Provincial investment not enough for Brampton's transit challenges

When the finance minister announced the budget last Tuesday, the government made a point of highlighting its transit projects in the rapidly growing Peel Region. 

"This is the right time to make this investment in these fast growing communities," said Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, while speaking about plans to extend the Hazel McCallion light rail transit into downtown Brampton and adding a loop in Mississauga, as well as plans to add weekly trips on the GO train. 

The budget did not include a number attached to these projects, but had an additional $3-billion increase in transit infrastructure, with the extension and GO train changes mainly being the new projects the government announced earlier this year. 

In response to this, the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) says the government's transit projects are "encouraging" but nothing is being done about the root of transit related issues — operational shortcomings. 

Brampton has about 700,000 people and saw a 30 per cent increase in ridership last year compared to pre-pandemic levels — with a 45 million annual ridership, according to city documents.

But the city's pre-budget report this year shows it needs other levels of government to fund 50 per cent or $1.65 billion for its transit projects like a tunnel for the LRT, a Bus Rapid Transit on Queen Street and additional funds for its transition to electric buses.

"There's been significant losses, losses in revenue… if you cut roots your transit is less frequent and less reliable. And then that creates ... a downward spiral where people might not want to take the service anymore," CUTA spokesperson John Macmull said. 

The plans for Hazel McCallion LRT, formerly known as the Hurontario LRT, have faced many changes over the years. 

The initial version of the line would have ended at the Brampton GO station. However, Brampton councillors voted in 2015 against stretching the light rail line into downtown because it would have cut through the city's historic Main Street.  That decision took out four stops, resulting in the LRT ending at the Brampton Gateway terminal on Steeles Avenue.

But almost a decade later, the extension is back on the plan and council has voted to demolish the historic Main Street buildings — another long due decision. 

Just between 2009 and 2019, the city's ridership went up 160 per cent, city documents show, but the city had seen a "stagnation" in transit growth — former mayor Linda Jeffery said in 2017 after council voted down the provincial plan to pay only part of the bill to expand the GO train. 

Brampton transit advocate Sylvia Menezes Roberts says the city is still playing catch up because "even before the pandemic, we simply were not keeping up with ridership." 

In an email to CBC Toronto, Brampton city staff said they're working on an "aggressive hiring plan that will see an additional 136 operators brought into the system over the next several months. And by the end of 2024, we will also have a total of 83 buses added to our fleet over what was in service before the pandemic."

Roberts says the city is making "great" attempts to meet the demand but would need 100,000 more service hours to actually do so.