Regional Transit

A friend once decided to go from Hamilton to Toronto using public transit - city buses. He connected at the edge of each town. It took him 6 hours. (He should have taken to GO bus).

The GTA (or GTHA if we include Hamilton) is a huge region. The population is large but more important the population is very spread out. People living in Pickering and Burlington work side by side in Toronto's core.

And the population has grown despite a lack of planning for such growth. An example -- condo developments on Yonge north of Steeles will add thousands of new residents to roads not built for them just a little too far to walk easily to the nearest subway (a bit over a kilometre).

That's a problem for building public transit. People drive to work on roads built for fewer people and the bus, rail and subway systems were designed for a smaller population.

And transit is generally municipal. (Bill Davis did good work with GO but that system just hasn't grown fast enough).

Fixing the system will require more roads -- some dedicated to buses (as in the new bus road to York U). It will also require changes to the way transit is organised. The TTC cannot stop at Steeles -- we need seamless regional links. More subways in Toronto would be good but proper commuter rail links to Pickering, Richmond Hill, Milton, Thornhill and Hamilton are part of the mix too.

Which means the Province has to lead. The initiatives are there but only with municipal cooperation can things work.