Logo
languageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButton

David Miller's Vision

Toronto: A Transit City

story image

Toronto is a growing, thriving city, and public transit is critical to keep us moving. Not only is transit essential to our economy, but it also connects Toronto’s vibrant neighbourhoods.

With a 15%-20% increase in population and employment expected by 2021 we must continue to improve the Toronto Transit Commission.

During the first term, Mayor David Miller has stopped the decline of the TTC. He has:

  • Secured $500 million over the next two years from the provincial and federal governments to purchase environmentally friendly buses.
  • Expanded bus routes in northern Scarborough, Etobicoke, North York, and York to increase transit ridership, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and make transit more accessible outside of downtown.
  • Created a weekly and monthly transferable Metropass that makes using the TTC more flexible and affordable.
  • Secured funding to extend the Spadina subway to York University and beyond – Toronto’s first subway to the suburbs.
  • Developed a comprehensive Transit City plan that lays out a vision that, given proper funding, will help meet Toronto’s transit needs.
  • Bought new subway cars that will ensure the future viability of the system while keeping jobs in Ontario. This has enabled an increase in service on existing lines.
 
Better Transit Today

Mayor David Miller wants Toronto to be a city that moves by transit. That’s why his Transit City plan includes a comprehensive network of dedicated rapid-transit routes that will move people quickly, efficiently and affordably through all parts of the city. To realize this vision he will:

  • Make streetcars and buses as speedy and reliable as the subway. The City must make public transit a priority by expanding the number of enclosed, dedicated transit right-of-ways. Planned routes to be considered include:
    • Yonge Street from Finch to Steeles
    • Kingston Road from Victoria Park to Eglinton
    • York University bus rapid transit
    • Rapid transit through the East Bayfront and Portlands
    • Rapid transit along Don Mills from Steeles to the city centre.

  • Work to extend the Spadina subway line to York University and beyond into Vaughan.
  • Develop a Metropass affinity program to encourage businesses to offer discounts to customers who produce a Metropass.
  • Work to create a U-Pass for university and college students. This will help foster a new generation of transit riders and ensure that transit is affordable for those attending Toronto’s outstanding post-secondary institutions.
  • Speed up the implementation of Toronto’s bike plan.
  • Support the construction of a rail link to the airport that protects and serves local communities.

Toward Stronger Transit for Tomorrow

Mayor David Miller recognizes that the City alone can only accomplish so much to improve Toronto’s transit. The TTC was built through funding partnerships with other governments. It’s only by renewing and recommitting to these partnerships today that Toronto can have the transit system to serve and sustain its growing economy tomorrow.

Mayor David Miller will continue his role as the leading national advocate for a predictable, stable source of funding for transit through a National Transit Strategy.

Only if these new funds are secured can Mayor David Miller’s full Transit City vision be realized. Toronto must develop a comprehensive network of fast, reliable, dedicated transit routes that allow people to move effectively and efficiently all over the city.

Mayor Miller’s vision involves:
  • Considering a dedicated transit corridor along Finch Avenue, including the hydro corridor. This will open a new dedicated transit route that connects North Etobicoke and North Scarborough to the subway.
  • Establishing a west waterfront rapid transit that will connect western Etobicoke to Union Station.
  • Extending and upgrading the Scarborough RT into Malvern and beyond.
  • Building dedicated rapid transit along Eglinton that will connect the St. Clair streetcar right of way to the airport.
  • Building a rapid transit connection that will connect the Sheppard subway to Scarborough Town Centre.
  • Buying quiet, accessible, faster, higher-capacity light rail cars to replace Toronto’s aging streetcars.
  • Improving capacity by 40% on the Yonge-University-Spadina subway through new trains and innovative signal management systems. This means that trains will be able to run more frequently and be less crowded.