NDP Transportation Critic Peter Tabuns says the people of Toronto need a real transit strategy to meet their transit needs and concern over climate change - not election announcements.

“Stephen Harper and Dalton McGuinty are two men united by one purpose, getting re-elected,” said Tabuns. “Ordinary Ontarians need a plan that ensure they have transit when they need it – not when Dalton McGuinty and Stephen Harper need votes.”

“Taking on climate change cannot rest on a single project that will be finished in seven years. It’s imperative to restore sustainable funding to public transit so more buses and streetcars are on the ground, reducing gridlock, overcrowding and greenhouse gas emissions immediately.”

The subway line to York University was first announced over a decade ago. Meanwhile, other jurisdictions have been hard at work building and expanding their transit networks. Madrid added 120 km of subway line in the same period. Residents of under-serviced communities like Scarborough and Weston desperately need improved transit service, but are still waiting for funds. Meanwhile, private providers - like the “Blue 22” express train to the airport - are taking over and hurting communities in the process.

“Ordinary Ontarians need a reliable, affordable transit system that gets them to work and back on time. Unfortunately, for thousands of people in Toronto the reality is longer wait times and some of the highest fares in the country,” said Tabuns.