Metrolinx

Metrolinx is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario that manages and integrates road and public transport in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), which comprises much of Ontario's Golden Horseshoe region. Headquartered at Union Station in Toronto, the agency was created as the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority on June 22, 2006. The agency adopted its present name as a brand name in 2007 and eventually as the legal name in 2009.
The agency is responsible for the Presto card, the electronic fare system used on public transport systems in the GTHA and on the OC Transpo in Ottawa. In 2009, Metrolinx assumed responsibility for GO Transit, the regional commuter rail and coach network. Metrolinx owns and operates the Union Pearson Express, the airport rail link connecting Toronto Pearson International Airport to Union Station. Metrolinx is also responsible for the construction of transit expansion projects worth nearly $30 billion in Torontoincluding Line 5 Eglinton, the Ontario Line, the Line 1 Yonge subway extension into Richmond Hill, York Region, and the Line 2 Bloor–Danforth extension into Scarboroughfollowing a 2020 agreement with the City of Toronto.
History.
The Greater Toronto Transportation Authority was created by legislation and introduced in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on April 24, 2006. The bill was passed and received royal assent on June 22, 2006. In April 2007, a transition team seconded from the Ontario Public Service began work at the GTTA's headquarters at 20 Bay Street in Toronto.
In July 2007, the GTTA identified the following first round of 'quick win' projects as candidates for early implementation:
On December 4, 2007, the GTTA adopted the name 'Metrolinx' for public use. At the same time, it launched a new web site, and released the first of its series of green papers on transportation issues, part of the process of creating the Regional Transportation Plan. From June 2008, Metrolinx began using a new logo in printed and electronic communications.
Responsibilities.
The "Metrolinx Act, 2006", formerly known as the "Greater Toronto Transportation Authority Act, 2006", describes two of Metrolinx's primary responsibilities as being:
"The Big Move" regional transportation plan.
"[[The Big Move]]: Transforming Transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area" was one of Metrolinx's first deliverables. It is a Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) including a rolling five-year capital plan and Investment Strategy for the GTHA. The plan builds on 52 GO train, subway, light rail and bus rapid transit projects proposed by the Government of Ontario in its [[MoveOntario 2020]] plan announced on June 15, 2007, and includes new projects to support them.
A draft version of the Big Move was provided to Metrolinx on September 26, 2008, and a final version was approved on November 27, 2008.
Progress.
Planning and construction is underway for some [[The Big Move#Priority actions|projects supporting the Regional Transportation Plan]].
The three levels of government have provided $16 billion toward the first wave of projects, which are already underway. The next wave of projects were still in the planning phase at the time of the Big Move's release, and still subject to funding. Some of these projects have since attained approved funding, while others have not.
Funding investment strategy.
The Metrolinx Investment Strategy, released in May 2013, proposes a series of 24 recommendations as part of a four-part plan to integrate transportation, growth and land use planning in the GTHA, maximize the value of public infrastructure investment, optimize system and network efficiencies, and dedicate new revenue sources for transit and transportation. These recommendations included revenue tools and policy recommendations.
Metrolinx also advised that funds raised by all the new taxes would be put in a dedicated transportation trust fund, one that would be administered by a board separate from Metrolinx.
The Investment Strategy was given to the government for consideration in 2013.
Current projects.
, Metrolinx is managing the following public transit projects:
Operating divisions.
GO Transit.
[[File:GO Transit collage.jpg|right|thumb|GO Transit offers train and bus service across the GTHA.]]
GO Transit is the inter-regional [[public transport|public transit system]] serving the [[Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area]] and the [[Golden Horseshoe|Greater Golden Horseshoe]]. GO carries over 65 million passengers a year using an extensive network of train and bus services; rail service is provided by [[diesel locomotive]]s pulling trains of unpowered double-deck [[Coach (rail)|passenger cars]], while most bus service is provided by inter-city [[Coach (vehicle)|coaches]].
Canada's first such public system, GO Transit began regular passenger service on May 23, 1967, under the auspices of the [[Ministry of Transportation (Ontario)|Ontario Ministry of Transportation]]. Over time it has been constituted in a variety of public-sector configurations, but it became an operating division of Metrolinx in 2009.
New and improved GO service is a top transit priority listed in the regional transportation plan. Since 2009, GO Transit has introduced seasonal train service to Barrie and Niagara Falls, extended service to Kitchener and Lake Simcoe, opened four new stations at Acton, Guelph Central, Allandale Waterfront, and Hamilton West Harbour. Since June 2013, GO Trains along the Lakeshore rail lines run every 30 minutes, making the biggest expansion in GO Transit history.
Union Pearson Express.
[[File:Metrolinx UPX train at Toronto Union Station.jpg|thumb|A Metrolinx Union Pearson Express train at Toronto Union Station]]
The Union Pearson Express (UP Express) [[airport rail link]] service began operation on June 6, 2015, linking [[Union Station (Toronto)|Union Station]] in [[downtown Toronto]] with [[Toronto Pearson International Airport|Pearson International Airport]] in the city of [[Mississauga]], roughly away. The trains run every fifteen minutes, seven days a week, and are predicted to eliminate 1.5 million car trips annually. The duration of this trip is approximately 25 minutes.
