Survey Response: Gary Carr, Candidate for Councillor, Ward 2

Question 1:

What role can transit play in reducing traffic congestion and mitigating increasing expenditures on road maintenance?

In my role as Halton Region Chair I have a proven record of supporting transit in Halton and Burlington. Transit plays an important role in reducing traffic. I have a proven record of supporting transit in Halton and Burlington.

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?

We need to ensure that we have transit services for all riders in Burlington. I have a proven record of supporting our transit service. I will work  to ensure Burlington transit is available for everyone in Burlington. 

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?

As Regional Chair I supported the goal of 20% transit split. I have a record of voting to support the goal of 20% in our official plan.

Question 4:

With record ridership and increasing demand, are you in favour of supporting continued expansion of Burlington’s transit system?

We need to continue to ensure that we have a transit services that provides the services required by all our residents. We need to support our Burlington transit system.

Question 5:

Have you ever used Burlington Transit? Would you be willing to give it a try?

Yes as a resident of Ward 2 I have a Burlington transit pass and use our Burlington transit regularly.

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 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.

As Councillor for Ward 2  I will work to ensure the decisions on Burlington Transit are made in Burlington not by the Province. 

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.

Burlington Transit needs to be run by the City of Burlington and the decisions need to be made by Burlington Council.