All Posts by Transport Action Ontario

Key Actions to Re-engineer Canadian Passenger Transportation for the Future

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News

Transport Action Ontario has written a second letter to the federal Ministers of Infrastructure, Environment and Transport indicating key actions to re-engineer Canadian passenger transportation for the future. Important ideas discussed were

-Replacing short haul flights with passenger rail

-Making Pearson Airport an intercity rail hub

-Subsidizing long-distance intercity bus operations

The full letter can be viewed here.

Emergency Funding for Kasper Transportation

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Northern Ontario

Kasper Transportation, a Canadian small inter-city bus operator, has suspended all service in Northwestern Ontario, effective May 2. Transport Action Ontario calls for emergency funding from Ontario in order that their vital services can start up again.

Our letter to Minister Mulroney can be viewed below.

Canada’s climate action and rail transportation policy and actions

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News

Transport Action Ontario has written to the federal Ministers of Infrastructure, Environment and Transport indicating that rail transportation policy and actions are vital in meeting Canada’s climate change goals. We identify 6 major concern areas.

Our letter can be viewed here:

Hamilton LRT Project Update

By Transport Action Ontario | Latest News , Urban Transit

Our earlier posting of December 18, 2019 expressed our disappointment with cancellation of this LRT project. Since then, we have continued to be active on this file. On December 31, 2019, we wrote the Auditor General of Ontario expressing our concerns with the rationale and process of cancellation. We had a productive meeting with the Auditor General in February, and are hopefully that they will act on our concerns. Our letter is attached.

As part of the cancellation announcement, the Province stated it was still committed to a investment of $1 billion towards future transit and transportation in Hamilton. A Task Force was set up in January to recommend how this funding is to be used. According to media reports, the Task Force reported back to Minister Mulroney on March 16, but the report will not be made public at this time. Stay tuned!

Audit of Scarborough Subway Extension (SSE) Decision Making

By Transport Action Ontario | Latest News , Urban Transit

As readers know, the 2019 Provincial Budget re-introduced a 3-stop subway extension project for Scarborough. Transport Action Ontario has long expressed concerns about the SE, and felt that other alternatives, such as Smart Spur, need to be studied. See our most recent post of April 7, 2019.

In February, Metrolinx published a Preliminary Design Business Case for the SSE. Remarkably, the business-as-usual case considered for comparison was a surface bus network that has never been proposed by anyone!

Transport Action Ontario has written the Auditor General of Ontario expressing our concerns that no proper Initial Business Case has ever been undertaken for this project. This would involve a proper apples-to-apples comparison of 5 alternatives:

• Upgrading the existing Scarborough Rapid Transit with new vehicles
• 7-stop LRT, as proposed in 2007
• Smart Spur in conjunction with GO Expansion, as proposed in 2015
• One-stop underground subway, as proposed in 2016
• Three stop underground subway, as proposed now

Our letter to the Auditor General is attached. We look forward to a response.