THUNDER BAY — Workers at Bombardier Transportation's Thunder Bay plant will have to wait until at least the fall to learn more about prospects for another streetcar order from the Toronto Transit Commission.
Staff reports pertaining to the next order were originally scheduled to be presented to the TTC board in May.
The reports were then pushed back to June, and again to July, but have now been rescheduled to a board meeting in October.
Commissioners are waiting for a business case analysis on the expedited procurement of either 20 or 60 additional streetcars.
TTC staff previously identified a strong need for more cars because of increasing congestion on the transit system.
However, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership has plummeted, and "thrown a lot of our longer term capital planning for a loop," spokesperson Stuart Green told Tbnewswatch in May.
Shelagh Pizey-Allen, the head of TTCriders – a grassroots transit advocacy group – has said it would be a mistake for the TTC to delay expansion of its fleet.
"Transit is going to play a significant role in economic recovery" post-COVID, Pizey-Allen said in an earlier interview.
Bombardier, which completed the delivery of 204 streetcars to the TTC at the beginning of the year, may have the inside track for winning future orders despite challenges it faced in meeting some delivery targets.
Although the TTC last year determined that up to five manufacturers, including Bombardier, have the capability of supplying the 60 additional streetcars, a staff report cautioned that a different supplier could not deliver nearly as quickly as Bombardier.
It also concluded that there would be significant inefficiencies attached to introducing a new type of vehicle into the TTC fleet.
