I’m not sure if this is an original idea. I’d be surprised if it is. I’ve just never heard any discussion of it before. My idea is this, instead of yet another fare hike for the TTC, the City of Toronto finds a way to put tolls on the Gardiner and Don Valley Parkway. These tolls could then be pumped into the TTC and infrastructure in Toronto. As well the tolls would serve as a City of Toronto tax on those who make their living in Toronto, but pay municipal taxes in the suburb cities.
For lack of being able to find decent usage statistics let’s say 50,000 cars enter Toronto on a given weekday. If the DVP/Gardiner toll is $3.00, the price of commuting on the TTC, that means that each car will provide $6.00 a day. That is a total of three-hundred thousand dollars being pumped into the Cities coffers every day. Or Seventy-Eight million dollars a year. If we use the toll technology of the 407, we do not even have to slow drivers down on their way into the city.
To save money on administration we could hold off on billing people until they reach a certain amount owed. Instead of paying the fifty-two cents postage on a six dollar bill we would wait until commuters reach an amount owing of a hundred dollars. Anyway, that is a rough sketch of the idea. Can you think of anything to add to it. Or some glaring negatives for the city of Toronto. Clearly this would annoy commuters, but seeing as people who live and work in the City of Toronto tend not to use the highways it shouldn’t be political suicide for the mayor or city councillors to try and implement. And it would mean a reduced need to increase the fares on the TTC. I’d suggest lowering them, but I won’t hold my breath for that.
I think its a great idea! Especially considering the fact that I almost never drive into the city. However, I do wonder: does Toronto’s problem consist in a lack of funds or is it a misuse of the funds they already have?
I think it is both, and my one fear with this idea is that this idea will end up just putting more money into a mismanaged city. This is why I hope someone like John Tory runs, at least that way we’ll have some fiscal responsibility.
I’m glad that Toronto is actually getting down and doing something to make people who drive into the city pay for the privelege. In other places like London this has resulted in less car journeys and more people using public transport, walking of cycling, which is very good for the cities. Denmark recently did a study which apparently showed they save money for every Km cycled in the city, because cyclists do less damage to a city infrastructure and tend to be healthier, etc, whereas every kilometre driven in a car costs money after you factor in incidental costs, so tolls do help to cover the cost of private cars in cities. The Netherlands will soon roll out a pay-as-you-drive system which will price roads according to the time of day and road travelled.