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

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


Sep 10 2014

By Tess Kalinowski

Read More: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201..._agencies_board_of_trade_report_says_yes.html


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.â€
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.â€

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.

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Political issues aside, it would be really nice if the fare structure, routing and system navigation was consolidated. Every system in the region has a different way of doing things which makes it difficult for riders crossing arbitrary barriers. From a personal standpoint I'd also be really glad if the graphic/visual designers for YRT and GO replaced those at the TTC.
 
Agreed completely, but I don't think it should be done all at once. The method that I think should be undertaken is that Metrolinx absorbs some of the smaller 905 transit agencies first, with Burlington and Oakville transit coming to mind, due to the fact that a) they're pretty small, and b) Halton is one of the only regions that doesn't have a regional transit authority (unlike YRT and DRT). Get the kinks worked out there, get the integration and payment model worked out, etc.

In terms of "how we pay for it", what I'd like to see is Metrolinx be given the option to levee a portion of a city's property taxes in order to fund the transit system. Since municipalities already pay for their own transit systems, this should hopefully just be an administrative switch, with the tax rate not really changing ($X that used to go to Burlington Transit in the City's budget now go to Metrolinx). As more transit agencies come in, the tax rate can be gradually evened out so that people everywhere are paying the same % of their property value towards transit.

Once the kinks have been worked out with those first few uploads, upload MiWay and Brampton Transit, followed by DRT and YRT. Once all the 905 agencies are under the same umbrella, then tackle the TTC, which in this case is kind of like a guppy swallowing a whale. You want to be damn sure you have the uploading process down to a science before you try and tackle the TTC.
 
The only resistance I have to any of this is more sentimental than anything. I would much prefer if this new body retains the name (and logo) for the TTC. Obviously it makes sense to amalgamate all these transit bodies, I just don't want to lose the logo and name, etc.

And Gweed, I totally agree, they would need to amalgamate the smaller agencies first to nail the process down before attempting the TTC.
 
As long as council had control on minimum standards of service I wouldn't have an issue with it. I wouldn't want blue night service canceled because other regions didn't have it, or routes which wind through neighborhoods canceled because in another area they only run on main streets. I think there would need to be a fact based planning of surface routes across the GTA plus a way for a city to contribute more to get service beyond the standard offering.
 
As long as council had control on minimum standards of service I wouldn't have an issue with it. I wouldn't want blue night service canceled because other regions didn't have it, or routes which wind through neighborhoods canceled because in another area they only run on main streets. I think there would need to be a fact based planning of surface routes across the GTA plus a way for a city to contribute more to get service beyond the standard offering.

That's a good point. Another part of what I'd like to see is 6 separate divisions set up under the Metrolinx "umbrella": Rapid Transit, Toronto, Durham, York, Peel, and Halton. The latter 5 would look after local service in each of those areas, and could adjust funding from property taxes independently.

Rapid transit, if done properly, usually comes pretty close to breaking even, if not turning a profit in some cases (YUS Subway for example). The big operational drain comes from providing the local services that generally don't make money. The way I see it is the Rapid Transit division would be relatively self-sustaining in terms of operating expenses, with whatever subsidy is required coming from some type of regional revenue tool other than property taxes.

The other 5 agencies would be responsible solely for local transit within their jurisdiction. The user experience would be seamless, but for administrative, planning, and funding purposes they would be separate entities. This silo effect would ensure that taxpayers in Toronto aren't subsidizing a money-losing bus in York Region, or vice versa. Each region could establish independent minimum service standards.

If you want to get really detailed, in terms of route naming/numbering, I think a uniform approach is in order as well. Rapid transit routes would have a 1 letter prefix denoting the transit type (B for BRT, L for LRT, E for GO REX, S for Subway, so the YUS would be S1), while local transit routes would have a two letter prefix denoting the region they run in (TO, DR, YR, PR, HR), which would minimize confusion over having the same bus numbers in different regions.
 
No.

GO transit does fine as a regional service. Municipalities can fund their own transit services.

But you can still independently fund without having completely separate user experiences. It's the appearance of uniformity/seamlesness that matters more than where the money is coming from/who's paying for it, IMO.
 
