Broke and broken: Canada’s public transit in critical funding state, report says

A new analysis warns that Canada’s major cities are struggling to keep their transit systems running, and says public transit is heading for a “downward spiral” unless major new streams of operating revenue open up.

In a report published in late May, Leading Mobility Canada said the $120-billion in expansions planned for those transit systems won’t help cities that are struggling to keep the buses and trains running at current levels.

David Cooper, the principal at Leading Mobility and the study’s co-author, said the majority of transit is funded through passenger fares and property taxes, and cities have very limited options for other sources of revenue.

The federal government is allocating billions to expand transit.

“It’s great we’re getting these investments, but you actually can’t materialize the benefits of these investments if the cities actually can’t afford to run it,” he said.

The analysis looked at the budgets, revenue sources and long-term plans for eight transit systems in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax.

Most of them are already reporting budget shortfalls.

Calgary’s shortfall was $33 million in 2023, the same year Toronto reported a $366-million gap. Montreal anticipates its budget shortfall will exceed $560 million in 2025 and grow to $700 million by 2028.

Halifax expects it will be up to $22 million short in 2026 — more than 15 per cent of its total transit budget — while Vancouver warns of a structural deficit of $600 million by the same year.

All of them say the planned expansions, such as new light rail lines in Ottawa, bus rapid transit in Halifax and subway expansions in Toronto, will incur operating costs well above what they can afford.

Vancouver estimated bus