Metrolinx

Not to be confused with Metrolink, the Southern California commuter rail system.

Metrolinx
Agency overview
Formed	2006
Jurisdiction	Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area Greater Golden Horseshoe
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario
Agency executive	Bruce McCuaig, President and CEO
Child agencies	GO Transit Air Rail Link PRESTO
Website
www.metrolinx.com

Metrolinx (formerly known as the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority or GTTA) is a governmental agency that manages and integrates road transport and public transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area in Ontario, Canada. The organization was created by the Government of Ontario under the name of the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority on April 24, 2006. It adopted the public name of Metrolinx in 2007, created a Regional Transportation Plan, and merged with GO Transit in 2009 (making it an operating division). It has assumed other key initiatives including Presto card implementation, the construction of the Air Rail Link, and the building of the TTC Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown line, which it will own.

History

Legislation to create the GTTA was introduced in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on April 24, 2006, and 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:

• GO Transit Rail Fleet Expansion
  • $60.0 million for 20 new bi-level passenger coaches
  • $20.0 million for track capacity expansion
• GO Transit Bus Fleet Expansion
  • $9.0 million for 10 new double-decker coaches
• Markham/Cornell Transit Terminal
• Hamilton/Upper James Rapid Transit Corridor
• Integrated Web-Based Trip Planner Pilot
• Carbon Footprint Calculator
• Bicycle Promotion Initiatives
  • $2.1 million-$3.2 million for safe/secure bike storage
  • $1.0 million-$1.8 million to expand bike/bus rack program

On December 4, 2007, the GTTA adopted the name ‘Metrolinx’ for public usage. 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.

In June 2008, Metrolinx began using a new logo in printed and electronic communications.

On March 30, 2009, the Ontario government introduced legislation to merge GO Transit and Metrolinx as a single entity, with "Metrolinx" as its legal name.^[1] The legislation received royal assent on May 14, 2009, taking immediate effect. This resulted in the replacement of the previous current board structure with a new one in which 15 private-sector appointees are made by the province. The legislation makes other changes to Metrolinx's powers and abilities.

Responsibilities

The Metrolinx Act of 2006, formerly named known as the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority Act of 2006, describes two of Metrolinx's primary responsibilities as being:^[2]

• to provide leadership in the co-ordination, planning, financing and development of an integrated, multi-modal transportation network that conforms with transportation polices of growth plans prepared and approved under the Places to Grow Act, 2005 applicable in the regional transportation area and complies with other provincial transportation policies and plans applicable in the regional transportation area, and
• to act as the central procurement agency for the procurement of local transit system vehicles, equipment, technologies and facilities and related supplies and services on behalf of Ontario municipalities.

The Big Move

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 off of 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 Regional Transportation Plan was provided to Metrolinx on September 26, 2008, and a final version was approved on November 27, 2008.^[3]

Operations and programs

GO Transit

Main article: GO Transit

GO Transit is the inter-regional public transit system serving the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and the Greater Golden Horseshoe. GO carries over 55 million passengers a year using an extensive network of [train and bus services; rail service is provided by diesel locomotives pulling trains of unpowered double-deck passenger cars, while most bus service is provided by inter-city coaches.

Canada's first such public system, GO Transit began regular passenger service on May 23, 1967, under the auspices of the 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

Air Rail Link

Main article: Air Rail Link

The Air Rail Link (ARL) will be an airport rail link service between Union Station in downtown Toronto and Pearson International Airport in the City of Mississauga, roughly 23.3 km (14.5 mi) away. The trains are to run every fifteen minutes, seven days a week, and are predicted to eliminate 1.5 million car trips annually.

The line will operate along a Metrolinx-owned railway rail corridor currently used by GO Transit, currently under construction as part of the Georgetown South Project to allow for additional train traffic. The ARL will share the same path as trains on the Georgetown line, before splitting off onto a separate spur just north of the Etobicoke North Station. The ARL will also stop at the existing Bloor and Weston GO Stations.

Presto

Main article: Presto card

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 and will be rolled out across the province in stages.

