City of Toronto to buy hundreds of new TTC vehicles

Oct 16 2020, 5:59 pm

Toronto Mayor John Tory has announced his endorsement of the TTC’s plan to invest in new vehicles for the transit system.

The Fleet Procurement Strategy and Plan, which will go to the TTC commission next week, includes the purchase of 600 new hybrid and electric buses, 80 more subway trains, 70 additional Wheel-Trans buses, and 13 more streetcars, according to a release.

The new vehicles would be a welcome relief to the system’s lack of social-distancing.

The plan says the need to purchase the new vehicles is urgent, as the system scrambles to replace those that are aging out of service.

“Investing in transit in a state of good repair is necessary if we want a transit system operating at its best and moving as many people as possible,” said Tory.

The plan, which will have the new vehicles running by 2023, will ensure that the city can make the necessary upgrades to help keep Canada’s largest transit system running, said the release.

While the City Building Fund has provided approximately 40% of the funding needed for the project, Tory said that he will “aggressively” pursue the federal and provincial governments to foot the rest of the bill.

“There will come a day where COVID-19 is gone and our city must be ready for that day,” said Tory. “We have to move forward with making these investments now to make sure that they are a reality in the near future.”

Zoe DemarcoZoe Demarco

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