Ontario transit proposal could cost each household $477 a year
A final report released today by Ontario's transportation agency, Metrolinx, recommends new fees to raise $2 billion annually for public transit in the Greater Toronto Area and the Hamilton area.
If adopted, the proposed fees could amount to each household paying about $477 more in annual taxes, Metrolinx says.
Among the final set of revenue tools recommended to the provincial government are a new parking levy, development charges and a gas tax of five cents on the litre.
The agency has also proposed a one per cent increase to the HST that would equal approximately 65 per cent of the billions being raised by the province.
A family with two cars driving roughly 20,000 kilometres a year would pay $977 under the recommended tax hikes and fees.
The revenue tools will be reviewed by the Liberal government over the next few months, and put into legislation for a vote sometime in the future.
The CBC's Mike Crawley said government sources told him the proposals could be included in the 2014 budget.
Metrolinx says all the revenues would be dedicated to public transit projects, with 25 per cent carved out for municipalities in the region to spend on local transit and transportation projects.
Mitzie Hunter, CEO of the non-partisan lobby group Civic Action, said the public should be ready to pay for public transit.
"We feel that it's time for this generation to step up and pay for the transportation system that they need, and that they want," she said.
Toronto Transit Commission chair Karen Stintz said that while nobody wants to talk about implementing new taxes, "there are some that are fairer or more equitable than others."
Metrolinx's regional transit expansion plan, also known as The Big Move, is projected to cost $50 billion over 25 years
