While the proposed new transit deal with the Province of Ontario reduces the City’s capital burden for new transit, the plan itself does not provide good value for the available funds.
To demonstrate the absurdity of the plan, for the same cost that the province is paying to bury the Eglinton West Crosstown Extension and the Scarborough subway, against the advice of transit experts, the province could buy a small condo and a car for every new rider the lines would generate.
Proposed provincial projects do not provide good value for money
City of Toronto Staff revealed this morning that the new provincial Eglinton Crosstown West Extension and the 3-Stop Scarborough Subway would provide relatively little benefit for the money invested.
Eglinton Crosstown West Extension: Cost – $4.7B for 5,500 new daily TTC riders
3 Stop Scarborough Subway: Cost- $5.5B for 11,000 new daily TTC riders
Cost per new rider: Total project cost ($10.2B) / New riders (16,500) = $618,181 per new rider
There are better transit options to serve Toronto residents that will provide significant savings
Eglinton West LRT Extension – Province: $4.7 B
- Eglinton West LRT Extension city option: $1.5 B*
= $3.2B
3 Stop Scarborough Subway province: $5.5 B
- 7 Stop Scarborough LRT: $2.19 B**
= $3.31B
Total savings = $6.51B
*City’s 2019 Cost estimate did not include cost escalation or cost of Maintenance & Storage Facility
**2013 estimate was $1.48B. Assumes in service date of 2025, 4 years construction starting in 2021. Cost escalation calculated to 2023 – midpoint of construction.
With the savings from the above projects we can build a more extensive transit network to serve more residents
The City’s top two priority transit projects could be funded with the savings and still have almost $3B left over for state of good repair or other transit projects:
Eglinton East LRT Extension to UTSC – $1.6B
Waterfront Transit Network – $2.05B
