This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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QUEEN’S PARK — Today in the legislature, Trinity-Spadina MPP Rosario Marchese asked Minister of Transportation Glen Murray to explain why the government has committed to a dubious toll scheme that will not provide a reliable revenue source.
“The Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Finance appear to be awfully optimistic about the revenue potential of high-occupancy toll lanes,” said Marchese. “But in February, we learned that the new HOT lanes in Washington, DC, lost over $11 million in just their first six weeks of operation. The Washington, DC, HOT lanes are only 14 miles long. Meanwhile, the Ontario government has committed to building up to 450 km worth of HOT toll lanes.”
The profitability of high-occupancy toll lanes depends on worsening congestion in the free lanes. Outside of California, in places like Seattle and Minnesota, HOT toll lanes have lost money for many years, struggling simply to break even.
Marchese said it was time to put to rest the myth that HOT toll lanes are a reliable revenue tool for transit.
“Will the government stop wasting time with risky tolling schemes and instead focus on the real job of building new transportation options for Ontarians?” asked Marchese.
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