SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Ontario Assembly

43rd Parl. 1st Sess.
November 20, 2023 10:15AM
  • Nov/20/23 11:10:00 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Transportation.

This government loves to talk about investing in transit, but under their watch, transit agencies are more underfunded than ever. What good is a new subway line if the other subway lines and bus routes are getting cut because the TTC is starved for funding and this government wouldn’t pay up? Our economy relies on public transit getting our workers to work on time. Transit agencies are cutting routes while increasing fares. Reduced service is a major obstacle to bringing people back on the TTC, where we are only at 78% of pre-pandemic usage. The TTC does not have the money to restore service, and we need the province to step up. The provincial subsidy for transit agencies is not tied to inflation.

Will the minister commit to funding the transit service that Ontarians rely on, or will they continue treating bus riders as an afterthought?

Having witnessed one LRT line derail because of poor maintenance, I would hope that this government would see it as a warning that they need to invest in the system. Instead, the TTC has to cancel buying new trains for Line 2 because of their provincially supported funding crisis. The trains on Line 2 are not built to last past 2026, and thousands of commuters and I are worried that a serious accident might occur once again. We need to buy new trains, and this government needs to step up because the TTC cannot afford it alone.

Will the minister commit to helping Toronto replace the trains, or is he content to watch another subway derail under his government’s watch?

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