Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) - National Transit Strategy
Transit investments pivotal to addressing climate change, economic competitiveness and improving quality of life.
Big City Mayors' Caucus: National Transit Strategy
Towards a National Transit Strategy
Transit's Contributions to Global Competitiveness
Public Transit Economics 101
Public Transit, Clean Air and Climate Change
In Montreal, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and its Big City Mayors' Caucus on March 5, 2007 called on the federal government to create a national transit strategy that would not only take some concrete steps to addressing climate change but also make cities more competitive and improve quality of life.
The National Transit Strategy paper highlights the need for long-term predictable investments in transit to both maintain existing infrastructure, and respond to growth needs.
Report Findings and Recommendations
- The paper outlines the need for a national transit strategy by highlighting the central role public transit plays in urban and metropolitan regions, and the benefits it provides to Canada as a whole by increasing transit ridership and reducing automobile dependency:
- improved economic competitiveness of Canada's cities;
- enhanced urban quality of life;
- reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved air quality.
- Municipalities have been the principal investors in transit infrastructure in recent years, and federal and provincial capital funding compares poorly to that provided in the United States.
- Congestion is affecting the competitiveness of all of Canada's urban regions. A 2006 federal government study found that "the total annual cost of congestion (in 2002 dollars) ranges from $2.3 billion to $3.7 billion for the major urban areas in Canada."
- The CUTA (Canadian Urban Transit Association) estimates that transit systems across the country need $20.7 billion for infrastructure between 2006 and 2010, or about $4.2 billion annually. Of this, 44% is needed to rehabilitate or renew existing infrastructure, with the remaining 56% needed to expand service capacity to serve more riders.
- Municipal shares of both operating and capital subsidies for transit come primarily from property taxes. The property tax alone is not sufficient to support public transit. Municipal governments need to help deliver the transit services that the nation's economy, quality of life and environmental sustainability rely on.
The following recommendations are presented in the National Transit Strategy
- The proposed National Transit Strategy should be made permanent through federal legislation.
- An annual amount of $2 billion in direct funding should be provided to support capital expenses including state-of-good-repair and system expansion to accommodate population growth, and a shift toward transit from private automobiles. Funds would be allocated based on population and ridership, using a formula revisited on five year cycles.
- Only cities that have council-approved integrated land use and transportation plans that favour transit as the primary means for accommodating future growth in travel demand should be eligible for funding.
- The federal government can play a strong role in developing tax incentives that support transit.
- The strategy needs to commit to research for policy development and innovation in transit technologies.
- Cities should be signatories on transit funding agreements, along with federal and provincial governments, and it is important that all governments work together to ensure that there are appropriate accountability measures in place.
For more information:
Contact Us
