My vision for Toronto’s transit future

This morning I announced my vision for Toronto’s transit future.

Transit is central to our future as a city and region. And building mass transit takes money, partnership and leadership.

My administration will invest $4.5 billion over ten years for mass transit in Toronto. That’s 4.5 billion for more subways, more rail and more buses. A balanced network that along with a completed bike lane network on secondary roads, knits work, home and play.

Priority Number One: The city gets back into building subways.

Like the Madrid example, we’ll go slow and steady. We’ll build 2 kilometres and open one new station a year on average. And while we’re building subways, we’re increasing bus service in the inner suburbs of Scarborough, Etobicoke and North York.

Priority Two: Transit City Plus would build a closer relationship with Metrolinx. We simply have to do a better job of partnering the TTC to Metrolinx – both in terms of how we plan the system, how we operate the system and how we pay for it.

Priority Three: Transit City Plus will drive technological investment. World class technology such as smart cards to speed up and link transit services across the region, electronic maps, use of GPS and the Internet and debit and credit cards at the fare box.

Priority Four: We need to be imaginitive and innovative in getting these projects moving. That means exploring alternative financial arrangements, air rights, and land value capture.

Priority Five: Customer Service. Transit City Plus would put the word customer back in customer service, taking the rider’s view to ensure a first class travel experience.

How will we pay for it?

Since declaring my candidacy five months ago, I have been saying that it is time we thought about selling some of the things we own, but do not need, like Toronto Hydro, so that we can buy things we need, but do not own. Like subways. Paying off our debt will free up $450 million per year — which is, by coincidence, the cost of two new kilometres of track and one new station. This approach to infrastructure investment was endorsed just this morning in the Toronto Board of Trade’s own report entitled “Bridging the Chasm: Fixing the City’s Finances”.

Some of my opponents, including the front runner, are musing about financing future transit expansion with road tolls. A Rossi administration will not impose road tolls.

I urge Torontonians and the regional transit authority, Metrolinx, to listen carefully to what the mayoral candidates are saying — or not saying — on transit.

George Smitherman thinks if you’re for subways you’re against transit. Rob Ford wants to build subways and hopes the private sector will pay for them. Neither candidate has a plan to pay off our debt or lay down track.

So Torontonians have a choice to make.

We can keep a lot of money tied up in things that give us very little return, like the $25 million we get from Toronto Hydro every year. Or we can end the culture of dependency and put our money on the table to restore our reputation as a world class transit city. Our city will be an equal partner in planning, paying for and building transit.

We share a dream of a great city served by great transit.

And today, I have shared a plan on how we can turn that dream into reality.

Click here to read my full statement.
Click here to read today’s Media Release.