Finch West LRT should be free on opening day, councillor and MPP say

Finch West LRT vehicle during revenue service demonstration along Finch Avenue West. (Government of Ontario)

A city councillor and an MPP are calling on the provincial government to offer free rides on opening day on the soon-to-be-opened Finch West LRT.

“It hasn’t been an easy road for the people along Finch and I think they deserve something special on day one, something to help them celebrate and thank them for their patience,” Humber River Black Creek MPP Tom Rakocevic said during Question Period at Queen’s Park Thursday.

The NDP MPP called on the government to work with the City of Toronto to ensure that rides on the Finch West LRT are free on opening day.

In a letter to Premier Doug Ford posted online Wednesday, Ward 7 Coun. Anthony Perruzza said he is grateful for the new line, which has “transformed this part of Finch Ave West into a wonderful urban avenue.”

He said it would be a “a wonderful gesture” if the government made rides free on opening day given local residents and businesses “have endured 7 years of construction hell.”

Perruzza noted the federal government covered the cost of rides on opening day for the TTC’s Spadina subway extension to Vaughan when it opened back in 2017.

During Question Period Wednesday, Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria did not directly respond to Rakocevic’s request, but pointed out the Ford government is financing operating costs for transit in Toronto through its new deal with the city, which saw the province upload the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway.

“As part of the Toronto-Ontario new deal, we are covering operating expenses for the Finch West LRT. That was a commitment we made as a government,” Sarkaria said.

The TTC recently announced the 10.3-kilometre Finch West LRT—also known as Line 6—will open on Dec. 7, running from Keele Street to the Humber College north campus.

The line was first proposed back in 2007, but was delayed by numerous political debates and plan changes by successive municipal and provincial governments. Metrolinx finally began major construction work on the line in 2019, with an expected opening date of 2023. But further delays pushed back the opening.

A report from Metrolinx earlier in the fall pegged the latest cost of the Finch West LRT line at $3.7 billion, including lifecycle, operating and maintenance costs—over $1 billion higher than the original estimate of $2.5 billion.

The TTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the calls for free rides.