Mayor Thompson continues to fight cancellation of GO Transit in Bolton

Written By JULIA LLOYD

The Mayor of Caledon Allan Thompson has written a letter to the Ontario Minister of Transportation to have the June 29 cancelation of GO Transit services currently operating in Bolton postponed. 

“At this point, I have not heard anything back,” said Mayor Thompson. 

The mayor has recently requested local employers to write letters in support in the hopes of motivating Minister Jeff Yurek to work on a solution. 

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown sent a letter to the ministry, supporting Mayor Thompson's claim that cancelling Bolton's GO service would be a mistake. He believes the cancellation would also have run-off effects in Brampton.

The 38 and 38A GO bus routes are the only form of public transit in Bolton. Operated by Metrolinx, the 38 travels from Bolton to Malton, while the 38A transports residents from Bolton to the York Mills bus terminal.

Last Thursday (June 13), Peel regional councillors supported a motion brought forward by Annette Groves, calling for the Province to continue operating its two lines in Bolton.

While he was pleased to see that motion pass, Mayor Thompson wants answers now, and hopes to see a possible solution come down the pipeline before the scheduled June 29 discontinuation.

“The timeframe is getting very tight for the 29th,” he expressed. 

Last Thursday, the mayor held a meeting with the Town's manager of transportation and the go riders in Caledon, in hopes of a solution. The meeting, held at the Albion Bolton Community Centre, was fairly well attended.

“What we tried to do at the meeting, I know a lot of people thought we were responsible, but what we tried to do was come up with a compromise of the routes and what ideal time would be best for people to connect with the GO to get into Toronto, or for kids trying to reach York University,” Mayor Thompson said.

Unfortunately, Mayor Thompson left the meeting empty handed with no compromises, or potential solutions to take back to MTO. 

“A lot of frustration at the meeting and so it was not as productive as I was hoping for,” said Mayor Thompson. 

However, the mayor is hopeful a solution will come about since the 38 and 38A are the only form of public transit that Bolton has. It would be troubling, he says, if no alternative route gets offered as a compromise, he expressed. 

Eric Chan, the town of Caledon's manager of transportation has been helping out by working closely with the people who have been impacted and has been in a lot of email exchanges with the mayor trying to find a solution. 

MPP Sylvia Jones of Dufferin-Caledon has made a statement regarding the cancelled GO bus routes. 

“I am continuing to work with municipal and provincial partners to ensure reliable commuting networks are available for the residents of Caledon. Our government was elected to get transit and commuters moving across Ontario, including in Caledon,” she wrote. 

Two weeks ago, local resident Dina Box launched an online petition. As of Wednesday June 19, there were 290 people who signed the petition on Change.org.  

“Discontinuing this route stops many people from getting to work or school, and leaves the entire town out of the transit service and having easy access to the city,” she wrote. “There are no alternative routes listed for Bolton on the GO website, and it seems like they don't care about providing their service for the people that depend on it.”

The GO Bus brought in approximately $198, 000 in revenue last year, while operation of the bus cost Metrolinx $857,000 in 2018, a loss of $659,000.