Broke and broken: Canada’s public transit in critical funding state, report says
Global News
The analysis looked at the budgets, revenue sources and long-term plans for transit in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax.
A new analysis warns that Canada’s major cities are struggling to keep their transit systems running, and says public transit is heading for a “downward spiral” unless major new streams of operating revenue open up.
In a report published in late May, Leading Mobility Canada said the $120-billion in expansions planned for those transit systems won’t help cities that are struggling to keep the buses and trains running at current levels.
David Cooper, the principal at Leading Mobility and the study’s co-author, said the majority of transit is funded through passenger fares and property taxes, and cities have very limited options for other sources of revenue.
The federal government is allocating billions to expand transit.
“It’s great we’re getting these investments, but you actually can’t materialize the benefits of these investments if the cities actually can’t afford to run it,” he said.
The analysis looked at the budgets, revenue sources and long-term plans for eight transit systems in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax.
Most of them are already reporting budget shortfalls.
Calgary’s shortfall was $33 million in 2023, the same year Toronto reported a $366-million gap. Montreal anticipates its budget shortfall will exceed $560 million in 2025 and grow to $700 million by 2028.
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