New Democrat tables national transit strategy

OTTAWA- Despite the many social, environmental, economic and health benefits provided by high quality public transit, Canada is the only OECD country that does not have a national public transit strategy. Today, in the House of Commons, New Democrat Toronto MP Olivia Chow addressed this failure by introducing the National Public Transit Strategy Act.

Demanded by the Canadian Urban Transit Association, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and the Urban Transportation Task Force, the Act pushes the federal government to take a leadership role in coordinating efforts to maintain and expand public transit across the country.

“Canadians deserve fast, reliable, affordable and accessible public transit,” said Chow. “Every year billions of dollars are lost due to traffic congestion while simultaneously transit authorities struggle to meet demands.”

Chow’s legislation outlines a strategy for the federal government to:

• Provide a permanent investment plan to support public transit
• Establish federal funding mechanisms for public transit
• Work together with all levels of government to provide sustainable, predictable, long term and adequate funding
• Etablish accountability measures to ensure that all governments work together to increase access to public transit.

With only intermittent piecemeal federal investments, CUTA estimates that over the next five years there will be an $18 billion gap in transit infrastructure needs. Currently, an average of 53% of public transit operating costs are funded through passenger fares, 28.8% from municipalities, five percent from provinces and territories and 12.7% from other sources.

“Investment in public transit creates jobs, fuels economic growth, contributes to clean air, lowers greenhouse gas emissions and decreases congestion,” said Chow. “It’s high time Canada had sustainable funding coupled with a comprehensive transit strategy.”