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Transport Action Canada board members Adam Mills and David Jeanes joined local public transit advocates, municipal leaders and industry professionals from across the country at the Transit for Tomorrow Summit in Ottawa on October 28, 2024.
Led by the TransLink Mayors’ Council and Environmental Defence, the summit participants including all the regional chapters of Transport Action, issued a joint declaration calling on the federal government to:
Transport Action Canada whole heartedly agrees with local transit advocacy groups across the country that the cost of providing adequate public transit and accessible transit, alongside other downloaded costs like affordable housing, is stretching Canadian cities and municipalities to breaking point.
Failure to blend and match capital funding with operating funding also means the federal and provincial dollars sometimes pay for transit assets which can’t then be used and maintained to their full potential. Situations like the rundown of service on Ottawa’s relatively new Confederation Line, TTC subway slowdowns due to deferred maintenance, bus service cuts in Halifax, and the threatened loss of up to 50% of Vancouver’s bus service and deep cuts to Skytrain all point to a dysfunctional funding model in urgent need of reform.
We are disappointed that the details of the federal Canada Public Transit Fund released earlier this year did not include provision for operating funding, and we believe that both federal and provincial programs for transit in rural and Indigenous communities, while welcome, are not adequately resourced to end mobility poverty and ensure that all Canadians, including Indigenous women and girls, have access to a safe form of transportation.
We also continue to urge the government to consider and to develop public transport—transit, motorcoach, and passenger rail—as an integrated travel network that contributes to social cohesion, ensures that all Canadians have dependable access to economic opportunities, and connects people to other public services including healthcare and education.
Note: Transport Action Canada welcomes local transit advocacy groups as affiliate members and collaborates with Environmental Defence on campaigns including stopthe413.ca
Photo: Environmental Defence