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Province eyes Metrolinx shakeup

Metrolinx hopes to emulate $2-billion money-loser

Metrolinx, the GTA's transportation agency, said yesterday it is considering partnering with private companies in carrying out the Toronto Transit Commission's Transit City plan to build a series of electric light-rail corridors that are expected to carry 175 million riders a year.

However, this is more than a little worrying:"We will transform this region into one great big construction pit," [John Howe of Metrolinx] said. "But it's short-term pain for long-term gain."
He cited Vancouver's downtown-airport line as a model to emulate. The $2.05-billion Canada Line is a public-private partnership built, operated and paid for, in part, by engineering firm SNC-Lavalin. It opened to the public in August.

Uh, sure you want to do that? Here's the latest on the Canada Line:
The new, $2-billion Canada Line will lose between $14 million and $21 million per year until 2025.

That's despite the fact the line is rapidly approaching the 100,000 riders per day on which the project was based.

The information was contained in a report by provincial comptroller-general Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland concerning TransLink and B.C. Ferries, which was released last week. Kelly McParland
National Post

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/11/17/353669.aspx
 
Metrolinx is holding a free symposium at City Hall on Thursday Nov. 19/09 between 6:30- 9:30 pm to be held in Council Chambers on the third floor. It is free and the panel discussion is open to the public and you can RSVP to protocol@toronto.ca.
 
Gas tax best way to fund light rail, planner says
Peter Kuitenbrouwer, National Post
Published: Monday, January 25, 2010
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/toronto/story.html?id=2480876

A key member of the GTA's regional transportation agency is calling for the province to levy a new gasoline tax to fund Transit City, Toronto's $8-billion light rail expansion plan.

"Car-dependent suburbs only work with easy access to cheap gas," Paul Bedford told students at his regional planning class at Ryerson University last week. "In Europe gas is $2 or $2.50 a litre," he noted. Much of the additional price of gas in Europe are taxes.

Mr. Bedford, Toronto's former chief planner who now sits on Metrolinx's board, suggests the provincial agency "may include a 5¢ or 10¢ [per litre] dedicated gas tax for transit. People scream but they've already forgotten that gas was $1.35 a litre a year ago," said Mr. Bedford, who does not own a car.

Mr. Bedford noted that in two decades greater Toronto will grow by about four million people.

"You are adding greater Montreal into the greater Golden Horseshoe in the next 21 years," he said. "There are myths to dispel. The first myth I hear all the time at Metrolinx is that future growth in the region can be serviced by roads. Well that's just bull----. At one person per car, you would need 72 more lanes of expressway to accommodate just the people who currently into Union Station every morning by GO Train."

He said that road tolls are also an increasingly popular option as a way to fund transit.

"More and more people talk about regional road pricing," he said. "I think in the next two or three years we are going to have a hell of a dialogue or debate."

Mr. Bedford added that he supports electrification of the entire GO network, which is owned by Metrolinx, and suggested that he will have influence with Ontario's new Transportation Minister, Toronto MPP Kathleen Wynne.

"Kathleen Wynne is the new Minister of Transportation," he said. "I am quite happy with that. I know her quite well and I'm going to work with her quite closely at Metrolinx."

pkuitenbrouwer@nationalpost.com
 
I agree fully with Mr. Bedford. We need stable and predictable funding that also has a transportation demand management component to it.

As for electrification, I believe that we should be electrifying as much of the network as is practical. If you're going to do Georgetown then you have to do all of Union,and Lakeshore West until the yard. If you're going to do part of Lakeshore West, then you might as well do all of it, which means that you'll have to do Lakeshore East too. If you're going to do all of that, then you might as well keep going. This is why I support the broader goal of electrifying but not the narrow goal of just doing Georgetown.
 
For electrification... Governments work better with small goals. A project to electrify needs to start somewhere so it might as well start on Georgetown. Making the electrification project part of a plan for the whole system will get bogged down in longer studies, longer waits for funding, concerns about the changes to the power distribution system involved in every GO train running electrically, etc. Electrification of Georgetown will naturally lead to other projects so it really doesn't need to be all encompassing from the start.

Gas tax would be preferable to tolls since tolls are focused on particular road segments and require toll gates to be installed all over the place. With gas taxes it wouldn't matter what route the driver took... the further they drive, the more gas they use, the more taxes they pay. It also deals with environmental issues instead of only road congestion. With a road toll a gas guzzler would pay the same as a fuel efficient car which in terms of road congestion and use makes sense but from an environmental perspective does not.
 
Wow I'm actually agreeing with EnviroTO again. This better not be a recurring theme/nightmare ;)

But anyway I think I agree. Electrification is going to take a long time. At least if we do Georgetown first, it'll give us the know-how on how to do it on the other lines and give us a better idea of how much it's going to cost. Electrification isn't going to happen overnight, and on it's own doesn't really do anything for riders. Only the increased service that can result from electrification will help riders.

And gas tax is definitely better than tolls for sure.
 
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