Main Menu
End of Main Menu
With nine transit systems handling over 518 million annual passenger trips
and more than two million vehicles on Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area roads,
Metrolinx will play a vital role in developing a plan to tackle congestion,
coordinate and improve transit systems, and create a more sustainable economy,
environment and quality of life for our region.
There are a number of big initiatives on the horizon for the Metrolinx. Here are
just a few that will be of interest to anyone who needs to get around the
Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, or is considering our region as a place to
visit, invest, work or raise a family:
Metrolinx, working collaboratively with municipal and GO Transit partners, is
moving forward with early concrete steps to implement the government’s $17.5
billion MoveOntario 2020 vision for rapid transit expansion.
Read More
Metrolinx is also responsible for suggesting how to invest in assets and will
develop a rolling, five-year capital plan towards that end. This will help make
sure that there is a fair, transparent and easy-to-understand approach for
prioritizing the transportation infrastructure investments that we will need to
create a competitive, healthy and strong Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
Read
More
Metrolinx is showing leadership by working with key stakeholders on
developing regulatory and legislative changes that continue to protect the
environment, but result in a significantly more streamlined environmental
assessment process for public transit projects.
An initial round of consultations to identify opportunities for streamlining the
environmental assessment process is complete. Regional municipalities, cities,
and transit property owners, who plan and carry out environmental assessments,
were participants in this initial round. Consultations also occurred with
ministries and agencies, including the Ministries of Environment (MOE),
Transportation (MTO), Public Infrastructure Renewal (PIR), Municipal Affairs and
Housing (MMAH), Infrastructure Ontario (IO), and the Office of the Provincial
Facilitator (OPF).
Read More
In June 2007, the federal Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and
Communities announced the development of a National Transit Strategy, as a
framework to capture objectives and priorities for public transit funding across
the country. Metrolinx supports this effort to bring together the three levels
of government to strategically develop and invest in transit projects that will
help Canada achieve the goals stronger economic productivity and international
trade competitiveness.
Read More
In the summer of 2007, the PRESTO Fare Card was introduced on four
Mississauga bus routes, two stations on the GO Transit Milton line and Union
Station for both GO Transit and TTC. When the PRESTO Fare Card is transfered
from the Ministry of Transportation/ GO Transit at some future point, Metrolinx
will be responsible for the system that will allow riders to move across the
Greater Toronto and Hamilton region with a single fare card.
Link to PRESTO Fare Card site
The Greater Toronto Transportation Act, 2006 provides for the eventual
transfer of responsibility for GO Transit to Metrolinx, after the applicable
sections of the Act are proclaimed in force. To that end, Metrolinx is working
with GO Transit on a transition strategy to examine, on a pro-active basis, the
options and implications of such a transfer. GO Transit is one of North
America’s most successful regional public transportation providers. GO will be
the strategic lever in moving the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton towards more
seamless transportation integration. GO is exceptional by many standards. It
serves a population of 5 million people every day, and it covers about 90 per
cent of its operating costs from the fare box. That's one of the best
cost-recovery ratios in the world. Metrolinx’s goal is to introduce full-time
two-way service on all GO train corridors, to extend GO train service deeper
into Durham, Peel and York regions, and to upgrade GO train stations into
community focal-point “mobility hub."
Link to GO Transit site
Smart Commute is a partnership between the cities and regions of the Greater
Toronto Area and Hamilton. With the goal of helping make travel easier,
healthier and more enjoyable, Smart Commute’s mission is to reduce traffic
congestion and to take action on climate change through transportation
efficiency.
Working in these communities, Smart Commute encourages local employers and
commuters to explore more sustainable transportation choices like carpooling,
teleworking, transit, cycling, walking or flexible work hours. Starting on
January 1, 2008 the Smart Commute Association will become part of Metrolinx.
Metrolinx will play a role ensuring Smart Commute's on-going financial
sustainability.
Link to Smart Commute site
Mextrolinx will develop an investment strategy to identify the suite of potential financial tools and revenue sources to fund the initiatives and priorities identified in the Regional Transportation Plan.
The Metrolinx Board recently asked the Province of Ontario to retain ownership
of the old OPP Headquarters on 90 Harbour Street, until Metrolinx established a
position on the possible use of this site for an intercity bus terminal and
mixed-use development.
Following through on the direction of the Board, Metrolinx is currently carrying
out a preliminary assessment of the costs, benefits and impacts of locating a
bus terminal at 90 Harbour Street in preparation for our report-back to the
Board in early 2008. The assessment will also consider the option of reinvesting
in the existing Toronto Coach Terminal at Bay and Dundas Streets.
Metrolinx will collaborate with GO Transit, TTC and other transit and transportation providers across our region to implement a one-stop integrated trip planner system hosted by www.metrolinx.com. The trip planner will be customer-friendly: key in your origin and destination point, and the trip planner will display departure and arrival times, connection opportunities, fares and a route map. You will also find convenient links to real-time traffic and weather conditions, traffic incident reports, and even airport and border crossing delays. Metrolinx will also introduce a carbon footprint calculator feature which will measure the impact of our individual transportation and travel decisions on the quality of our air and natural environment.
Metrolinx will help municipalities across Ontario to save costs by coordinating their transit fleet acquisition orders, equipment specifications, and timing. By working collaboratively, we can reduce the unit cost of new buses, allowing the savings to be returned to taxpayers or reinvested in better transit customer service. It also allows us to advance public standards in areas such as environmental performance, fuel economy, disability access and advanced technology in a consistent and cost-effective way.
All municipal and transit authorities have instituted emergency and safety plans to protect their residents, riders and business operations. In the event of a large scale natural disaster and public emergency, however, the consequences could easily cross municipal boundaries and affect neighbouring transit systems. We are one metropolitan region from Oshawa to Hamilton to Georgina; our legislation mandates Metrolinx to plan our response to emergency situations with that regional scope in mind.
Copyright Metrolinx 2007 | Terms and Conditions of Use | Contact Webmaster |