Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Public transit funding: Ottawa vs. Toronto

Over the next couple of days, Public Transit in Ottawa is going to look at two enormous visions for public transit in Ontario: Ottawa's transportation master plan and Toronto's Transit City proposal.

They both call for multi-billion-dollar investments over the short-, medium-, and long-term and are competing for funding from the province. Elements of Toronto's plan got a big boost after premier Dalton McGuinty pledged over $4 billion to several projects, an announcement that has some in Ottawa asking about what residents here can expect.

Stay tuned to this space.

4 comments:

Dean said...

Well if we had an actual plan and a city council that was capable of sticking to it we might have other levels of government willing to put up some money. Of course having citizens that said the sooner we get started the sooner we all get service would help.

Dwight Williams said...

*raises hand, being ready to speak*

Nick said...

Hey folks,

I know I left you all hanging by saying that "over the next couple of days", we would be looking at the epic Toronto vs. Ottawa transit-funding throwdown.

Needless to say, some things came up. But this will be written about, and it will be great!

Klaus said...

I think it important to get to a point before planning and funding - to the vision and objectives for public transit.

Toronto: The TTC has two major objectives in planning its transit services:
* To maximise mobility within the City of Toronto by ensuring that public transit is provided in the right places, at the right times, to satisfy the changing travel needs within the community.
* To ensure that all transit services operated by the TTC are as efficient and cost-effective as possible and, therefore, affordable to both TTC customers and taxpayers.

Ottawa: OC Transpo's mandate is to deliver safe, reliable and courteous service at a reasonable cost to all residents.

Vision: To provide a quality transit service which is reliable, accessible, cost effective, safe, courteous and offers residents a high level of mobility.

Mission: Excellence in transit services, which is responsive to the growing needs of our community while providing optimal value.

Ottawa City Council sets transit policies and guides the implementation of service. The Director of Transit Services is responsible for operating the transit system within the set policies and budgets, and reports to the Deputy City Manager of Planning, Transit and the Environment, who in turn reports to the Transit Committee and Council.

What would rather see from your transit provider? High level of mobility or maximized mobility?