Provincial Transit Improvements

The province is promoting a more balanced transportation system by expanding GO Transit services, making investments in both renewal and expansion of municipal transit and other transit improvements.

GO Transit

GO Transit is Canada's first, and Ontario's only, interregional public transit system, established to link Toronto with the surrounding regions of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), as well as other communities in central Ontario. GO Transit carries 44 million passengers a year in an extensive network of train and bus services that is one of North America's premier transportation systems. Since it began operating in May 1967, more than three-quarters of a billion people have taken the GO Train or the GO Bus.

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Municipal Transit Renewal

The province is helping municipalities renew and upgrade their transit fleets to improve their reliability, reduce operating costs, improve accessibility, reduce emissions and improve passenger comfort.

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Municipal Transit Expansion

Over and above investments in renewing municipal transit systems, the province is also expanding transit systems through investments in:

• new rolling stock, tracks (or transit-ways), signal systems and related infrastructure to support service intensification or expansion including projects that introduce rapid bus systems on dedicated lanes as an intermediate step;
• station infrastructure to support transit oriented development and inter-modal transfer opportunities such as park-and-ride facilities; and
• advanced transit technology, including advanced fare collection systems.

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Other Transit Improvements

MTO has been working on a number of initiatives to improve the efficiency of transit and transportation systems including: implementing legislation; investing in dedicated lanes for high occupancy vehicles, bus bypass shoulders and carpool lots; and planning for future opportunities to integrate multi-modal corridors.

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GO Transit

GO Trains and GO Buses serve a population of five million in an 8,000 square kilometre area radiating from downtown Toronto to Hamilton and Guelph in the west; Orangeville, Barrie and Beaverton to the north; and Port Perry, Oshawa and Newcastle in the east. The buses extend service as far as 100 kilometres from downtown Toronto. GO Transit connects with every municipal transit system in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas, including the Toronto Transit System (TTC).

The provincial government is responsible for funding the portion of GO's operating costs that are not recovered through passenger fares and other revenue. The government is also responsible for the base capital funding needed for rehabilitation and replacement, to keep the system in a good state of repair.

GO is a Crown Agency of the province under the Ministry of Transportation. The Minister of Transportation sets the strategy and policy framework for GO, and the GO Transit Board provides business direction to staff.

GO Transit Figures for 2002/2003

Annual operating expenses:	$215,346,000
Annual operating revenues:	$183,636,000
Revenue/cost ratio:	85.3%
Total number of passengers carried:	44.8 M
Fleet size (no. of trains and buses):	45 locomotives, 341 bi-level railcars, 237 buses
Total number of GO Transit rail stations:	53
Total number of rail lines:	7
Total number of bus terminals:	14
Total number of parking spaces  at GO Transit rail stations and bus terminals:	Approximately 41,000

In 2002/2003, GO Transit invested approximately $50.5 million to expand its network as part of its 10-year Capital Expansion Plan. This investment included the purchase of 20 bi-level railcars to expand the GO Transit fleet, to relieve crowding on existing rush-hour trains.

GO Transit in 2003/2004

For the current fiscal year, the province will be providing GO Transit with an operating subsidy of almost $37 million and base capital funding of almost $90 million.

Total provincial funding for GO Transit's growth/enhancement budget for this year will be over $108 million, which includes:

• GTA Transit Fare Card

  The GTA Transit Fare Card partnership was initiated under GO Transit's leadership to introduce a region-wide fare card that will offer a seamless trip for riders using multiple transit systems. This will encourage environmentally friendly transit alternatives for commuters and promote integration of regional and local transit systems.

• Bus Rapid Transit System

  The province has committed over $33 million, starting in budget year 2003/04 to help build the first phase of a bus rapid transit system across the Greater Toronto Area.

  The province is also investing $4 million in expanded "park-and-ride" lots and other improvements to the 403-407 corridor to support a bus rapid transit network.

• GO Transit Capital Expansion

  The GO Transit 10-Year Capital Expansion Plan addresses ridership and growth pressures, and includes building new stations, improvements to Union Station, expanding parking lots and additional trains to support future expansion of rail service across the Golden Horseshoe.

  GO Transit developed its 10-Year Capital Expansion Plan in close collaboration with the municipalities serviced by GO Transit which was put forward on the basis of one-third municipal, one-third provincial and one-third federal funding.

  The province and the federal government committed $385 million each for GO Transit capital improvements including:

  • Union Station - track and signal improvements;
  • Lakeshore West – add third track, Port Credit to Oakville;
  • Lakeshore West – add third track, Burlington to Hamilton Junction;
  • Lakeshore East – add third track, Don River to Scarborough (Guildwood);
  • Develop East Storage Yard – train storage/staging area east of Union Station;
  • West Toronto Diamond, Georgetown Corridor – rail/rail grade separation;
  • Milton Corridor improvements – increased track capacity;
  • Georgetown Corridor – increased track capacity;
  • CN Weston Subdivision – road/rail grade separations;
  • Bradford Corridor – rail/rail grade separation;
  • Stouffville Corridor – rail/rail grade separation;
  • Bradford to Barrie – extension of GO train service; and
  • Peterborough, Niagara, Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge and Guelph – enhanced commuter services.