But you can still independently fund without having completely separate user experiences. It's the appearance of uniformity/seamlesness that matters more than where the money is coming from/who's paying for it, IMO.

Using your Burlington/Oakville exmple above.....one of the reasons that Halton does not have a regional transit authority may be that one of the municipalities in Halton wants no part of public transit.

So how does that get handled in the uploaded model? If ML, having uploaded the two transit agencies thinks "it would good if route X extended up into Georgetown....would the residents of Georgetown get that service "for free" or would they now be forced to pay towards local transit that they never asked for or expressed any willingness to pay for?

A similar situation in Peel...once you upload BRT and MiWay....do you start extending some routes into Caledon because the central planning model indicates that makes sense? If you do, do the Caledonites pay or get something free that they never wanted?
 
Using your Burlington/Oakville exmple above.....one of the reasons that Halton does not have a regional transit authority may be that one of the municipalities in Halton wants no part of public transit.

So how does that get handled in the uploaded model? If ML, having uploaded the two transit agencies thinks "it would good if route X extended up into Georgetown....would the residents of Georgetown get that service "for free" or would they now be forced to pay towards local transit that they never asked for or expressed any willingness to pay for?

A similar situation in Peel...once you upload BRT and MiWay....do you start extending some routes into Caledon because the central planning model indicates that makes sense? If you do, do the Caledonites pay or get something free that they never wanted?

That's a good question. When YRT and DRT came into existence, how did York and Durham Regions handle that, specifically with communities like Port Perry in Durham or East Gwillimbury in York? My guess is neither of those communities had any local transit system prior to the regional transit model coming into effect, and I don't know if they do today. Either way, looking to how that situation was handled (both in terms of service and in terms of taxation) may provide some answers. I honestly don't know the answer to that, but if someone does it would be good to know.
 
Absolutely yes, yes, and yes. Glad to see some big-name support for this concept, because it's the only way we'll ever get around the fiefdom mentality that divides up our transit operations, fare structures, etc.

Though as others have mentioned, I would suggest directly absorbing other agencies into Metrolinx (just assuming they'd be the ones to take over), such as Burlington/Oakville before moving on to Mississauga/Brampton, DRT, YRT, and finally the TTC. While this should happen gradually, it shouldn't take an inordinately long time or else the political will shall dry up with the inevitable speed bumps that will be encountered with any of the smaller initial absorptions.
 
A great idea in theory, but so far Metrolinx hasn't demonstrated that they can handle the planning aspect of transit, let alone daily operations on such a wide scale. Metrolinx would also have to be a truly arms-length agency free from political interference, and they don't have a good track record on this either.
 
Such a regional transit body that deals with long distance transit transcending borders should also include GO operations which would include local accompanying connecting services to traffic people more efficiently when they arrive at a centralized location like shuttle subway services that intercept passengers downtown before they unnecessarily go to Union to have to transfer to Line 1.

And FFS get rid of that Berlin wall boundaries between counties. I wouldn't be surprised if there were just one single fare of $3 anywhere in the GTA including riding the GO there would be a lot more passengers and the revenue coming in would be a lot higher than it is today.
 
Such a regional transit body that deals with long distance transit transcending borders should also include GO operations which would include local accompanying connecting services to traffic people more efficiently when they arrive at a centralized location like shuttle subway services that intercept passengers downtown before they unnecessarily go to Union to have to transfer to Line 1.

And FFS get rid of that Berlin wall boundaries between counties. I wouldn't be surprised if there were just one single fare of $3 anywhere in the GTA including riding the GO there would be a lot more passengers and the revenue coming in would be a lot higher than it is today.

Yeah, it's a strange arrangement. The only separation is an arbitrary line on a map and if you cross it you have to pay an entirely new fare. I've got off the bus at Steeles and walked instead of paying an additional fare, even if it's several KM. This setup will make even less sense when the Spadina extension is operating. If nothing else, I would like to see Metrolinx handle fares for the GTHA region. It's easy enough to track where funds are coming from with Presto if people are inclined to whine about 'fairness' in distribution of those funds.
 

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