Soon there may be yet another good reason to rely on transit for getting around the region. Last December, the Conservative MPP for Durham John O'Toole introduced a bill at Queen's Park that would create a provincial tax credit for transit-pass holders similar to the federal credit that came into effect back in 2006. This means people who use YRT for their commute (and buy a pass each month) would get to keep a bit more money in their pocket at the end of the year.

It's clear Mr. O'Toole understands the value of a good transit system like ours. From the bill's text:

Public transit is an important public good for Ontario which must be promoted.

By encouraging people to use public transit, many benefits result. For instance, harmful greenhouse gas emissions are reduced and traffic congestion and gridlock are eased because fewer motorists will be on our province’s roads.

In order to encourage people to use public transit, it is important to give them incentives.

I'm neither an accountant nor a tax attorney, but my layman's interpretation of the bill is that were it to pass in its present form,

• It would provide a non-refundable tax credit equal in value to the federal one. Effectively, the existing credit would be doubled.

• The credit would apply retroactively to 2010 and 2011. (Save your old passes!)

• A person who buys a bus pass for another person (such as their child) would be able to claim the credit for themselves, so long as they request a suitable receipt from YRT and file it along with their taxes.

• An employer who buys a bus pass on behalf of an employee would not be eligible for the credit.

The bill is scheduled for second reading later this session of parliament, which resumed yesterday following the winter break. I'll be watching to see what happens and will post an update here.

Why isn't YRT an Essential Service?

Speaking of Queen's Park, I see from the orders and notices York-Simcoe MPP Julia Munro plans to question Labour Minister Linda Jeffrey on why transit isn't considered an essential service here in the region as it is in Toronto. (You'll recall Mrs. Munro was one of the three Conservative MPPs in York Region who called for back-to-work legislation last year to end the transit strike.) From the orders and notices:

214. Mrs. Munro — Enquiry of the Ministry — Would the Minister of Labour provide information about any discussions within the government to declare public transit an essential service in York Region. February 21, 2012.

215. Mrs. Munro — Enquiry of the Ministry — Would the Minister of Labour explain the rationale for declaring public transit in Toronto an essential service, but not public transit in York Region or other parts of Ontario. February 21, 2012.

Again, I'll be watching to see how this plays out in parliament.

To my mind, the question of whether or not YRT should be an essential service is a tough one to answer. On the one hand, there certainly are a lot of people in the region who depend on it for getting to work or school, as well as for other important errands like doctor's appointments—we saw during the recent strike how much of an inconvenience it is when the buses aren't running. And I strongly believe that if our goal is to build a healthy urban environment, with good air quality and easy ways to get around, it'll be critical for us to have a reliable and effective transit system in place.

At the same time, we may be better off looking for other ways to achieve this. Declaring YRT an essential service would take away the drivers' right to strike, which would make another three-month interruption unlikely or impossible but raises certain moral issues on its own. Even if these issues can be resolved it's not clear this would be effective in containing transit costs, and it also isn't obvious how it would be compatible with the public-private partnership model used for transit here. Plus the Region itself has said essential-service designation is not something it's likely to pursue, as this status is usually reserved for truly essential services like EMS.

What do you think? Should YRT be declared an essential service? Post a comment and let us know.