Throughout this pandemic, it has become clear that transit systems should not continue to rely on transit fares for stable funding. Without help from all governments, public transit agencies are heading towards severe cuts

For example, in the greater Montreal area, the four public transit agencies may have accumulated an estimated deficit between 716 and 936 million dollars by 2024. The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain,the umbrella organization responsible for planning, organizing, financing and promoting public transit services for the metropolitan region of Montreal, has apparently put together a proposal for its board of directors forecasting that the four transit agencies will have to reduce their service to accommodate the projected deficit. This would mean that the four public transit agencies would have to cut their service level by 2% every year from 2022 to 2024 as well as raise their rates 4% annually during that period. Not all transit providers were able to avoid cuts in the last year. A case in point is GO Transit, the regional transit service for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. It was not eligible for the aid that municipal agencies received. 

Permanent operational support will allow public transit systems to avoid the transit death spiral in which agencies, lacking revenue, cut their budget, resulting in less service and higher fares, which further reduces ridership and revenue -- prompting more cuts. 

To avoid this catastrophic scenario and continue to have robust transit in a post-COVID recovery, the government should:

1. Provide $400 million per month in ongoing operations funding so transit agencies can recover from financial losses incurred during the pandemic.

2. Establish a national framework for transit operating funding that is stable, reliable and permanent. 

3. Redirect funds currently allocated for highway and pipeline projects toward an actually climate friendly system of well funded, reliable public transit