John Tory and Gil Peñalosa have now unveiled new plans for Toronto’s current transit system, with election day just four days away.
Both promise expanded public transit projects, although issues regarding cost and lack of immediate improvements have faced the most criticism.
Transit activist Steve Munro told Humber Et Cetera the focus should be on service management and reliability.
“I’m very worried,” Munro said. “There’s been too much of a focus on big-ticket construction projects and not enough on day-to-day funding and quality of service.”
Munro is concerned regarding eliminating bus overlap causing huge wait-time gaps, and providing more options for those living in suburban areas needing faster routes to get across the city rather than just to the downtown area.
Tory’s expansion plan is primarily funded by the provincial government and consists of four main projects: the Scarborough Subway extension connecting to multiple lines, the Ontario Line LRT, Eglinton Crosstown LRT, and the Yonge North extension on Line 1. Tory said all four projects will cost $28 billion to build.
John Tory's transit plan map using LRTs and subways, and funding from the province. Photo credit: Government of Ontario
The plan was announced by the provincial government in 2019 with construction starting immediately. Two weeks ago, the Scarborough Subway extension, expected to be operational by this fall, was delayed again as workers ran behind schedule. Tory said that if elected, he would ensure that these projects are completed.
However, Munro mentioned that this plan doesn’t solve any ongoing concerns that require immediate attention.
“We’re going to build a bunch of stuff and it’ll open in 10 years but meanwhile, where’s my bus?” he said.
Ramin Kaur, an employee at Amazon in Etobicoke, faces many bus delays and long wait times as she heads to work.
“If I miss the bus by even one minute I have to wait for 30 minutes,” she said. “We sometimes have to wait for half an hour and sometimes over an hour.”
Kaur said that on weekends she normally has to Uber to work to arrive on time due to these delays and wait times.
Munro told Humber Et Cetera that the current transit service is currently oriented towards the conventional Monday-to-Friday rush hours.
“If you’re trying to get around outside that [rush hours], especially on the weekend, good luck,” he said.
Peñalosa plans to address wait time concerns with his ‘FastLane’ BRT service. His $3.2 billion plan would involve the addition of nearly 62 kilometres of high speed bus lanes and 30 additional bus-only lanes across Toronto and is expected to be completed within four to eight years.
Gil Peñalosa's FastLane transit plan map with busses. Photo credit: Gil Penalosa
These buses are planned to pass by as often as subways.
Munro said while the plan is more cost-effective than Tory’s, it is very limiting. The routes are within the city core and it doesn’t solve anything for residents outside of these routes.
“If you don’t happen to be on Gil’s map, well you’re going to have to wait for the same bus that will be coming just as often as it does today,” he said.
Bijeesh Mallika, a frequent TTC bus rider and York resident, expressed his frustrations when travelling across the city.
“I find it difficult to use transit,” Mallika said. “Buses come in every 30-40 minutes and there are normally delays.”
Mallika wishes to see Peñalosa’s plan get built. He notes that buses are much more accessible to him as his daily routines take him near the northern border of the city where there are almost no subway routes.
Munro told Humber Et Cetera that the transit system needs an “overall improvement in the quality of service” before it takes on large expansions that have the same issues.
“We need some quantity too, but we need quantity in terms of improving the system we’ve got now rather than adding long dotted lines on a map that say ‘coming soon’ and having to wait,” Munro said.