TORONTO, ON – Andrea Hazell, MPP for Scarborough—Guildwood and Ontario Liberal critic for Transportation, Infrastructure, and Women’s Social and Economic Equality has released the following statement in response to the Ministry of Transportation’s announcement regarding fare integration.
“Ontario Liberals are pleased to see the Conservatives fulfill their pledge to enact fare integration between the GO Transit and the TTC and other regional transit agencies. In this affordability crisis, commuters’ wallets should never be punished for choosing public transit over cars.
“The government says that they will cover the TTC’s revenue losses for this program. Ontario Liberals will be watching vigilantly to ensure that Canada’s largest transit system is made whole.
“This announcement does not change one startling reality: the TTC and other municipal transit agencies are underfunded and at risk of hiking fares and reducing service in our affordable crisis. The provincial subsidy for transit is not indexed to inflation, and the province keeps asking transit services to provide more for less.
“Ontario Liberals will continue to advocate for a regional transit network that is fast, frequent, and affordable across the entire Greater Golden Horseshoe. We encourage the government to accelerate their plans to move ahead with all-day two-way GO service to Kitchener and Milton, electrify our railways, and to provide municipal transit agencies with funding so that they can provide the service Ontarians need.”