Province silent on city’s HSR/LRT request

Hot potato faces Liberals nine months before voters go to polls in provincial election

Premier Kathleen Wynne said she hoped the province would respond “sooner rather than later” to city council’s request to have HSR transit workers operate and maintain the coming LRT system.

Well, it’s a month now since council belatedly threw that curve ball at Metrolinx and its provincial masters and the silence is earsplitting.

Not a word has been heard, discouraging or otherwise. And Metrolinx spokesperson Jamie Robinson says he’s unable to provide any update on the discussions or even a timetable for an update.

At this stage Mayor Fred Eisenberger isn’t “overly concerned” about the lack of response. But he says it will become a “major concern” if one month turns into three. What’s the holdup? It probably has less to do with foot dragging and more to do with figuring out how to handle this hot potato.

As Eisenberger points out, it’s not the province’s fault that council suddenly asked to change the approach to finding a consortium to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the system.

“I think they’re being careful and I think they should be. When it comes to operating and maintaining this new line that they’re going to own, the long term impacts of that are potentially significant so I would say they’re doing the work they need to do to make sure the right decision is made in terms of next steps.”

Bear in mind, Metrolinx had already concluded the request for qualifications (RFQ) process to pinpoint prospective bidders on the $1 billion provincially-funded project when council’s tardy request landed and rattled the procurement game plan.

If the province does gives a green light to HSR operating and maintaining the 14-km. LRT system, Metrolinx may have to reissue the RFQ, which could have a knock-on delaying effect, including failing to ink a deal with a private sector bidder before the June 2018 provincial election.

On the other hand, ignoring council’s request could create bad blood with the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) workers who drive HSR buses, which could be politically exploited by opposition parties in next year’s provincial election.

If one thing is clear in this mess it’s that ultimately the LRT workforce will be unionized, whether the system is run by HSR or contracted out by the private sector. The only question is will it be ATU or another union such as Teamsters Canada.

It’s a safe bet that right now Metrolinx and the province are wrestling with the question of whether HSR, the city-owned transit department, actually has the ability to operate and maintain a rail system.

It’s also a safe bet that the province will say no to the maintenance ask. After all, when we talk about maintenance, we’re not just talking washing the light rail vehicles after a day on the tracks. It typically includes caring for all rolling stock, tracks, signals, stations, facilities, and electrical and communication infrastructure, all of which will be provincially-owned assets.

Similarly, operating the system includes more than simply driving the vehicles. It may also involve overseeing all vehicle movements, safety systems, staffing, priority signalling, ridership numbers, and emergency incidents.

It’s possible the province may be willing to give HSR if not complete control of operations than a slice of the responsibilities, which would a least save face for both council and ATU Local 107.

On the other hand, the Wynne government could throw its own curve ball at council by suggesting HSR take part in the competitive bidding process alongside private sector proponents. In other words, let HSR and its unionized workers conclusively prove they can do the work in a reliable and cost-effective way.

Whatever the province decides, let’s hope it coughs up a response soon — if not in time for next Tuesday’s LRT subcommittee meeting, surely no later than the special LRT meeting tentatively set for Sept. 26.