City council will have all the “leverage” when it comes time to decide who will operate a trio of provincially-funded LRT lines, a west-end councillor says.
Coun. Gord Perks made the comment to CP24 Friday afternoon, about a week after Metrolinx informed the TTC that it is seeking a private partner to operate and maintain the provincially-funded Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown, Finch and Sheppard LRT lines.
“We not only have the leverage, they can’t do it without our permission and I am not going to give them that permission,” Perks said. “We are putting the province on notice. You cannot call the shots here. This is a city street and you are going to have to enter into a meaningful conversation with us.”
On Wednesday Perks, along with Coun. Joe Mihevc, will bring forward a motion that calls on council to formally adopt the position that the new LRT lines, paid for with about $8 billion in provincial funding, should be controlled by the Toronto Transit Commission.
Speaking with CP24 Friday, Perks said he has serious concerns about what could happen if the lines fall under third-party control, citing recent difficulties in Vancouver with a third-party operator there.
“I have got concerns. Are they going to do the same thing as we saw the private operator do in British Columbia and start cutting out stations to save money? Are they going to give up on tunneling and just cut the street open and leave it that way for years?” he said. “We have issues that they have to answer before any agreement gets signed.”
Metrolinx has previously said that a one-fare system will be used for the private LRT lines, meaning customers won’t have to worry about digging into their pocket for extra change after transferring from TTC subways or buses.
Perks, however, told CP24 that he has doubts about how user friendly a transit system with several different operators would be.
“Toronto has an advantage over just about every transit city in the world. I get on a bus, I transfer onto the subway than I come up and give them my transfer and boom I’m on the streetcar,” he said. “It’s one fare, one administration and it works great.”
According to Metrolinx, construction of the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT and Finch West LRT lines will be complete by 2020, while the Sheppard East LRT line will be up and running by 2021.
The Scarborough RT replacement and extension to Sheppard Avenue will be finished by 2020, as well.
Combined, the four lines will provide 52 kilometres of new transit for riders.
