Ministry of Transportation (Ontario)

The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) is an Ontario government ministry responsible for transport infrastructure and law in the Canadian province of Ontario.

Role and responsibilities

The ministry is responsible for:
* 10.4 million registered vehicles
* 8.5 million drivers
* 55 driver examination centres & 37 travel points (both operated by Serco DES Inc, as DriveTest Centres)
* 281 privately owned Driver and Vehicle Licence Issuing Offices across the province
* GO Transit
* 16,525 kilometres of provincial highway
* Service Ontario Kiosks

The current Minister of Transportation is the Honourable Jim Bradley.

The ministry was gradually created and re-created from a number of other ministries and departments:

* Provincial Road Building Instructor, 1896-1916
* Provincial Department of Public Highways, 1916-1920s
* Motor Vehicles Branch, 1920s-1971
* Department of Highways (DHO), 1920s-1971
* Department of Transportation and Communications (DTC), 1971-72
* Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MTC), 1972-87
* Ministry of Transportation (MTO), 1987-date

A list of ministers:

* James W. Snow 1975-1984 - as Minister of Transportation and Communications
* Ed Fulton 1985–1989
* Ed Philip 1990–1991
* Gilles Pouliot 1991–1994
* Al Palladini 1995–1997
* Tony Clement 1997–1999
* David Turnbull 1999–2001
* Norm Sterling 2001–2003
* Frank Klees 2003
* Harinder Takhar 2003–2006
* Donna Cansfield 2006–2007
* Jim Bradley 2007–Present

Road maintenance and emergency services

While policing on MTO managed roads is provided by the Ontario Provincial Police, certain limited policing functions are provided by MTO Transportation Enforcement Officers and Ministry of Environmental Emissions Enforcement Officers.

Maintenance work is performed in two different ways:1. In Maintenance Outsource areas, where MTO staff monitor the road conditions and hire contractors on an as-need basis.2. In Area Maintenance Contract areas, where one contractor is awarded a contract area and performs all maintenance work except for rehabilitation and new construction.

A list of Area Maintenance contractors currently under contract with the MTO include:

* TWD Roads Management
* IMOS(Maintenance performed by Miller Maintenance)
* Belanger Contracting
* Pioneer Construction
* Steed and Evans
* Cruickshank Construction Limited
* The 407 ETR Concession Company owns, operates and maintains the entire stretch of highway 407 in the GTA while leasing the highway from the Government of Ontario until the year 2098.

Area Term Contracts (ATC's)

Area Term Contracts are the latest maintenance and constrcution alternative being reviewed by the MTO. ATC's, if they are approved for tender, will cover all maintenance operations now performed by AMC contractors, but will also include annual pavement maintenance and replacement work, bridge rehabilitation, minor capital construction programs and corridor management.

Offices

MTO's headquarters are located on three campuses:

* Garden City Tower, St. Catharines, Ontario - 301 St. Paul Street
* Wilson Complex, Downsview, Ontario - 1201 Wilson Avenue
* Ferguson Block, Toronto, Ontario - 77 Wellesley Street West

There are five regional offices:

* Eastern - Kingston, Ontario
* Central (Downsview) - Toronto, Ontario
* Northwesten - Thunder Bay, Ontario
* Southwestern - London, Ontario
* Northeastern - North Bay, Ontario

Area offices are located in:

* Bancroft, Ontario
* North Bay, Ontario
* Chatham, Ontario
* Ottawa, Ontario
* Owen Sound, Ontario
* Cochrane, Ontario
* Port Hope, Ontario
* Huntsville, Ontario
* Kenora, Ontario
* Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
* Kingston, Ontario
* London, Ontario
* Sudbury, Ontario
* Thunder Bay, Ontario
* New Liskeard, Ontario

Licensing

MTO is responsible for testing and issuing licenses for vehicles registered in Ontario.

Ontario Graduated Driver Licensing was introduced as a means to improve driver skills. The G1 level is a learners permit that replaced the former 365 level. The G2 level was introduced as a temporary permit for new drivers. Once the drivers passed the second level of testing they are issued a full license to drive.

External links

* [http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/ Ontario Ministry of Transportation website]
* [http://www.drivetest.ca DriveTest website]
* Ontario's Drive Clean