Issue: Transit and Traffic

The Costs of Car Culture

To appreciate the lunacy of transit policies one need look no further than the impact of cars on the city.

• Toronto Public Health estimates that 1,000 Toronto residents die prematurely and another 5,500 are admitted to hospitals each year due to air pollution. In the city, cars are the major cause of air pollution.

• Unless our use of automobiles changes, concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are expected to double or even triple in the next 50 years. This will lead to global temperature increases of between 1.5 and 5.9 degrees Celsius. The Kyoto Accord recognized that “reducing energy consumption by vehicles, including the family car, will be a big part of the climate change solution.” Canada is a signatory of the Kyoto Accord but is making no significant effort to discourage automobile use. The federal government promised to cut emissions by 6% from 2000 levels but by the end of 2003, greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 24%.

• Cars make our streets unsafe. In 2005 there were 85 people killed in traffic accidents in the City of Toronto. By comparison there were 60 homicides in the same year. The coverage of homicides by the press is intense, but fatal automobile accidents are largely ignored.

• Traffic congestion now is so bad that at rush hours cars choke every highway and the major streets leading into and out of the city. Every day, traffic jams extent well beyond the city limits. It is estimated that gridlock in the Greater Toronto Area is costing trucking and manufacturing companies about $2 billion a year in delays and lost production. There are no plans for major highway construction projects in the City of Toronto.

Ontario Transit Funding

One would think that these facts demand that there be a massive investment in public transit, but the reality is just the opposite. Since the early 1990s politicians have driven the TTC almost to the point of insolvency and fares have been increased to the point where ridership is suffering.

As an added frustration to Torontonians the provincial government heavily subsidizes GO transit, which services the wealthy suburbs surrounding Toronto, and largely ignores the funding needs of the TTC. These are comparative statistics and budget figures.

In 2002, 82% of the funds of the TTC came out of the fare box and 18% came from the City of Toronto. Funding support for the TTC is lower than any other transit system on the continent. By contrast, the GO system was built and maintained by provincial funds. Recently provincial politicians announced a $9 billion capital investment in GO over the next 10 years.

Population and Transit Policy

The funding crisis of the TTC has led to fare increases and a deterioration of services. This led to a drop in the number of riders. Ridership on the system was at its peak in 1989 with 460 million passengers per year. In the early 1990s it plummeted, reaching a low of 370 million passengers a year in 1997. Since that time ridership has slowly recovered to 420 million passengers a year, but it is still below peak levels. Studies show that when fares are increased ridership drops.

While TTC ridership has declined since 1990, the population of the city increased by 11% in the same period. Transit market share of transportation in the city fell from 25% in 1986 to 21% in 2001. The population of the City of Toronto is expected to grow by 20% and employment to grow by 27% between the years of 2001 and 2031. The TTC has developed plans to be able to meet this growth, but the transit system has no money to implement these plans.

Public Transit and Land Use Planning

The city is responsible for land use planning in its borders. The new official plan of Toronto calls for “avenues” of high density residential housing and commercial development to be built. This provides an opportunity for the TTC because high density means that transit can be paid for out of the fare box. Low densities make it impossible to provide good transit without large subsidies. But it takes money to build this new infrastructure and the TTC simply does not have the money.

The most comprehensive analysis of the issues facing the transit system can be found in the TTC study: “Ridership Growth Strategy.” It can be found at:

http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/ttc/ridership_growth_strategy.htm (link opens in a new window.)

Towards a New TTC:

In the “Ridership Growth Strategy” reports that the TTC needs $234 million per year in capital funding and $80 million per year in operating funding to expand the system and meet basic transit needs. This should be seen as a minimum and should be provided by both the provincial and federal governments both though gasoline tax rebates to municipalities and direct grants. The City of Toronto also must maintain its level of funding of $178 million a year.

Once the funding crisis of the TTC is solved these are the principles that must shape the transit system:

• Reduce Fares: The immediate target should be $1.50 per adult ride. Low fares are the most effective way to attract riders and get them out of their cars.

• Improve Existing Service: Service at rush hour and throughout the day must be enhanced.

• Extend Service: New subway lines and dedicated streetcar and bus lanes must be planned and built.

• Education: An extensive public education program extolling the advantages of public transit must be implemented. It should emphasize that transit use is a positive way to decrease air pollution and improve the quality of life in the city. The negative side, that cars harm cities and people, must also be emphasized.

• Integrate Transit Systems: TTC service must be integrated with the transit systems in the surrounding GTA municipalities.

• New Funding Formula: Senior levels of government must provide substantial and stable funding for transit, and all municipalities must pay a fair share of the costs of maintaining the integrated transit system in Toronto and the GTA.

• Development Fees: A system of development fees must be implemented that raises funds from developers who benefit from improved TTC services. These fees can be used to pay the capital costs of services to these developments.

• Discourage Parking Downtown: Special policies must be implemented to discourage on street parking. A special tax on parking lots must be levied to raise money for transit and discourage the use of cars. Employers should be discouraged from providing free parking to employees.

• Tax Vehicles in the Downtown: London, England and other centres tax vehicles in the downtown core of their cities to discourage traffic. A similar policy should be legislated in Toronto.

• Priority to TTC Vehicles: Traffic signal priority must be given to all TTC vehicles.

• Pollution Reduction: All new TTC vehicles must be powered by energy efficient engines that produce no or minimal air pollution.