Critics say PCs have broken transit deal

Asking firm other than TTC to run Ontario Line would ‘create a mess’

The province’s new plan for building the Ontario Line is raising concerns from Toronto city councillors and opposition MPPs, who say Premier Doug Ford’s government isn’t living FF up to the agreement it struck u with council and has delayed ww the expansion of the network. t On Tuesday, the Ministry of Transportation announced it was issuing requests for pro- ww posals for the Ontario government’s signature transit project that included a 30-year con- ttt ract to build, operate and maintain its vehicles, train control system, operations centre, and maintenance and storage aa facility. The 15.5-kilometre, $11-billion line, which would connect Exhibiton Place to the Ontario Science Centre, is expected to be automated, but would still require staff to maintain and operate the fleet and related systems. Some councillors say the request for proposals violates the deal they approved in October, according to which the province wouldn’t upload the subway system but would fund the ww construction of new lines, while the TTC would “maintain day- tt to-day operations.” “On the face of it, this looks like a contradiction of the agreement that the city and the province had,” said Coun. Gord Perks (Ward 4, Parkdale—High Park), who warned having a private- sector contractor oversee key aspects of the Ontario Line’s operations while the TTC ran the rest of the network would cause conflicts that would worsen service. “The way they’ve structured this (request for proposals) and and their complete unwillingness to help the TTC during the pandemic shows that the province has no interest in there actually being a viable transit sys- tt tem in Toronto. They just want ribbons to cut,” he said. Coun. Josh Matlow (Ward 12, Toronto—St. Paul’s) said the TTC not having full control over operating a key line in the network would lead to problems like those that have bedevilled the Presto fare card system, which the province imposed on Toronto’s transit network. “The government is not living up to, if not the words, certainly not the spirit of the agreement” with council about the Ontario ww Line, Matlow said. “They’re going to create a mess.” Christina Salituro, a spokesperson for Transportation Minster Caroline Mulroney, said issuing a bid for a private sector contractor to take on some aspects Ontario Line operations does conform to the agreement with the city. “The City of Toronto/TTC will be responsible for the day- ww to-day operations,” she said in an email. She said although final agreements had yet to be reached, the winning bidder on the procurement contract could have cc responsibilities like managing the train schedules, maintain- tt ing service frequency and “responding to incidents that impact operations.” Roles the TTC could be responsible for include “forward facing customer personnel” like station managers, transit officers and overall network transit control. City spokesperson Brad Ross said the city also doesn’t believe the request for proposals vio- tt lates the agreement council approved. Ontario NDP transit critic Jessica Bell slammed the government for scrapping the previous plan for a relief line subway and replacing it with the ww Ontario Line. “The Ford government ripped up a shovel-ready relief line plan to go back to the drawing board, setting transit construction back years,” said Bell (University- Rosedale) in a statement. “Ford is learning the hard way that it’s easy to draw lines on a map, but it’s much harder to actually build transit.”