the decision to extend the subway to Highway Seven, the establishment of a complicated authority structure, and hiring the Spanish consortium for tunnel construction, among other things. Rather, the firing of the two TTC executives and recent signing of a $150 million management contract with the American construction giant, Bechtel, can only be understood in the context of federal and provincial policies that are promoting privatization of public assets and services.

Copyright © Joell Ann Vanderwagen 2015