Earlier this week, Local 113 Executive Vice President Angie Clark was invited to present ideas for funding transit to the Ontario Transit Funding Forum, hosted by Transit Futures. Government, academic, industry and NGO leaders heard Angie explain that we need to regain the public’s trust before we ask them for more money – and the only way to do that is through transparency, accountability, and better service. This starts with ending privatization of transit, launching a full inquiry into the Eglinton Crosstown, and prioritizing maintaining and operating what we have – ahead of building new lines.

Based on her years of experience at TTC, Angie described how fare and service decisions are made for politicians, not for riders. For example, workers were told making riders 12 and under free was a misunderstanding, and the policy was never studied for its effectiveness at attracting riders. Right now, TTC is trying to give cross-boundary bus routes to outside operators with no plan to protect current service or allocate fare revenue.

She also explained how Toronto’s transit expansion is a disaster because Metrolinx gave control to the private sector. The Eglinton-Crosstown is way over budget and years late. The Ontario Line is set to cost $1.47 billion per kilometre – making it one of the most expensive subways in history. Local 113 believes that the public is owed some answers before they are asked to provide even more funding.

The public is confused, and for good reason: They are told billions are being invested to improve transit, but all they see is service getting worse because there’s not enough – and what there is, is unreliable and crowded. Cuts to maintenance funding led directly to constant subway delays and the catastrophic Scarborough RT derailment. The streetcar system, meanwhile, is in managed decline and basic bus-only lanes fail because there isn’t enough public support.

The solution Angie put forward, was to rebuild public trust by:

  1. Putting riders first in all our transit planning and policy decisions
    1. Increase service to make it more comfortable and reliable, and to attract more riders
    2. Improve rider experience by making sure the service on the street matches what we promise
  2. Showing we’re spending responsibly
    1. Make sure operations and maintenance are funded, and only then consider expansion.
    2. Launch a full public inquiry into Eglinton-Crosstown to understand the cost overruns and delays
  3. Demonstrating the value of investing in transit
    1. Rethink the P3 model of expensive, privatized expansion project
    2. Maintain public ownership and control of all transit