Category Archives for "Urban Transit"

Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area Regional Rapid Rail: A Vision for the Future

By Transport Action Ontario | Major Reports , Urban Transit

Transport Action Ontario has released a new report, over two years in the making, titled “Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area Regional Rapid Rail: A Vision for the Future“ that looks at converting the vast majority of the GO Transit rail network into a “surface subway” using Electric Multiple-Units (EMUs).  This would serve most areas of the GTHA, from Hamilton to Durham to Simcoe.  The report finds that capital costs are only 20% of the costs of conventional subway, while offering numerous benefits including significant operating cost savings by 2031.

Move the GTHA: It’s time to move on gridlock – Open Letter

By Transport Action Ontario | Press Releases and Open Letters , Urban Transit

Decades of underinvestment have left the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) with an inadequate transportation network and one of the longest average commute times in North America – reducing the region’s economic competitiveness, impairing our health and environment, and limiting the amount of time we spend with families and friends.

Transport Action Ontario is one of about a dozen prominent non-government organizations that have formed the Move the GTHA coalition.  The objective is to support the Ontario government as they introduce new dedicated transportation revenue tools, such as a regional sales tax or regional fuel tax.  Recently the coalition, together with many other organizations, released an open letter to the GTHA’s elected officials calling on them to support Metrolinx’s transit investment strategy.

Citizen’s Guide to Sustainable Transportation Advocacy

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Major Reports , Urban Transit

Transport Action Ontario has just released the Citizen’s Guide to Sustainable Transportation Advocacy.  This 53 page report is an initial effort by Transport Action Ontario to prepare a guide to help support citizen campaigns which support sustainable transport.  We plan to update this guide from time to time, in particular to add other case studies.

Letter to Ontario Minister of Economic Development and Innovation

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Press Releases and Open Letters , Urban Transit

Transport Action Ontario wrote a letter to the Ontario Minister of Economic Development and Innovation stating that we believe that Ontario is facing a serious mobility crisis that seriously undermines private and public initiatives aimed at sustaining and growing Ontario’s industrial base.   We urged the Ministry and the Ontario Jobs and Prosperity Council to work with other provincial ministries and other levels of government to focus on our province’s mobility crisis, especially in the areas of public transportation.

The letter can be viewed here:  TAO-DuguidLtr2012-11

A Case for Toronto Downtown Rapid Transit Relief Line

By Transport Action Ontario | Major Reports , Urban Transit

Transport Action Ontario board member, Ed Levy, recently published a major report on this topic.  Ed has decades of experience in transportation planning and is very well-respected by transit agencies and planners.  The report can be read here.