Chloe Teixeira, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Burlington Local-News.ca

Editor’s note: The author is a member of BFAST but has not been an active member or involved in the matters discussed in this article. 

With Burlington’s municipal election starting October 14, concerns have been expressed regarding the future of public transit in the city.

Transit lobby group Burlington for Accessible Sustainable Transit (BFAST) recently published a news release, detailing various concerns, including the implementation of on-demand transit and the provincial Bill 98, which received royal assent in June of this year and could affect local control over fares.

On-demand transit is a form of transportation that functions in a similar way to services like Uber or Lyft, where users request a ride and input their pickup and drop-off locations.

“There are a lot of pressing issues in this election, and one of the most important is transit,” says BFAST Chair Doug Brown in another news release regarding the upcoming election.

On April 13, Councillor Paul Sharman brought forward a motion to the Committee of the Whole for consideration regarding a 24-month on-demand transit pilot project. Sharman’s motion for the project included directing the director of Burlington Transit to develop a proposal and analysis of various aspects, including service design options, financial implications, and an implementation timeline.

In an email response, Director of Burlington Transit Raeywn Jackson stated that the pilot project itself “is not approved,” and city council directed transit staff to provide a report that would include how on-demand transit could be incorporated into Burlington Transit’s existing model.

According to Jackson, the report will include the same aspects that Sharman proposed in his motion, and is expected in Q4 2026.

BFAST member Collin Gribbons says that while the group is not against on-demand transit, they don’t think “established routes should be cut in order [to] provide on-demand transit.” 

Gribbons says on-demand transit in Burlington has “a lot of potential,” particularly in terms of specialized transit where riders are unable to use a conventional bus, and in “underserviced urban or rural areas.”

BFAST also raised concerns about the pilot project’s funding and costs in its news release.  

In an April 13 BFAST submission to the city, provided by Gribbons, the group details “further consideration needed” ahead of the pilot project. BFAST notes that Sharman’s motion states, “The pilot would be initially examined with the goal of no proposed increase to the municipal tax levy.”

The submission also addresses Brampton’s own one-year pilot program regarding on-demand transit, stating that the cost of its program, which covers a “central area” that is four by four kilometres, is $10.9 million. 

BFAST also states that “we might anticipate that the cost for a pilot project of a similar duration [in Burlington] would be in the range of six to eight million dollars,” given the size difference between the two cities.

“Provincial and federal funding might reduce the net cost to the City of Burlington to five million dollars.”

Regarding funding for Burlington’s pilot project, Jackson states in her email response, “Funding has not been determined for this project.”

Although no cost for the pilot project has been confirmed, BFAST writes in their submission that, based on the above information and other findings, “a study of the scope proposed by Cllr. Sharman is expensive.”

“However it is funded, the burden should not fall solely on transit users or on a system that has now only recovered from years of deliberate neglect.”

Another concern BFAST has involves Argo, a private transit company that provides on-demand transit in Brampton and has been linked to Burlington. 

In January, Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward posted photos to Instagram of her inside an Argo bus in downtown Burlington, alongside city council members Paul Sharman and Rory Nisan. 

In the caption, she notes communities have launched pilot projects for on-demand transit, and that “there are discussions about what we can do here in Burlington for our residents.”

She also thanked Sharman for “spearheading this discussion” and for “bringing ARGO representatives […] to town.”

Despite this post and comments from the mayor, Jackson stated in her email that “the City does not have a relationship with Argo.”

In discussing concerns about on-demand transit in Burlington, Gribbons says BFAST generally “[doesn’t] think that public services should be contracted out to private corporations unless there’s a really good reason for it.”

“Because, you know, the corporation has to make a profit. And that profit’s coming out of a budget which could otherwise be used for transit service.”

In addition to BFAST’s concerns, Instagram users expressed their own in the comments on the mayor’s post, with one echoing BFAST’s sentiment that the service could potentially serve underserved communities. 

“But it’s crucial to see this as complementing the transit system, not a permanent solution to it,” they added.

Aside from concerns about Argo as a private company, BFAST’s news release notes Argo’s government ties to the Conservative Party, stating that it’s “worth examining.”

BFAST writes about Argo’s head of business operations having held “high-level” positions in Ontario’s government for seven years, in addition to former Conservative leader Patrick Brown leading “efforts to award” Brampton’s pilot project through a “closed Council session with no public disclosure.” 

BFAST notes the documents from the council session have been released through freedom of information laws, “but ninety percent of the information was redacted.”

Another concern BFAST has leading up to Burlington’s election is Bill 98, the Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act. In particular, one section states that “the Minister,” referring to “the Minister of Transportation or such other member of the Executive Council as may be assigned the administration of this Act under the Executive Council Act,” “may make regulations” on various aspects of fare structure for “prescribed transit systems.”

This includes setting fare prices, defining fare categories, establishing fare discount policies and transfer policies for travel between transit systems.

Gribbons says BFAST thinks these decisions “should be in the hands of municipalities” rather than the province.

Responses to BFAST’s survey reveal broad support among Burlington’s mayoral and council candidates for improving public transit, but differences in how they would approach expansion, funding and service delivery. While some support increasing transit’s modal share to 20% by 2031, others question whether the target is realistic within that timeframe. Candidates also raised concerns about Bill 98’s potential effects on local decision-making, fare programs and funding. On-demand transit drew a range of views, from support for a pilot project with safeguards to calls for further study or opposition to private providers, particularly if the service would replace existing routes.

When Gribbons was asked about BFAST’s ideal transit system in Burlington, he discussed walkable distances to bus stops, a frequency of 20 minutes “rather than half an hour or an hour,” more routes, and reducing barriers when applying for specialized transit. 

In an email, he also said an ideal system would include a low- or no-emission fleet, while supporting the city’s current policy of ordering diesel-hybrid buses “as the best compromise.” 

To view mayoral and council candidate responses to transit concerns, BFAST has posted results from the transit survey they sent out. 

To view the list of candidates running for mayor and city council, visit https://myvote.burlington.ca/for-voters/list-of-candidates/.

Early voting takes place online until October 23, while in-person voting at an advance poll takes place from October 17 to 20. Election day for in-person voting is October 26; find voting locations here.

Learn more about our News Monitoring here.

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