Question 1:
What role can transit play in reducing traffic congestion and mitigating increasing expenditures on road maintenance?
Transit has an important role to play as Burlington continues to grow. A reliable and efficient transit system gives residents another practical transportation option and can help reduce the number of vehicles using our busiest roads.
However, transit investment must be strategic. We need to focus on services where there is demonstrated demand, improve frequency and reliability on successful routes, and make better connections to GO Transit and neighbouring municipalities.
Transit is one part of the solution to congestion, along with better traffic management, road infrastructure, active transportation and ensuring that growth is supported by the transportation infrastructure it requires.
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?
Specialized transit is an essential service, particularly for residents with disabilities who may have no other practical transportation option.
Demand is increasing. I supported the City’s continued investment in specialized transit, including the addition of another specialized transit vehicle in the 2026 budget.
I would support additional investment where the demonstrated demand and service data show it is required. My focus would be on reliability, reasonable booking and wait times, vehicle availability, accessibility and ensuring residents can get to medical appointments, employment and other essential destinations.
Personally, the objective should be straightforward, residents who depend on specialized transit should receive safe, reliable and accessible service.
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 increasing transit use and providing residents with a realistic alternative to the automobile.
The 20% target is ambitious, and achieving it requires more than simply establishing a target. Transit has to be reliable, convenient, safe and competitive with other transportation choices.
I believe we should continue working toward increasing transit’s share of trips while measuring our progress and ensuring investments are producing increased ridership and improved service.
Targets are important, but results and accountability are equally important.
Question 4:
With record ridership and increasing demand, are you in favour of supporting continued expansion of Burlington’s transit system?
Yes, where ridership and demonstrated demand support the investment.
Burlington Transit recorded more than 3.7 million trips in 2025, continuing the significant ridership growth we have seen in recent years.
That tells us residents are using the service. I support improving frequency and reliability, expanding service where growth and ridership justify it, maintaining connections with GO, Oakville and Hamilton, and ensuring that our fleet and infrastructure keep pace with demand.
At the same time, as I do with every City service, I will continue asking whether investments are producing measurable results and value for taxpayers.
Question 5:
Have you ever used Burlington Transit? Would you be willing to give it a try?
Yes. I have used Burlington Transit on a number of occasions.
As a Councillor, I also believe it is important to hear directly from riders and our transit operators about what works and where improvements are needed. I have personally thanked Burlington Transit employees for the work they do every day providing safe and reliable transportation to residents travelling to work, school, appointments and other activities.
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.
I understand the objective of better integrating transit across municipal boundaries. Riders should be able to travel between Burlington, Oakville, Hamilton and the broader region as seamlessly as possible.
However, Bill 98 gives the Province significant authority over fare structures, discounts, transfers, priority routes and service standards. With that authority must come appropriate consultation with municipalities and appropriate provincial financial responsibility.
I would advocate strongly to protect Burlington’s existing service levels and successful programs, including our connections with neighbouring transit systems and affordable fare programs.
I would also oppose any arrangement that effectively downloads additional transit costs onto Burlington taxpayers without appropriate provincial funding.
If provincial decisions require Burlington Transit resources to provide a regional service, the Province should participate appropriately in funding that service.
Local knowledge also matters. Burlington Transit understands our routes, riders and service demands, and the City should continue to have a meaningful role in decisions affecting local transit service.
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 believe it is important to clarify what Council has actually approved.
Council has not approved replacing Burlington Transit routes with a private company. In April, Council directed staff to develop a proposal for a two-year, phased on-demand transit pilot and examine how on-demand service could work with Burlington Transit’s existing fixed-route system.
I am open to examining innovative ways of delivering better transit, but I am not prepared to support a model simply because it is described as innovative.
Before supporting implementation, I would want clear information on cost, projected ridership, service levels, accessibility, response and wait times, reliability, impacts on existing fixed routes, labour implications and what happens if a private provider fails or costs escalate.
Any pilot must have clear performance measures and regular reporting so Council and the public can determine whether it is actually improving service and providing value.
I also believe organizations such as BFAST and, most importantly, transit riders should be engaged before significant changes are made.
On-demand transit may have a role in lower-demand areas or at lower-demand times, but it should complement a strong public transit network rather than weaken successful fixed-route service.
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