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Municipal Transit Renewal

The province is investing $103.9 million in 2003 to improve and renew public transit in 47 municipalities. (see Fig. 1, below). This includes incentive funding for municipalities who have been successful in increasing transit ridership and incorporating alternatively fuelled/low emission vehicles into their transit fleets. While funding is generally targeted to fleet replacement and renewal, municipalities that have higher order transit with dedicated infrastructure, such as Toronto and Ottawa, may also use the funds to renew transitways, subway tunnels and streetcar tracks.

Fig. 1: 2003 - Ontario Transit Renewal Allocations

	Municipality	Eligible Funding
1	Ajax/Pickering*	$650,000
2	Barrie	$493,267
3	Brampton	$1,976,442
4	Brantford	$469,133
5	Burlington	$938,667
6	Clarington	$20,512
7	Cobourg	$66,667
8	Cornwall	$375,000
9	Guelph	$1,200,449
10	Hamilton	$3,448,899
11	Kawartha Lakes	$136,667
12	Kenora	$43,365
13	Kingston	$437,158
14	London	$2,219,000
15	Midland	$9,424
16	Mississauga	$5,061,000
17	Niagara Falls	$374,427
18	North Bay	$443,333
19	Oakville	$760,000
20	Orangeville	$45,716
21	Orillia	$331,433
22	Oshawa	$1,016,033
23	Ottawa	$12,900,000

	Municipality	Eligible Funding
24	Peel Region	$233,233
25	Peterborough	$749,267
26	Port Hope	$33,333
27	Quinte West	$26,667
28	Sarnia	$573,218
29	Sault Ste. Marie	$173,333
30	St Catharines	$896,817
31	St Thomas	$73,333
32	Stratford	$325,000
33	Sudbury	$166,667
34	Thunder Bay	$771,667
35	Timmins	$343,333
36	Toronto	$62,300,000
37	Trent Hills	$26,667
38	Uxbridge/Scugog*	$18,648
39	Waterloo Region	$1,500,000
40	Welland	$128,667
41	West Elgin	$25,000
42	West Perth	$24,982
43	Windsor	$1,488,667
44	Woodstock	$29,000
45	York Region	$616,333
Total		$103,940,424

* Represents two municipalities responsible for one transit system receiving funding.

These investments build on $96.8 million invested by the Province in 2002 to help renew municipal transit fleets through:

• purchasing 174 new transit replacement buses and 75 new specialized replacement buses;
• refurbishing 223 buses and, in many cases, helping to improve access to transit for the elderly and people with disabilities.

Fig. 2: 2002 - Transit Renewal Allocations

	Municipality	Eligible Funding
1	Ajax/Pickering*	$873,126
2	Amherstburg	$11,056
3	Barrie	$498,168
4	Belleville	$192,474
5	Blind River	$6,660
6	Brampton	$1,099,433
7	Brantford	$122,877
8	Brockville	$32,022
9	Burlington	$596,137
10	Chapleau	$5,661
11	Clarington	$5,128
12	Coburg	$23,976
13	Cornwall	$175,896
14	Dryden	$4,995
15	Dysart et Al	$6,660
16	Elliot Lake	$69,930
17	Espanola	$5,661
18	Georgian Highlands (Meaford)	$6,660
19	Guelph	$650,385
20	Halton Hills	$6,660
21	Hamilton	$3,167,513
22	Kapuskasing	$6,660
23	Kawartha Lakes	$7,992
24	Kenora	$39,960
25	Kingston	$369,793
26	London	$2,324,621
27	Midland	$15,318
28	Mississauga	$3,611,501
29	Niagara Falls	$426,086
30	North Bay	$345,724
31	NW Simcoe (was Collingwood)	$13,320
32	Oakville	$529,470
33	Orangeville	$9,990

	Municipality	Eligible Funding
34	Orillia	$295,704
35	Oshawa	$539,127
36	Ottawa	$12,869,717
37	Paris (now Brant County)	$13,320
38	Peel	$120,812
39	Pembroke	$15,537
40	Peterborough	$417,249
41	Port Hope and Hope	$26,640
42	Quinte West	$5,328
43	Sarnia	$328,966
44	Sault Ste Marie	$279,720
45	Schrieber	$6,660
46	St Catharines	$478,548
47	St Thomas	$119,880
48	Stratford	$255,744
49	Sudbury (Greater)	$728,604
50	Thunder Bay	$583,749
51	Tilsonburg	$27,131
52	Timmins	$342,657
53	Toronto	$62,267,244
54	Trent Hills (Campbellford)	$5,204
55	Uxbridge/Scugog*	$4,662
56	Waterloo Region	$1,518,296
57	Welland	$99,367
58	West Elgin	$6,660
59	West Perth (was Mitchell)	$5,994
60	Whitby	$194,472
61	Windsor	$859,154
62	Woodstock	$86,580
63	York Region	$2,235,762
Total		$100,000,000

* Represents two municipalities responsible for one transit system receiving funding.

