Transport Action Ontario has submitted a brief to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, in preparation for Ontario Budget 2021. The brief discusses two recommendations:
(a) Immediately improve passenger rail in Southwestern Ontario with municipal and business inputs
(b) Work in conjunction with the Federal Government to institute High Performance Rail across Ontario
The Ontario government has introduced Bill 213, an omnibus bill that includes a proposal to dissolve the Ontario Highway Transport Board. This board was set up decades ago to regulate intercity motorcoach service. It provided exclusive franchises on profitable routes with the expectation that those profits would subsidize less profitable services to rural and remote areas. The system has not worked well in recent years, in that companies were allowed to drop low-performing routes while maintaining their monopolies on lucrative routes.
Transport Action Ontario has long advocated for modernizing the Ontario regulatory framework. However, we recognize that the most widely raised concern about motorcoach services is ensuring province-wide service, with safe places to wait for the bus, not facilitating cutthroat competition on the busiest routes. A further concern is the damaging impact of an out-and-out bus war between private operators on a corridor parallel to VIA Rail or GO Transit. For rural and remote routes. it is likely to continue to be necessary for publicly-owned carriers such as Ontario Northland to operate the routes, or for the province to ensure service provision using community transportations grants.
The Barrie-Collingwood Railway ( a shortline) is currently in danger of abandonment and removal. It is currently owned by the City of Barrie and the County of Simcoe. Transport Action Ontario has written a letter to the owners and other stakeholders urging retention of the line due to its economic benefits and low level of subsidy.
On March 24 and May 25, 2020 Transport Action Ontario (TAO) sent letters to key Federal Ministers on recommendations for improving passenger rail in Canada. See posting on this website on those dates. We received response letters referencing the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, the Transportation 2030: A Strategic Plan for the Future of Transportation in Canada, and VIA’s High Frequency Rail (HFR) proposal.
TAO has now sent a reply expressing our concerns with the Transportation 2030 Plan. We also discussed the importance of a frequency improvement project in the corridor, be it HFR or another approach using existing freight rail corridors along Lake Ontario.
Transport Action Ontario’s (TAO) annual general meeting, postponed from its usual spring date due to the pandemic, will be held on Saturday, October 24, 2020, starting at 1:00 pm Eastern. As is our usual practice, we will also have a presentation open to the public. Both events will be virtual, and free to join from your computer or phone. Here are the details:
Public Presentation (1:00 pm)
We are pleased to announce that our guest lecturer will be Stephen Wickens, transit researcher and journalist with a four-decade career at four Toronto-based daily newspapers. Steve will summarize his recent report for the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO) entitled “Station to Station: Why Subway-building Costs have Soared in the Toronto Region”. This thoughtful report has been well received and hopefully will inform government decisions about at-grade versus below-grade rapid transit projects.
Annual General Meeting (2:00pm)
The AGM will review 2019-2020 performance by the organization and elect the executive and board of directors for the upcoming year. TAO members in good standing will receive an electronic invite and can vote at the virtual meeting, or give a proxy to another member. Send proxy information to ontario@transportaction.ca.
TAO is always looking for new members to join our board of directors. If you have a passion for public transportation and want to make a difference, contact us at ontario@transportaction.ca.
