Ontario Government to take over the TTC?

Apparently a 12-year, $17.5 billion transit expansion plan for the Greater Toronto Area announced on February 14 said the province of Ontario would like to eventually integrate the Toronto Transit Commission into the fledgling Metrolinx regional authority, and could do so without additional funding.

Formerly known as the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority, Metrolinx's ideal plan is a system of efficient transit across the region that would let commuters travel effortlessly across municipal boundaries without the hassle of separate fare and route systems.

"If you look around at most large urban centres, there tends to be a larger regional body that takes responsibility for these kinds of things," Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty told reporters.

But it isn't clear why Mr. McGuinty floated an idea that municipal and transit leaders vehemently oppose. An independent panel appointed by Toronto Mayor David Miller to examine the city's finances apparently makes no such recommendation.

Miller said a provincial takeover of the TTC would "destroy transit in Toronto," leaving the city at the mercy of politicians at Queen's Park.

The mayor said the TTC needs money, not a takeover. The new plan is set to put new buses and streetcars out to ease overcrowding on routes across the city, with some of the improvements starting with in a week of the announcement.

I have always been in the opinion that finding and expansion for the TTC is critical to aptly service the fifth largest metropolitan area in North America. While I agree that the TTC needs major funding, as well as synergy with municipal transit bodies -- I think anyone who depends on public transit in the GTA does -- ultimately, I believe that the city of Toronto must still be in charge of operating the system.

Click here to read the story form the Toronto Star.

Click here to read the story from the Globe and Mail.