During the weekend in November 2011, Torontonians had a chance to see a mockup of new streetcar that will come to our city, hopefully in 2 years.
Sometimes it comes with more modern LRV designation. If you are a public transit enthusiast, then this exhibit should be a place to go and get excited about it. In spite of opposition from car-proponents, our prevailing mentality needs to become more urban. Great public transit is the catalyst of change and taking a new low floor streetcar downtown to attend opera or a concert should became an accepted modern alternative to driving a car, taking a cab or limo there.
Or take it to a place of business. It should become equivalent status symbol that public transit is not just for those who are on the budget. I only wish that some public figures or people with status of a star could become role models. Let their photos as streetcars or subway users be made public. Transit Commission should definitely find some spokesmen or spokeswomen for the cause. I think that those people, who post unfriendly comments toward our new transit vehicles in blogs, or newspapers online, are just misguided. Their attitudes can be changed.
Toronto is one of few cities in North America that had the courage to keep the streetcars, at times, when most cities in North America were shutting down operation and replacing them with buses. Montreal was one Canadian city with European makeup but discarded their trams in August 1959. In Ottawa, they did the same in April 1959. Toronto streetcars almost became extinct in sixties and seventies, when Toronto Transit Commission was very serious about getting rid of them. It took some dedicated Toronto activists that saved the day. When Commission agreed to keep the streetcars, it had to start dealing with some more practical issues. The vehicles have certain useful life and have to be replaced then. At the beginning of the last century, North America held an edge in this technology that has completely lost grounds in fifties. When you do not have manufacturers anymore, how do you replacing aging streetcars? Thunder Bay in Ontario had one manufacturer that produced subway cars for TTC.
Ontario had a foresighted Premier in seventies, and his name was Bill Davis. He knew that transportation future is in rapid transit line and not in cars. There were no manufacturers in North America and Government should provide an initiative. Urban Transport Development Corporation was set up as Crown Corporation, to design and manufacture advanced rail system. The company developed new technology called ICTS (Interim Capacity Transit System). Scarborough RT (Rapid Transit) is one local application of this technology. Train uses smaller cars than subway, and it is propelled by Linear Induction Motor (LIM). New technology is hard to sell to municipal buyers, since they look for systems with a long track record. UTDC was only able to sell two additional systems. One in Vancouver. It is called SkyTrain and the second one in Detroit, where they call it UrbanMover. UTDC company created design and built our CLVR (Canadian Light Rail Vehicle) that is currently still in use, in Toronto. It entered service in 1979 to replace old PCC (Presidents’ Conference Committee) streetcars. In 1988, newer version of CLVR entered Toronto. It was an articulated and stretches streetcar with designation ALRV. Both versions have become symbols of the city. Toronto’s rail network dated back to 19th century and it is called the legacy Network. It was unfortunate that neither models were ever sold; therefore, they remain unique to our city.
Ontario Government sold UTDC to a Quebec-based private corporation Lavalin in 1986. Lavalin faced bankruptcy shortly-after. It was forced to sell to Bombardier, another Quebec-based company. When first subway line opened in Toronto in 1954, the cars were manufactured in Thunder Bay, Ontario by Hawker-Siddeley Canada, a division of British based Hawker-Siddeley Group. UTDC was Kingston Ontario based and purchased Hawker-Siddeley in nineties. It ended up a part of Bombardier. Since Thunder Bay company manufactured first subway cars, it had a long relationship with TTC. The plant and the successor company Bombardier remains today a preferred supplier to TTC. Toronto Transit commission is a municipal transportation company founded in 1954. It runs subways, streetcars and buses in Toronto. The Commission is governed by councilors who are elected for city council and appointed for TTC council. These councilors run TTC from the view of City Mayor. The changes in TTC plans have occurred after last elections.
In 2005, Toronto Transit Commission handed over an order to Bombardier for 234 new subway cars. It was a closed order negotiated with the company, with no public tender. TTC came under a strong criticism. Biggest competitor Siemens claimed that it could have saved TTC at least $ 100-million on the purchase. It became apparent that TTC can no longer hand over any future orders. Without letting them win it in public tender.
Unlikely city in USA, Portland in Oregon introduced first modern streetcar in North America in more than 50 years. It was the low-floor Astra model built by Skoda-Inekon consortium in the Czech Republic. This vehicle became a model to emulate by TTC. Portland already had LRT built by Siemens that was connecting Downtown Portland with the Airport. However, LRTs are traditionally built for long and straight stretches with gentle curving. They can’t handle 90 degrees turns are not suitable for mixed road traffic. Streetcar can ride and LRT track, but not vice-versa. Many people have a habit to use LRT or LRV for any modern looking rail vehicle.
During 2006 Toronto Transit Commission issued a Request For Information (RFI) to several known manufacturers of streetcars around the world and held a preliminary discussion with them. TTC had a number of options. Refurbishing and modernizing old CLRVs or buying new vehicles. What type of vehicles might be most suitable? 70% low-floor vehicles that are preferred by USA cities, or to be swayed by 100% low-floor cars? There is no single answer, which type is better. It all depends on preferences and requirements. Final Request For proposal (RFP) was issued in January 2008 to all builders that have pre-qualified. In fact, the builders had to purchased complete tendering package. The package called for 100% low-floor car and required all builders to submit $1 000 000.00 security payment with their tender envelope. Further, builders had to provide minimum 25% of Canadian content. Although tender was expected to be impartial, to get the best proposal for 100% low-floor vehicle at the best price and to fulfill all Toronto’s unique technical requirements. The existing rail track has wider-gauge, tighter turning radiuses of 11m, steep hills and single-point switches.
