About the Region of Durham's Simcoe St. Rapid Transit options. A constituent wrote me last week asking for my thoughts on the ongoing studies and whether I am leaning toward the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) or the Aerial Cable Car (gondola) concept.
My direct answer: I do not believe either of these two multi-million dollar options is in the City of Oshawa’s best interest.
A quick sidenote before going into why I stated the above: I know many of my constituents have valid concerns regarding DRT bus schedule timings, routes, and specific stop gaps, especially in the new growth areas north of Conlin Rd. I am actively working with DRT on those operational issues separately, but this post is strictly focused on the capital expenditure and long-term planning of the Simcoe Street corridor. Therefore I want to keep this post specific to these two rapid transit options.
Now back to the focus of this post:
I certainly do not support the aerial cable car aka gondola project. Not only for its outrageously expensive estimated billion dollar+ cost, but its maintenance costs too. Although novel and some initially may think exciting, the gondola option to carry people, not vehicles, in suspended cabins, negatively impacts privacy for area residents and a poor visual aesthetic of the structures, not to mention the safety issues with equipment failure, power outages and vandalism.
I do not support the bus rapid transit on Simcoe St. either, which is just as expensive with a lot of property expropriations. Although it may work well enough on Hwy 2 in Pickering and Ajax, Simcoe St. Oshawa is entirely different.
Oshawa Council was never given the opportunity to vote on either option. In my opinion, rather than Simcoe St., Ritson Rd. would and should have been considered as an alternate spine route corridor to study for north/south Oshawa transit improvements.
The initial phase for the current project which was announced in 2020 has had a shared $12 million cost: with $5 million federal, $4 million provincial and $3 million municipal to commence the 10 km bus service study and mid- term upgrades.
Accomplished so far has been the Visioning and Feasibility Studies with its public consultation meetings, the purchase of 8 new buses, and installation of new bus shelters and traffic signal upgrades.
The January 2025 Region Committee of the Whole meeting Report 2025-COW-3 was pivotal.
https://pub-durhamregion.escribemeetings.com/filestream...
Region Council was asked to endorse the aerial cable car option, but a motion was made to delay it for further consideration.
The motion instead of endorsing the aerial cable car option ended up by a vote of 13-9 being to refer the report back to staff for a defined project scope and conduct consultations with Oshawa Council.
I’ve heard the next vote on this matter is not expected until late 2027. This was from the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, which was supporting the cable car option (from something written by former GOCC president Jason King)
Considered in the context of the GO train expansion east to Bowmanville with construction work breaking ground in January 2026 with the Simcoe St. bridge replacement start, and the plan for its full service toward 17,000 daily trips, is targeted for 2041, a 15 year horizon, improved transit in Oshawa should be on the radar.
But rushing into any such a high cost project should be something to be extremely wary of putting together if its not going to function well and over burden taxpayers.
The context also of the former Knob Hill property Oshawa GO train site for all its ‘transit oriented development’ planning, in my opinion makes a Ritson Rd. bus transit spine more ideal, and probably less expensive than the two mega capital projects currently on the table.
Information and resources on our bus service:
While this post focuses on the long-term planning of the Simcoe Street corridor, I want to emphasize that public transit remains a critical priority for our community.
There are certainly immediate improvements needed regarding daily bus schedules, route coverage, and stop locations. For instance, I am fully aware that our new growth areas in Ward 1, specifically north of Conlin Road and east of Harmony Road, are currently lacking DRT bus stops.
Please know that I am actively raising these local operational issues.
In my experience, Durham Region Transit leadership has been highly responsive to the many and varied concerns raised, and DRT staff work to provide the best service possible under growing demands. Even though I am not on Durham Region Council, as an Oshawa City Councillor I will continue to collaborate with DRT to get these localized gaps resolved.
If you have specific feedback regarding your daily commute, or want to get involved in shaping future transit accessibility, please utilize the resources below:
Contact DRT Customer Service at 1-866-247-0055 or email [email protected]
Note: DRT is hosting its annual ACCESSIBILITY SPOTLIGHT Forum on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Courtyard by Marriott Oshawa in Harmony Room C (1011 Bloor Street East). Light refreshments will be provided, but registration is required. Link to Register is here
https://www.durhamregiontransit.com/.../accessibility.../
My direct answer: I do not believe either of these two multi-million dollar options is in the City of Oshawa’s best interest.
