May 20, 2012

You are here: Home / Archives for transit

Former TTC Chairman Accused of Overspending

February 25, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

Former TTC chairman Adam Giambrone apparently went over his $125,000 budget in 2010 and will now be asked to repay about $3,500.

The news comes according to the new chair of the TTC Karen Stintz (Ward 16 — Eglinton-Lawrence).  TTC chief general manager Gary Webster outlined what was about $3,344.92 in overspending in a memo sent to the commissioners and Stintz asserted that those who go over the budget are responsible for overages.

Giambrone stepped down from his post last November and was replaced by Stintz. Details of the overspending on Giambrone’s account are due to be brought before the TTC in a March meeting.

It was Ward 34 councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong who requested the breakdown on Giambrone. He also prompted the sending of the memo, reports say, but he wasn’t available for comment at press time.

For many, news of Giambrone’s overspending comes as no surprise. It was last November that he took French lessons on the public tab – after he quit municipal politics. Two bills from the Alliance Française school revealed expenditures for $2,299.50, and $2,299.50. He even had a short-lived campaign for mayor that ran out of steam in February.

The criticism over the French lessons at the time came because Giambrone knew he was no longer going to be serving the public good. His logic was that he represented the city of Toronto to many French municipalities, but with the politics job ending the lessons seemed a little funny to many political watchdogs.

With that in mind, it’s encouraging that the TTC is looking in the right direction with this overspending.

It should also be noted that the TTC budget does not include travel. It’s hard to say just where Giambrone’s overspending took place in line with what’s allowed in the budget, too.

Filed Under: News, Politics Tagged With: , , , , ,

Ford Plans Private-Public Partnership to Expand Sheppard Subway

February 17, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

Toronto mayor Rob Ford has designs on a private-public partnership that will expand the Sheppard subway west to Downsview station and as far east as the Scarborough Town Centre. The plan is being dubbed a compromise, leaving the Metrolinx-approved cash ($8.15 billion in provincial transit funds) to build light rail underground along Eglinton Ave. to as far as Kennedy Station in the east.

Ford tossed Transit City, the previous plan, in the trash as soon as he took office. This plan was to build four light rail lines and three above-ground routes. Since December, Metrolinx has been in talks with the city to come up with an agreement that will suit both parties.

The Scarborough RT sort of hangs in the balance, as there are questions as to whether it should be converted to subway transit or head in the direction of the Eglinton-style light rail.

Now putting subway facilities is an expensive venture, to be sure. Ford’s view on light rail tends to fall in line with the idea stated by the mayor that he doesn’t want tracks taking up valuable car lanes on the roads.

“We received a proposal from the City of Toronto (Tuesday) and we are now in the process of reviewing it. At this time, no decisions have been made and we are continuing our discussions with the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) and the City of Toronto on a revised transit plan,” Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig said.

Ontario Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne says that analysts from the province will get into the meat of the matter, but the province isn’t prepared to spend more than the $8.15 billion already committed to Toronto. The other condition is that the Eglinton line must go ahead as planned.

Council will also need to look at the proposal.

It’s estimated that a subway extension at Sheppard would cost between $3.4 and $4.4 billion, but the line would be owned by the city under the mayor’s proposal. Eglinton, conversely, would be owned by the province.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , , , ,

Strike Averted – For Now

February 14, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

A looming bus strike in York has been averted at the last possible minute.

Yesterday we reported on the potential strike in Vaughan: “The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113 may go on strike at 12:01 am if they cannot reach an agreement with private contractor Veolia Transportation Services.”

Happily union officials and transit operators reached an agreement just before midnight, but things aren’t all sunshine and roses. “We’re not pleased,” ATU Local 113 president Bob Kinnear after announcing the deal. “I don’t think any time you come out of bargaining with an employer that is more interested in profitability than the general public that you come out of it happy.”

Kinnear added that union members are still frustrated with Veolia Transportation Services and added that trouble would still be in the water if the deal is ratified. There should be a Tuesday vote over the agreement as the information gets out to union members, but the strike has been averted for the time being. Should the union decide that the agreement isn’t good enough, it’ll be back to the drawing board.

The possible strike has served as an object lesson for many in Toronto as the possibility over a trash collection strike is present in the minds of many. With mayor Rob Ford’s admitted and unabashed hardline stance on unions making the rounds, it’s possible that things could get ugly in the city with respect to many of its workers. Add to the mix Doug Ford’s “no jobs for life” tagline and many unions are gearing up for a long fight throughout the year.

So while this strike was averted for the time being, the outcome isn’t exactly glowing and it’s not a sign of goodwill between the union and the company. There’s a lot of work to be done to protect worker’s rights and that’s no easy task.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , , , ,

York Bus Strike Looms

February 13, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

A transit strike in Vaughan is looming and no deal has been reached to head it off at the pass. The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113 may go on strike at 12:01 am if they cannot reach an agreement with private contractor Veolia Transportation Services.

The ATU provides service for the southwest YRT region. A strike would impact 28,000 riders out of Vaughan on 24 bus routes running in the area and beyond in Richmond Hill, Newmarket, Aurora, and Markham.

The latest came in at 6 pm when union president Bob Kinnear noted that the ATU and management at Veolia were no closer to reaching a deal.

In the likely event of a strike YRT Transit Inspectors and Customer Information Representatives will be on hand at bus stops to ensure that riders can get help with planning their trips and getting around in general. They will also outline “alternative modes of transportation” that residents and riders can use throughout the strike.

The ATU Local 113 represents 214 bus drivers and mechanics. “It’s important to point out that the transit workers up in York Region are the lowest paid transit workers in the GTA,” said Kinnear. “Sick days is a major issue. We have an employer that up until this point, has not been willing to provide any sick days to their employees.”

The 214 workers operate on about 131 vehicles and want to avoid a strike. “We don’t want a strike, especially in the middle of February,” Kinnear said. “We’re willing to do anything to avoid a strike, except allow our members to continue working under these sort of conditions.”

The York region’s transit services are contracted out and routes are spread out between four different companies. Their buses will still be running in the event of a Monday strike, as will buses and transit from the Toronto Transit Commission.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , , , ,