Question 1:
What role can transit play in reducing traffic congestion and mitigating increasing expenditures on road maintenance?
Transit can play a very important role. When I talk to the people of Burlington the major issue with using Transit is- the unpredictability and the service availability. People say that we prefer to drive because what will take me 10 mins will take me 40-50 if I take the transit. It is felt that sometimes they are waiting for the bus, and it won’t come for a long time, despite the schedule the city has provided. Finally, the lack of a transit/bus to many areas and later at night. Parents say they must drop off and pick up their teens who are working a job till 9-10pm because they either do not have a bus service or the unpredictability at that hour makes is scary for them.
Now imagine, if we have a strong network of transit- many of us would be using the transit, instead of driving. We will walk or bike to places, because we know if something happens (even just getting tired) we can always take a bus back. If someone must take the Go train, instead of driving to the station, they can take a bus. The number of vehicles will go down.
Helps us in more than reducing traffic. If a family of 3 has 3 vehicles, with a good transit system, they may just want to keep 1 or 2 cars. Reduction in pollution, but also reduction in our cost of living. With the high gas and insurance cost, it is a win for all.
Question 2:
In your opinion, what can be done to improve specialized transit for disabled riders and would you be in favour of raising the budget for this increasingly important service?
Yes. We should be looking to make the city a place where every resident, no matter their ability should be able to thrive and more specifically to your question- be able to travel from one place to another.
Recently I have been told that many residents who are differently abled, or due to age have mobility issues, are facing a lot of problems with the transit system.
To help serve everyone better we need to be doing the following:
- Making sure our drivers and staff have been trained on helping the residents in a way that is needed.
- Better routes, so that the transit is available for everyone. This I believe will also increase the number of transit users.
- More handi vans but also better access to them.
Question 3:
Burlington’s and Halton’s Official Plans call for transit’s share of all trips to rise to 20% (from the current figure of about 4%) by 2031. Do you support this objective?
I support the spirit of this plan but we need to be realistic about the timelines and cost to taxpayers. I would love to see more and more ridership, but moving from 4% to 20% by 2031 is a huge leap.
This would require massive financial investment to buy more buses, adding many more routes and increasing bus frequency, and making driving less attractive.
I am all for investing in transit systems and adding more routes while increasing the bus frequency. What I am worried about is the sustainability and the suddenly cost increase leading to our tax increase. I want our city to grow and develop in a way that is sustainable, equitable and fiscally responsible.
Question 4:
With record ridership and increasing demand, are you in favour of supporting continued expansion of Burlington’s transit system?
Yes absolutely. This is a critical service that we need for the residents of our city.
Question 5:
Have you ever used Burlington Transit? Would you be willing to give it a try?
Yes, I have used Burlington Transit on multiple occasions. Once I had volunteered with my son’s school and we took the transit, the teacher said to me- many of the kids are using the bus for the first time. This was so surprising for me. I think we all should use transit system, and make sure our children also use them, and know how to use it in the future when they grow up and are alone or with friends.
Question 6:
The Ontario Legislature recently passed Bill 98, the Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act, 2026, which gives the provincial Minister of Transportation the power to override municipal transit authorities and set routes and fares for municipal transit systems. We at BFAST have the following concerns about this legislation:
1) It could disrupt current arrangements between transit systems in Burlington, Oakville and Hamilton that provide connections between these cities.
2) The Minister could divert Burlington Transit resources — for example, to provide service along the planned bus rapid transit corridor on Highway 5 (Dundas St.), which was supposed to have been undertaken by GO Transit. This would, in effect, download more fiscal responsibility from the province to local governments.
3) Certain initiatives by Burlington Transit, such as free fares for seniors and students, could be eliminated.
Please comment on this legislation and what measures you would undertake or support to ensure transit service levels in Burlington would not be degraded.
Section 1(c) of Schedule 4- Fair Alignment and Seamless Transit Act, 2026, which is the part applicable, specifically states one of the purposes of the Act is to enable people to use transit to travel across municipalities. Which is exactly what buses travelling between Burlington and Hamilton and Burlington and Oakville are doing.
As a matter of fact the Act further in Section 9(1) also states that for persons with disabilities, specialized transit system shall provide transportation from a location originating within the primary service area (say Burlington) to a prescribed distance outside the primary service area (let us assume that takes us to Hamilton).
So I would be very surprised if the Province made any rules that would disrupt their own legislation and hence I am not worried about the connections.
For your second point. Yes the Minister can determine and have the City divert transit to different area. In that situation, I would first like to understand why the Province/Minister wants to change our transit route, will they be helping us in making the changes- specially financially, and then if it will be a burden us, advocate and argue against it.
For the last point, Yes that is a possibility that the free fares are eliminated. I am definitely not in favour of that, considering the income level and the affordability situation, it is so important to have some help for those of us on fixed incomes.
My understanding from the Act about the fees/fares to be honest is that they want to make sure that all the different transits work together seamlessly and that there is actual cost sharing between the transit systems, so that it is less expensive for the users.
That being said, it can absolutely lead to an increase in overall prices, and elimination of the free fares. As we do not have much power to go against the province, I can still advocate for our residents, which I will always do when we have the provincial and/or federal government making the City do things which do not make sense for Burlington and its people.
Question 7:
Over the past months, a plan has been promoted wherein a private company would provide on-demand transit service to potentially replace certain routes operated by Burlington Transit. Among BFAST’s concerns with this plan are:
1) Over-reliance on one private company to provide a service that could not be easily replaced if the provider were to fail.
2) Cost escalation and more traffic on our roads as mini-buses replaced current vehicles and more drivers were needed to move the same number of passengers.
3) Diversion of already-constrained Burlington Transit budget to a private, for-profit company, resulting in lower levels of service.
We would appreciate your comments on on-demand transit in general and the idea of diverting public budgets to private corporations.
I do not want to comment much without finding out the exact cost and doing more research on the effects. I have only done a brief study on this and not in depth.
That being said, I agree that we do not want over reliance on one company. In York Region Transit, the on demand operations are divided amongst 4 distinct service providers and a 5th service provider to handle the software. That could be a possible solution to the problem of reliance on one provider.
For point 2. I agree. Instead of having less vehicles and people using public transportation, we might be having more vehicles. This in turn could increase operational costs, worsen the driver shortages. On demand system, if created, should not be used to dismantle efficient, high-frequency core routes. They should a smaller feeder system. We can see in Caledon where the model has replaced three existing Brampton Transit Routes. We have to make sure that if the system is going to be used, it is a supplement and not a replacement.
For the 3rd point. Public funds should be used for the public good. We absolutely cannot sacrifice the long-term stability of Burlington Transit for short term private contracts. It should be considered only if it is cost effective supplement that increases overall ridership and brings more fare revenue back.
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