FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 23, 2010

TORONTO - The Public Transit Coalition (PTC) is an umbrella group of more than 35 organizations and over 12,000 individuals advocating for a strong, public and accountable transit system in Toronto. The PTC is pleased to see that the TTC is listening and taking action on the more than 75 recommendations made by the Customer Service Advisory Panel (the Panel). 

“A strong commitment to serving TTC riders is at the centre of what the PTC has been advocating for since it launched in April, 2010,” said spokesperson Jamie Kirkpatrick. “However, the continued under-funding of public transit in Toronto is at the heart of many of the recommendations and observations made by the Panel.”

The PTC firmly believes that the renewed commitment to serving TTC riders and residents of Toronto can only be achieved within the context of a fully funded, publicly owned and democratically accountable public transit system.

To address these issues systematically, the Provincial government must return to the table and recommit to funding public transit. The Province must restore its 50 per cent subsidy for operating costs for public transit, cut during the Mike Harris era and continued this year by Premier McGuinty. In the 2010 budget, this would amount to approximately $256 million.

The process undertaken to achieve these recommendations is also a sign of the importance of and need for public accountability. The Panel’s very existence is a response to public input and demand.  Without a democratic and accountable Toronto Transit Commission, a report like this would not be possible.

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Media contact:
Jamie Kirkpatrick, Campaigner 
Toronto Environmental Alliance
Cell: 416-895-3406

Public Transit Coalition  
http://publictransitcoalition.ca