As the Sheppard
subway reaches its second anniversary, the future of rapid transit
in Toronto is unclear. Networks of express bus-only lanes are
planned for the 905 area code and designs are underway to upgrade
many of GO Transit’s commuter rail lines. Planners and engineers are
studying a proposal to extend the Spadina subway line to York
University, but it could be ten years before trains start carrying
passengers. If Toronto was in another country, it’s possible that
York would already have an underground rail link, and Toronto’s
subway network would be expanding by a few stations every year.
But the TTC has
seen many years of a funding drought, and while there is new money
from senior governments, most of it will have to pay for replacement
transit vehicles. Building subways to serve the next generation may
be a luxury that current riders can’t afford, says long-time transit
advocate Steve Munro. The Sheppard line is an excellent example of
over-ambitious planning, and it has starved the rest of the TTC, he
says. “We talk about increased funding for transit, and what we wind
up doing is devoting every penny we can get to the expansion of the
system on routes that do not justify their existence.”
The
billion-dollar “stubway” is only the beginning of a proposed line
all the way to Scarborough Town Centre, but completion is at least
another billion dollars and 15 years away. In the meantime, the
route carries a fraction of the riders that use Toronto’s other tube
lines. Sheppard has attracted a million new riders to the TTC, out
of about 400 million customers a year -- but the cost of winning
these new converts has been dear. Munro calculates that each
additional ride -- not including the people who previously rode on
crowded Sheppard buses -- costs the TTC around seven dollars each.
That rivals the price of a cab ride from Don Mills to Yonge, and
only covers the cost of operating the line -- not the construction
bill itself.
Most new
transit service needs time to break even, but at the current rate,
the transit expert says Sheppard may never catch up -- even compared
to the 30-year old Spadina subway extension. The Spadina line now
pays its way, but still runs under capacity. Expanding these weaker
routes may eventually bring them up to the level of the Yonge or
Bloor-Danforth lines, but is it worth the wait? Instead of spending
the past decade building one five-station line, North York could
have been better served by light rail lines on Finch and Sheppard
Avenues, says Munro.
Now, instead of
sinking another billion into an extension of the “purple” line under
Sheppard, there is open talk of creating a network of streetcar-only
lanes across gridlocked Scarborough. The goal of promoting new
development and beefing up transit can be achieved in shorter time
and much less cost per new rider -- if only we favoured streetcars
and buses in the way some champion underground rail.
The comparison
is apt, according to Munro, who says Sheppard moves as many people
as a streetcar line. In another part of the city, the 512 St. Clair
route will be rebuilt at a cost of about $60 million, including
millions for streetscape improvements. Extra costs were tacked on by
Toronto city council, perhaps as an olive branch to those opposed to
transit-only lanes on St. Clair. And that’s one of the advantages of
a subway line compared to the controversy of taking away traffic
lanes or parking -- underground trains don’t get in the way of
private vehicles. Is it worth the price?
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