Those waiting to hear on Wednesday about whether city council will extend the Sheppard subway line or go with a light-rail transit plan will have to wait a little longer.

City council voted not to extend Wednesday's meeting past 8 p.m., putting a vote on the issue off until at least Thursday.

The future of transit has been one of the city's most divisive issues, and council members had been expected to vote on Wednesday to determine which option to proceed with.

Mayor Rob Ford and his allies are pushing to expand the subway line into Scarborough Town Centre, even though a panel of stakeholders recommended the city go with LRT.

A subway has been a tough sell for Ford because the majority of councillors have said they prefer the LRT option.

Council has already voted to go with an above-ground LRT line along Finch Avenue and an LRT route on Eglinton Avenue that will be partially above ground, rejecting Ford's call for underground routes.

The city is expanding its transit system with more than $8 billion in funding from the province, which has the final say in how the money will be spent.

In an interview with CP24 Wednesday morning, Ontario Transportation Minister Bob Chiarelli said the city is running out of time to come to a final decision on how it wants to spend the money.

"We can't be creating doubts and uncertainty moving forward," he said. "We need an unambiguous plan to come forward from city council now. It's time for a decision."

In the past Chiarelli has said that the will of council will ‘reign supreme' when it comes to spending the $8 billion, but on Wednesday he noted that certain requirements would have to be met.

"It has to make ridership sense, it technically has to be feasible and it needs to be financeable, but I don't see those things as being an impediment," he said. "We are not asking for anything that any other person involved in due diligence wouldn't be asking for. Generally speaking we will be very reasonable."

The estimated cost of a Sheppard subway extension is pegged at about $3.7 billion while the expansion of LRT in Scarborough would come with a price tag of about $1 billion. In the past Ford has said that the city could find the money to pay for the more expensive subway expansion through private sector funding, road tolls and even revenue generated by a new casino. Gordon Chong, a consultant to the mayor and former city councillor who sat on the stakeholders panel, has even suggested a one per cent property tax hike.

However, others on council have different ideas.

"It is a very simple question at the end. We have $1 billion in our pocket today; how do we spend it to give the greatest transit benefit to the greatest number of people in Scarborough and the overwhelming answer is LRT," Glenn De Baeremaeker, a Scarborough-area councillor, told CP24 Wednesday morning. "No casinos will be needed, no toll roads will be needed and no property tax increases will be needed. We have the money in the bank to do this today and I hope we vote today to extend transit out to the Toronto Zoo."

If council elects to go with LRT it will be able to provide more transit to Scarborough residents at a lower cost, De Baeremaeker added.

The Sheppard Avenue East LRT would run from Don Mills Road to Morningside Avenue while the expansion of the Sheppard subway would stop about seven kilometres short of Morningside Avenue.

"If we actually go with subways we deny people transit in Scarborough," De Baeremaeker told CP24.

Coun. Mike Del Grande told CP24 that he has concerns about the impact LRT may have on traffic.

"I don't have a problem with LRT per se, but I do have a problem when they take up roadways and throughout the city there are a number of intersections that are already at capacity," he said. "What are they going to be like 100 years from now?"