When public tenders of such large sizes are issued by Government run agencies, they are always instruments of political objectives. Politics including the backroom one is always decisive in the tenders, and technical characteristics and price are relegated to the side rail. Politicians must be re-elected, and public purchases are handy gears to look good in front of voters. Most politicians are not business people, and costs are not on their mind. Extra costs can be covered with extra taxes. Previous administration led by Mayor Miller had the tax-and-spend mentality and introduced several unpopular taxes. It was the land-transfer-tax and car-registration fee. Streetcar procurement project became politicians’ tools. TTC hired consultants to advise them how much of Canadian content can be required from overseas builders, without causing unnecessary hardship and them losing interest in the assignment. The consultants returned with a report suggesting that no more than 10% of Canadian content can be requested.
During the TTC public meeting in December 2007, the councilors have changed the amount of Canadian content required to 25%. It was purely political decision but had an impact on the process. Request For proposal was also explicit about a “preferred supplier,” without naming the company. Most overseas-based builders saw-through the process that was designed with some partiality in mind and refused to participate. In July 2008, only one favored builder submitted tender envelope together with required $1 000 000.00 security cheque. Actually there was another tender from an upstart English company that was quickly disqualified on two grounds. Not fulfilling; commercial part of the tender and not having any reference. A reference means any vehicle in a revenue service, anywhere. No transit authority wants to buy any unproven vehicles. The other tender submitted was also disqualified since the vehicle offered was not technically compliant with technical specifications published in RFP.
There is no doubt that long and costly process ended like a fiasco for the Commission. It was also a disappointment for Torontonians anxiously awaiting good news about new vehicles for our streets. The Commission had to re-open the process. They approached the builders with fact-finding questions. They wanted to know the reasons for not bidding. Would they be interested in the new process? Do manufacturers have 100% low-floor design that is ready? Selection of 100% low-floor versus 70% low-floor and combined with 11-metre turning radiuses, they are big decisions to make. Some experts were saying publicly that only 70% low-floor can accommodate technical requirements.
25% Canadian content presented a nightmare scenario for overseas builders with no Canadian manufacturing base and provided an unfair cost advantage stacked toward one builder. Consultants warned about this danger in the bidding process. Why would other players participate in the process and playing roles of a patsy?
During July 2008, Commission started one-to-one preliminary negotiations with all builders. At the end, they preselected 3 builders for closed negotiating process. As expected, it was our Canadian Builder, overseas Siemens and French Alstom. Rumors have it that Alstom was not interested at all, but was just persuaded to join the process. TTC used reference for 100% low-floor vehicle as the main criteria to select builders for further negotiations. Some professional opinions differed from the official line, saying that local requirements are so unique that no company has yet, built a car to these specifications. Required reference should not be the most important one, but TTC should negotiate with all interested builders.
The tender called for delivery of 204 streetcars with 24 vehicles to be built and delivered per year. Additional option was for 350 LRVs for Transit City, a project still under consideration. The original budget had the amount of 41.2 Billion that was to be split among 3 funding sources. City, Provincial and Federal Government. Until now, Federal Government has refused to participate in the funding, and the city has to pay 2/3 of the costs. Second tender closed in April 2009, and only two bids were submitted. As announced by the commission, the Canadian based and favored company was the winner. The second builder had bid more that $500 million in excess of Bombardier. The difference was for sure due to difficulties and extra cost associated with fulfilling Canadian content requirements.
The contract was won in April 2009. It has taken more than 1 year, and a half to see mockup, but TTC has yet to test the vehicle on our rails. It is not very encouraging state of situations. The exact date for arrival of test cars has not been given yet. One might think that Torontonians might enjoy more seeing a car on the rails first, than to look inside. If there are any problems then, we might expect further delays.
The process was a text example of protectionism by non-tariff means. It is not just in Canada but in USA and in many countries. Transportation is not paid by private money, but Governments. Therefore, all levels of Governments make public procurement processes instruments of their policies. IN USA, if municipality required Federal money, then 40% must be content of US origin. If you do not require Federal financing is you are able to secure funds locally, then there is no problem with buying vehicles from overseas. All builders of public transportation system work in a difficult environment of uncertainty. Mass production that would allow manufacturing cost come down is non-existent. Major companies maintain plants around the worlds in order to shift the production to fulfill local needs. Cost of these plants creates higher overhead costs that must be reflected in the final price. Bombardier has a plant in Mexico, where most of work will be done. Who is the winner and who is the looser of working with politics? The winners are easy to identify. It is the company with contract, all its employees and subcontractors. Looser is international trade, economics and free market. Political power play is stronger than technical characteristics. We will never know, who would win the contract at what price, had the councilors accepted consultant’s recommendation in December 2007. The real costs are definitely inflated due to the political manipulations.
We all hope that new streetcars will become a success story. Success story would be defined by public satisfaction with riding them and their preference over cars. With an increase in ridership, public will be asking for more lines and perhaps revive the Transit City plans. Transit City plan to build several new street-level right-of-way lines, across the city. With the new administration in the City Hall, old plans were declared dead. New administration favors subway lines over surface rails, sharing the road with other traffic. It should not be one or the other, but subway lines for long travel complemented by streetcar lines. Only mix of these modes of transportation will create higher density city with no dependency on intercity use of cars.
New low-floor LRVs will come to our cityConsider new alternative to the use of your car. Recycle, re-use and take public transit anywhere!
