Should the TTC join with other transit agencies? Board of trade report says yes

The Toronto Region Board of Trade says a new transit model is needed if the region is going to escape the chokehold of congestion.

thestar.com
Sept. 10, 2014
By Tess Kalinowski

The departing CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade has issued a blunt call for transit reform, saying it’s time to look at integrating the TTC and other municipal transit agencies into a single, regional transit body.

“This is the time when all options need to be on the table and need to be debated. We need to look at it from a regional perspective so it certainly should be considered,” said Carol Wilding, who is leaving the board of trade at the end of the month.

She released the business group’s latest transit report Tuesday. Among its key suggestions is that riders might be better served if the TTC’s red vehicles were absorbed into a new regional transit brand.

The report cites the need for a more efficient transit network that puts customer convenience first, with fully integrated routes, fares and schedules.

A new or revamped regional transit authority should have the power to make decisions and stick with them, something provincial agency Metrolinx hasn’t achieved, says the report.

“Somebody has to be in charge,” said Wilding. “As it stands no one knows who has the final word, or when a decision is a decision.”

She reserved some of her harshest criticism for the Scarborough subway/LRT debate between city council and the province, calling it a “mess” that wasted “$100 million in sunk costs.”

The board of trade suggests a new model should leave room for political input within legislation prohibiting changes to transit plans outside of prescribed review periods, possibly every five years.

Wilding cited Scarborough as a key example of Metrolinx’s failure to offer transparent cost and benefit analyses of its investment decisions, something that is needed if the public is going to have confidence in how transit expansion moves forward.

Although Metrolinx is improving its practices, “Their ability to advance a truly regional, integrated transportation system is hampered. From a commuters’ perspective, what they want is easy access, a seamless commute. They want to be able to look at it from one network perspective. We talk about integrated fares - we don’t have the ability to do that right now,” she said.

The report recommends that Toronto develop its own transit governance model based on examples from London and Manchester, England; Portland, Ore.; and Germany.

Wilding insists it wouldn’t take long - a year or less - to set up a new model.

It’s a critical step in ensuring that the $15 billion the province has committed to regional transit in the next decade is protected from political interference, she said.

The report, titled Build Regional Transportation Now, also calls for more private-sector collaboration in transit, via a new public-private advisory council that would look at joint development and promotion opportunities for new transit lines.

It suggests that transit expansion needs to better linked to employment hubs. The region has 200 million square feet of office space, but less than half of it is directly accessible by transit, says the report.

Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca thanked the board for the report but did not comment on its specific recommendations.

Wilding said she was particularly proud of the board of trade’s leadership in issuing the first call for new taxes to support transit expansion, acknowledging that it was an unusual move for a business group. After seven years at the helm of the influential business group, she will become president and CEO of the newly formed CPA (Chartered Professional Accountants) Ontario.