TTC CEO Andy Byford says he believes Bombardier has now finally provided a “credible timeline” for when the city can expect to see more previously promised state-of-the-art streetcars.
After major delays in the production schedule, Bombardier issued a statement Wednesday, vowing to ramp up its operations in September to deliver four new streetcars per month until all 204 streetcars in the $1.25 billion order are complete.
The TTC had expected to receive 37 streetcars by the end of 2014 and a total of 73 by the end of 2015, however, the timeline has been revised and Bombardier now says they will only be able to provide 23 by the end of this year.
To date, the city only has seven of the new streetcars in operation.
While TTC Chair Josh Colle says he is happy to see Bombardier has committed to a more realistic timeline, he is still skeptical.
“I am kind of sick of their excuses at this point. I don’t want any more excuses. I just want our damn streetcars,” he told reporters at city hall on Wednesday morning.
“I think our riders deserve better from Bombardier. We’ve been extremely patient both as a commission and as a city council who has invested a billion dollars in this company and these vehicles.”
If Bombardier lives up to the current production schedule, Byford said the city should have a total of about 70 new streetcars by the end of 2016.
Byford said that while the city has only received eight new streetcars to date, Bombardier had previously sent more that did not meet the city’s standards.
“We could have had 50 on property but why would we accept shoddy vehicles that don’t operate,” he said.
“The acid test is will we start seeing quality vehicles rolling off that production line.”
In a statement issued Wednesday, Bombardier said they have taken a “strategic step back” to ensure quality is maintained in the manufacturing process.
“While this may have caused delays, it ensures we produce the highest quality vehicles, as expected by our TTC customer and its riders," the statement read.
"Bombardier assures that all of the vehicles will be of the utmost quality, like all those that are in service today, performing at an industry-leading 98% availability rate."
Meanwhile, the TTC board is meeting today and the board will be discussing whether Bombardier should be barred from bidding on future projects in light of the streetcar delays.
“I think that is going to be a very robust and intense debate because I know my fellow commissioners are as equally disappointed as I am,” Colle said.
“So I think a lot of them will be pushing for some fairly drastic measures.”
The meeting is set to begin at 1 p.m. at city hall.