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Municipal Transit Expansion

Over and above investments in renewing municipal transit systems, the province is also expanding transit systems through investments (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3: Provincial Investments in Municipal Transit Expansion Projects

Municipality	Projects	*Estimated Total Cost	*Estimated Provincial Funding
City of Toronto	Expansion of "park-and-ride" facilities and operational improvements at the Finch, Downsview, Kennedy and Kipling TTC stations; Improvements to transit-vehicle tracking systems; A study to evaluate roadway improvements and service for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) from the Spadina subway to York University/Steeles Avenue; Roadway improvements and a study for BRT service on Yonge Street from Finch Avenue to Steeles Avenue; Station improvements to encourage inter-regional transit use at Kennedy, Finch and Dundas West stations; Improvements to give transit vehicles priority on key inter-regional routes. Continuous speed control; Transit Control Centre; and Transit priority projects.	$101 M	$33.3 M
Ottawa	Expansion of several "park-and-ride" facilities and corresponding bus services; Construction of Kanata Centrum Station; Vehicle tracking systems to improve transit performance; and A study for rapid-transit expansion.	$59.2 M	$19.7 M
Waterloo Region	Express bus services (seven buses); Bus and passenger facilities; and Advanced transit technologies.	$16 M	$5.3 M
York Region	Funding to support York Region’s “Quick Starts” program to develop rapid transit in four heavily utilized corridors; Expansion buses; Specialized transit buses (10) for expansion; Upgrade of conventional scheduling software; Upgrade of specialized scheduling software; and Bus bays at the new Centennial GO Station in Markham.	$170 M	$56.6 M
London	Up to $912,000 for the City of London to fund projects including expanded bus services to newly amalgamated areas, and station and operational improvements.		Up to $912,000
Kingston	Up to $275,000 for the City of Kingston to expand bus services to newly amalgamated areas.		Up to $275,000
Cornwall	Up to $250,000 for the City of Cornwall to implement an electronic fare collection system.		Up to $250,000
City of Brampton	Additional Highway 7 bus service between York Region and Brampton; Additional buses for new shuttle services between residential growth areas and GO stations; and Expansion buses (eight).	$4 M	$1.33M
City of Guelph	Inter-regional/Inter-modal Transit Terminal Feasibility Study.	$0.075M	$0.025M
City of Burlington	Terminal expansion and renewal.	$0.695M	$0.231M
Town of Oakville	The construction of a new bus terminal at Highway 5 and Trafalgar Road.	$0.625M	$0.208M
City of Hamilton	Regional Transit Hub Study; Customer service/Paratransit reservation/Dispatching software; and Hamilton Airport Shuttle (1 expansion bus).	$1.727M	$0.575M
City of Peterborough	Installation of Transit Priority Technology at signalized intersections.	$0.4M	$0.133M
Cities of Mississauga, Burlington, Brampton, Hamilton, and Town of Oakville	Study of Automated Vehicle Location Systems and related transit technology.	$0.1M	$0.033M
City of Pickering	Construction of a pedestrian crossing over Highway 401 connecting with Pickering GO Station.	$3.25M	$1.08M
Inter-modal terminal at Union Station	New inter-city bus/inter-modal terminal at Union Station.	$20M-25M	$6M-$9M
Park and Ride Facilities	Park and Ride facilities creating inter-modal linkages to municipal transit/inter-city bus services.	$15M	$15M

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Other Transit Improvements

Yield to Bus

The province has been working with municipal transit to implement legislation to require cars to yield to buses leaving bus bays to merge with traffic. This legislation (Section 142.1 of the Highway Traffic Act) will come into effect January 2, 2004 making transit service more reliable, especially during rush hours and improving service to commuters

Carpool Lots

MTO provides support to carpooling activities through the operation and maintenance of a network of 75 carpool lots in Eastern, Southwestern and Central Ontario at selected highway interchanges near large urban centres. An increasing number of these lots are being served by transit. The ministry has available brochures that indicate the locations of these lots, and is moving towards having an electronic version available on the ministry website.

Transit Protection/Integration Study

To improve transportation choices and plan for future opportunities to integrate multi-modal corridors, MTO is currently examining the potential for incorporating transit facilities on 400-series highways in Central Ontario. This study supports both the ministry's focus on increasing transit use as part of a broader congestion management strategy and the ministry's overall planning for an integrated and balanced transportation system.

The study will identify strategies and initiatives to address long-term transit needs in existing and proposed new highway corridors. A number of potential applications are under consideration and they include:

• Reserved Bus Lanes (RBL) - lanes designated for buses;
• Busway - buses operating on a fully separated right-of-way, potentially using a guidance system;
• Light Rapid Transit - rail-based system including streetcar and advanced rail technologies;
• Heavy Rail Transit - GO rail system; and
• High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes - lanes reserved for vehicles (including buses and cars) with two or more passengers.

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Related links *

• Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA)
• American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
• GO Transit
• Ontario Community Transportation Association (OCTA)
• Ontario Financing Authority (OFA)