Experts fear for Toronto´s long-term transit plans if province moves to upload parts TTC
(The Star Toronto Raptors)

The Progressive Conservatives’ victory in Ontario’s June election has reignited conversation about the province taking partial control of the TTC.And though Premier Doug Ford’s new government has yet to announce detailed plans for what might be in store for the city-owned transit system, experts and former city officials warn that giving control of parts of the network to the province could do significant damage to Toronto’s long-term transit plans.Conservative and Liberal governments in Ontario going back decades have contemplated “uploadingâ€� the TTC to the province.But unlike their predecessors, who mused about taking wholesale control of Toronto’s transit network, during the 2018 campaign the PCs officially proposed only a limited upload, in which Ontario would take ownership of subway infrastructure but the TTC would continue operating the lines and collecting fare revenue. The party argues putting the subway network on the province’s books would allow Queen’s Park to take advantage of accounting rules not available to the city, and enable it to more efficiently finance the construction of new lines by amortizing their costs over the life of the project.Ford also suggested earlier this month that removing stewardship of the subway from Toronto’s “dysfunctionalâ€� city council would accelerate transit building. “I think the TTC does a great job and their employees do a great job, especially in operating. I believe other people can build subways a lot more efficiently,â€� he said at Queen’s Park on Aug. 15. The lack of details on the potentially transformative change for the TTC has led to speculation that the Tories will deviate from what they pitched during the campaign and embrace a wider takeover of the transit system that could include subway operations as well. Transportation Minister John Yakabuski fuelled that speculation last week when he told reporters at Queen̵ ...