This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
Canada: 
Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
QUEEN’S PARK – Two weeks after his government said it would “move quickly” to implement High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, Minister of Transportation Glen Murray was again unable to provide details to Trinity-Spadina MPP Rosario Marchese, struggling to explain how, or even if, his government would implement the costly and complicated tolling scheme.
“Why is the province building a risky, costly and complicated new payment system for the sake of a mere $25 million a year?” Marchese asked Murray, for the second time in a week.
In response to Marchese’ question, Murray claimed the government was merely “looking at HOT lanes,” yet the budget explicitly indicates the government is committed to them.
The minister’s waffling comes as a KPMG report to Metrolinx shows one kilometre of high-occupancy toll lanes will cost approximately $700,000 for barriers and guardrails, plus an additional $650,000 for each gantry for mounting the tolling equipment. With government plans to implement 450 km of HOT lanes, the costs for the new lanes are expected to be well over $300 million. Yet Metrolinx puts initial revenue for HOT lanes at a mere $25 million a year.
Marchese also asked about the plans to install the expensive lanes given the Liberal government’s own shameful record with large projects like the Pesto smart card.
“Presto was originally budgeted at $250 million, yet the costs have now ballooned to over $700 million—a big cost to the taxpayer, but a wonderful benefit to the government’s partners in the private sector,” said Marchese. “Why should we believe that the government’s new tolling scheme will not join eHealth, Ornge, the gas plant scandal and Presto on the growing list of this government’s wasteful private sector misadventures?” asked Marchese.
Be the first to comment