Eglinton–Scarborough Crosstown

Main article: Eglinton–Scarborough Crosstown line

Metrolinx will be responsible for building the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown, a light rail transit (LRT) line in Toronto running about 25 kilometres from Black Creek Drive to Scarborough Centre. The line is mostly underground until it runs along the existing corridor for the Scarborough RT.

The plan, reached between the City of Toronto and the Ontario government in March 2011, also includes an extension of the Sheppard Subway, a connection to Pearson Airport, and an enhanced bus service between the new Finch West subway station and Humber College. The project is currently underway, with an estimated cost of $8.2 billion.

York VIVA and Mississauga BRT

Main articles: Viva (bus rapid transit) and Mississauga Transitway

Metrolinx is partnering with the Regional Municipality of York to construct over 34 kilometres of dedicated bus rapid transit lanes. The service will include connections with GO Transit, regional transit and future extensions of the Toronto Transit Commission subway system. Construction began in December 2009.

Exclusive bus lanes along Highway 403 are being built in a partnership between the City of Mississauga and GO Transit. The transit corridor will run east-west across Mississauga, with all-station stop and extensive express bus service for thousands of riders per day. Construction began on the 18-kilometre segment between Winston Churchill Boulevard and Renforth Drive in August 2010.

Other programs

Smart Commute is a program that, with the support of local municipalities, tries 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 carpooling, transit, cycling, walking, telework and flexible work hours. The program is delivered through local transportation management associations.^[4]

The Transit Procurement Initiative is a program that aims to reduce per unit cost, increase unit quality, and provide an open and transparent procurement process for municipal transit operators. Metrolix assists with the procurement of vehicles, equipment, technologies, facilities and related supplies. The program currently supports 21 municipalities and transit agencies.^[4]

Governance

Metrolinx was originally 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.

Metrolinx is spearheaded by an executive group:

• Bruce McCuaig - President and CEO
• Robert Siddall - Chief Financial Officer
• Vasie Papadopoulos - Vice President (Acting), Strategy & Communications
• Jack Collins - Vice President, Rapid Transit Implementation
• John Howe - Vice President, Investment Strategy & Project Evaluation
• Mary Martin - General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
• Leslie Woo - Vice President, Policy and Planning
• Gary McNeil - President, GO Transit
  • Judy Knight - Vice President, Corporate Infrastructure
  • Greg Percy - Vice President, Operations
  • Mary Proc - Vice President, Customer Service and Human Resources

A Board of Directors also exists, which is composed of the President/CEO and various stakeholders:

• J. Robert S. Prichard - Chair
• Peter Smith - Vice-Chair
• Jennifer Babe - Partner, Miller Thomson LLP
• Paul Bedford - Urban Mentor and Chief Planner Emeritus, City of Toronto
• Rahul Bhardwaj - President and CEO, Toronto Community Foundation
• Tony Gagliano - Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, St. Joseph Communications
• Joseph Halstead - former Commissioner, Economic Development, Culture and Tourism, City of Toronto
• Richard Koroscil - President and CEO, John C Munro Hamilton International Airport
• Nicholas Mutton - Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Administration, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
• Lee Parsons - Founding Partner, Malone, Given Parsons Ltd.
• Rose Patten - Senior Executive Vice-President, Head of Human Resources and Senior Leadership Advisor, BMO Financial Group
• Stephen Smith - Co-Founder, Chairman and President of First National Financial LP
• Douglas Turnbull - Deputy Chairman, TD Securities

References

1. ^ Bill 163, Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area Transit Implementation Act, 2009, Legislative Assembly of Ontario website, accessed April 1, 2009
2. ^ "The Metrolinx Act, 2006". Ontario Legislature. 2006. http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_06g16_e.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-31. 
3. ^ "The Big Move". Metrolinx. 2008. http://www.metrolinx.com/thebigmove/index.html. Retrieved 2009-01-15. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Metrolinx: Overview

External links

• Metrolinx Website
• Metrolinx Regional Transportation Plan
• GO Transit
• Presto Fare Card