Progressive Conservative Party Leader Doug Ford has a significant lead in the polls ahead of the June 7 election but his platform is proving to be less than popular with at least one transit advocacy organization.
TTCriders has put together a report card ranking the major party leaders on their promises relating to public transit and Ford is the only leader to receive a failing grade in all four categories included in the report card.
Those categories, posed as questions, are “Who would fund better TTC service, who would fund lower fares, who would build more transit and who would keep transit public?”
Ford receives a mark of “Derailed” in all four categories while Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne doesn’t fair much better with TTCriders assigning her the grade of “Derailed” as it pertained to the questions of funding better service and keeping transit public. They gave her a grade of “needs improvement” when it came to funding lower fares and building more transit.
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner was the only one to receive perfect marks across all four categories while NDP Leader Andrea Horwath received a grade of “On Track” in three of the four categories.
“The TTC needs fair funding because it is unreliable, overcrowded and unaffordable for too many people in our city,” TTCriders executive director Shelagh Pizey-Allen told reporters at a news conference on Thursday morning. “Riders need more frequent and reliable service all across the city and lower fares.”
While Ford has not released a full, costed out platform, Pizey-Allen said that he has expressed support for having the province assume responsibility for the operation of the TTC’s subways and planned light rail transit lines, something that she said could ultimately lead to privatization.
She said that Ford also spoke out in support of transit projects that “are not the ones that would help the most riders.”
Furthermore, she chastised him and Wynne for not committing to helping to fund the TTC’s operating costs.
“The NDP and the Green Party have committed to funding 50 per cent of the TTC’s net operating subsidy. This is a welcome commitment,” she said. “To get a better grade we are calling on all parties to match Toronto’s $730 million subsidy to the TTC.”
Members of TTCriders will be handing out the report card to commuters across the city in the coming days and weeks. They are also planning to a hold a Vote Transit Day of Action on May 23 with “coordinated canvasses” across the city.
Pizey-Allen said that TTCriders will also make changes to their report card in the event that a party leader makes a new announcement about public transit while on the campaign trail.
“We are looking for parties to make commitments,” she said.