The line uses a Metrolinx-owned railway rail corridor now used by [[GO Transit]], as part of the Georgetown South Project to allow for additional train traffic. The UP Express shares the same path as trains on the [[Kitchener line]], before splitting off onto a separate subdivision just west of the Etobicoke North Station. It stops at the existing [[Bloor GO station|Bloor]] and [[Weston GO station|Weston]] GO Stations.
Presto.
[[File:Presto Card.png|right|thumb|The Presto card allows seamless fare payment between different public transit agencies.]]
The Presto card, originally known as the GTA Farecard, is a [[smartcard]]-based fare payment system for public transit systems in Ontario, including those in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and [[Ottawa]]. The Presto system is designed to support the use of one common farecard for fare payment on various public transit systems, through electronic readers that calculate the correct fare and deduct it from a preloaded balance.
Presto will also centralize its operational logistics, such as farecard procurement, reporting services, and a customer call centre. The system was trialled from June 25, 2007, to September 30, 2008. Full implementation began in November 2009. It will be rolled out across the province in stages. Presto now serves over a million customers in the GTHA and Ottawa.
By January 2017, Presto had been fully implemented on the following 11 transit systems:
Other programs.
Smart Commute is a program that, with the support of local municipalities, endeavours to fight climate change by reducing traffic congestion and increasing transit efficiency. Employers and employees in the GTHA can explore and have assistance with different commuting options, such as [[carpool]]ing, transit, cycling, walking, [[remote work]], and [[flextime]]. The program is delivered through local transportation management associations.
Originally conducted under the [[Ontario Ministry of Transportation]] in 2006, the Transit Procurement Initiative involves Metrolinx assisting municipal transit operators with the procurement of vehicles, equipment, technologies, facilities and related supplies. The goal of the program is to reduce per unit cost, increase unit quality, and provide an open and transparent procurement process for municipal transit operators. To date, the program has supported 21 municipalities and transit agencies, has purchased over 400 buses, and has saved an estimated $5 million.
Metrolinx also seeks partnerships with individuals and the community, and offers financial support for proposed projects that support transit.
Smart Commute includes various programs for commuters, including carpool ride-matching, walking and cycling, and teleworking programs.
In July 2015, a $4.9 million plan was announced to double the size of [[Bike Share Toronto]] by 2016. The bicycles and docking stations will be owned by Metrolinx, while the system will continue to be operated by the [[Toronto Parking Authority]].
In 2021, Metrolinx dropped its [[hydrail]] program.
Criticism.
Metrolinx has been criticized for not having enough executive power in planning transit outside of municipal politics, despite being established to take political delay out of transportation planning. After [[Rob Ford]] was elected [[mayor of Toronto]] in December 2010, he declared [[Transit City]], the provincially funded transit expansion plan of light rail lines, dead. These lines were a large component of Metrolinx's 2008 [[The Big Move|Big Move]]. Metrolinx was again criticized when, in January 2012, its CEO declared that it would bend to what [[Toronto City Council]] wanted regarding how the [[Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT]] line should be built. The issue centred on whether the more suburban stretches of the line, from Laird Drive to Kennedy Station, should be built at street level instead of a more costly underground alignment. Metrolinx was criticized after a "[[Toronto Star]]" investigation found that the agency has approved two transit stations, Kirby and Lawrence East, for the GO Regional Express Rail expansion due to political pressure from the Ministry of Transportation. Kirby is in the Vaughan riding of the then-transportation minister, [[Steven Del Duca]], and Lawrence East in Scarborough is part of Toronto mayor [[John Tory|John Tory's]] "[[SmartTrack]]" plan, his signature campaign promise. Both stations were not recommended to be constructed in the near term by an external consultant, [[AECOM]], hired by Metrolinx. However, they were both shortlisted to begin construction. Ontario's [[Auditor General of Ontario|auditor general]] found that Metrolinx incurred about $436 million "in sunk and additional" – unrecoverable – costs between 2009 and 2018 due to numerous changes in transit plans.
In Ottawa, where Metrolinx is only involved in fare collection, [[Jim Watson (Canadian politician)|Jim Watson]], the [[mayor of Ottawa]], has criticized Metrolinx for wanting to increase the fee it collects from 2% to 10%, and characterized it as a monopoly.
Governance.
Metrolinx used to be governed by a board consisting of various appointees from the Ontario government and the regions within the GTHA. After the passage of the "Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area Transit Implementation Act, 2009" merging Metrolinx and GO Transit, the Metrolinx board structure was changed, with politicians specifically prohibited from serving.
The Metrolinx president and CEO is Phil Verster (April 2020), who also serves as a member of the board of directors.
Metrolinx's board of directors is composed of not more than 15 persons (including the CEO) appointed by the [[Lieutenant Governor of Ontario|Ontario's lieutenant governor]] on the recommendation of the Ontario Minister of Transportation. As of January 2018, the chair was Donald Wright.
Notable former staff include [[Robert Prichard]] (chair 2010–2018; CEO and president 2009–2010), and [[Rob MacIsaac]] (chair 2006–2010).
External links.
[[Category:Metrolinx| ]]
[[Category:Crown corporations of Ontario]]