Question 1:
What role can transit play in reducing traffic congestion and mitigating increasing expenditures on road maintenance?
A large one. Getting an area that is over 70% car reliant to transition will go a long way at reducing our gridlock and congestion issues. Fewer road trips extend the life of a road surface.
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?
Look into buses that lower to make it even to the ground to easily walk on. If we had a fleet of electric buses, we could increase our routes and then slowly add new ones as the old ones require replacement. I would also like to look at a smaller bus to fit on the narrower roads in Ward 3. I saw that the city has an on-demand pilot project. That is a great idea for Ward 3.
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?
Yes, Oakville has already started rolling out electric busses. Electric busses currently cost 40% more but it is worth the cost savings and emission savings of not being on Diesel. If Burlington is going to meet the population growth targets, we need to make sure that transit is front and center in all new developments.
Question 4:
With record ridership and increasing demand, are you in favour of supporting continued expansion of Burlington’s transit system?
Yes, in fact I would like to see the numbers on the current routes to see if there is some tweaking or adding new routes to the system. I would also like to see that the buses arrive at the Go stations prior to the trains scheduled departure to keep people out of their cars. You should be able to smoothly board your bus disembark at the go station and make your train into the city.
Question 5:
Have you ever used Burlington Transit? Would you be willing to give it a try?
I would try it. I live in Lowville, so we do not have access to transit. As councillor I would take it to see where there may be issues or concerns.
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.
So, a few options most involving working with various levels of government and municipalities.
#1 Council can make formal submissions, press for a seat at the table, work through AMO& Halton Region.
#2 If the Province names a priority route or service like Dundas Street then they should cover the cost of operating it. Council can refuse to fund it by cutting local routes.
#3 make any cuts visible. We can publish Burlington transit’s service hours and frequencies every year. Then any shift of resources to Provincially directed routes will show up right away. #4 lastly, we can work with neighbourhood cities. Put our arrangements down in writing then advocate jointly against 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.
The answer to question 7 in a way ties into Question 6. A private company would now have to deal with the layers of bureaucracy that the provincial government is putting in place. They will have to match the mandated fares which could wipe out their profit. I would not support this plan as I believe that privatization risks service degradation while the taxpayers continue to pay the same or more. It is our job as council to make sure the city operates and is fiscally accountable. This is setting us up for failure instead of having the hard conversations. I did not realize that the on demand was not part of the city’s plan. It should be something that we discuss and operate. Eliminating the need for a private provider. With all the secondary roads in the Brant Hills, Palmer & Mountainside neighbourhoods we could also look as mentioned earlier on adding a new route or two that would meet up with Upper Middle, Brant, and Headon. Smaller electric busses that run around the smaller roads in the am and pm during rush hour to start. If the ridership is there, we can increase the frequency of the routes.