A quick sidenote before going into why I stated the above: I know many of my constituents have valid concerns regarding DRT bus schedule timings, routes, and specific stop gaps, especially in the new growth areas north of Conlin Rd. I am actively working with DRT on those operational issues separately, but this post is strictly focused on the capital expenditure and long-term planning of the Simcoe Street corridor. Therefore I want to keep this post specific to these two rapid transit options.
Now back to the focus of this post:
I certainly do not support the aerial cable car aka gondola project. Not only for its outrageously expensive estimated billion dollar+ cost, but its maintenance costs too. Although novel and some initially may think exciting, the gondola option to carry people, not vehicles, in suspended cabins, negatively impacts privacy for area residents and a poor visual aesthetic of the structures, not to mention the safety issues with equipment failure, power outages and vandalism.
I do not support the bus rapid transit on Simcoe St. either, which is just as expensive with a lot of property expropriations. Although it may work well enough on Hwy 2 in Pickering and Ajax, Simcoe St. Oshawa is entirely different.
Oshawa Council was never given the opportunity to vote on either option. In my opinion, rather than Simcoe St., Ritson Rd. would and should have been considered as an alternate spine route corridor to study for north/south Oshawa transit improvements.
The initial phase for the current project which was announced in 2020 has had a shared $12 million cost: with $5 million federal, $4 million provincial and $3 million municipal to commence the 10 km bus service study and mid- term upgrades.
Accomplished so far has been the Visioning and Feasibility Studies with its public consultation meetings, the purchase of 8 new buses, and installation of new bus shelters and traffic signal upgrades.
The January 2025 Region Committee of the Whole meeting Report 2025-COW-3 was pivotal.
https://pub-durhamregion.escribemeetings.com/filestream...
Region Council was asked to endorse the aerial cable car option, but a motion was made to delay it for further consideration.
The motion instead of endorsing the aerial cable car option ended up by a vote of 13-9 being to refer the report back to staff for a defined project scope and conduct consultations with Oshawa Council.
I’ve heard the next vote on this matter is not expected until late 2027. This was from the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, which was supporting the cable car option (from something written by former GOCC president Jason King)
Considered in the context of the GO train expansion east to Bowmanville with construction work breaking ground in January 2026 with the Simcoe St. bridge replacement start, and the plan for its full service toward 17,000 daily trips, is targeted for 2041, a 15 year horizon, improved transit in Oshawa should be on the radar.
But rushing into any such a high cost project should be something to be extremely wary of putting together if its not going to function well and over burden taxpayers.
The context also of the former Knob Hill property Oshawa GO train site for all its ‘transit oriented development’ planning, in my opinion makes a Ritson Rd. bus transit spine more ideal, and probably less expensive than the two mega capital projects currently on the table.
Information and resources on our bus service:
While this post focuses on the long-term planning of the Simcoe Street corridor, I want to emphasize that public transit remains a critical priority for our community.
There are certainly immediate improvements needed regarding daily bus schedules, route coverage, and stop locations. For instance, I am fully aware that our new growth areas in Ward 1, specifically north of Conlin Road and east of Harmony Road, are currently lacking DRT bus stops.
Please know that I am actively raising these local operational issues.
In my experience, Durham Region Transit leadership has been highly responsive to the many and varied concerns raised, and DRT staff work to provide the best service possible under growing demands. Even though I am not on Durham Region Council, as an Oshawa City Councillor I will continue to collaborate with DRT to get these localized gaps resolved.
If you have specific feedback regarding your daily commute, or want to get involved in shaping future transit accessibility, please utilize the resources below:
Contact DRT Customer Service at 1-866-247-0055 or email [email protected]
Note: DRT is hosting its annual ACCESSIBILITY SPOTLIGHT Forum on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Courtyard by Marriott Oshawa in Harmony Room C (1011 Bloor Street East). Light refreshments will be provided, but registration is required. Link to Register is here
https://www.durhamregiontransit.com/.../accessibility.../
