Opposition grills government on UP Express service change U-turn

Opposition parties questioned the Ontario government on Wednesday about its decision to reverse planned changes to the UP Express service, saying the government failed to consult commuters before announcing the changes in the first place.

Two government sources have told CBC News that the initial idea to change the UP Express schedule came from Metrolinx, the provincial regional transit agency. The planned change would have made every second UP Express train non-stop between Union Station and Toronto's Pearson International Airport, skipping Bloor and Weston stations.

An online petition signed by more than 5,800 people called on the government to keep the stops at Bloor and Weston stations for all scheduled UP Express trains. The petition said the changes would have reduced service for residents of "underserved communities" that rely on UP Express for daily commutes to downtown Toronto.

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria reversed the planned changes in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, saying he heard the concerns of riders and has directed Metrolinx not to proceed with the changes.

Metrolinx, for its part, would not confirm that it proposed the initial idea to change the service.

"Metrolinx has received direction from Minister Sarkaria about the recent announcement of new direct UP Express trips," Andrea Ernesaks, spokesperson for Metrolinx, said in an email.

"We confirm that we will not be moving forward with the changes. We will be posting updated schedules in the coming days to reflect this direction."

'They didn't talk to transit riders'

At the legislature on Wednesday, Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles asked about the sudden U-turn in question period.

"People don't want a government that's actively making their lives harder by just recklessly changing their transit routes overnight. Had the minister spoken to a single commuter, a single commuter, he wouldn't have even put this forward," Stiles said.

"Why does this government keep putting forward policies without consulting a single person impacted by their decisions?"

Later in a scrum at Queens Park, Stiles added: "I think it is a record turnaround, even for this government."

Ontario Liberal MPP John Fraser said the UP Express has become a transit relief line, helping people get to and from work, and to and from appointments. 

"They didn't think about it. That's what this government does. They make decisions, they don't think about it, and then they go, 'oh my gosh, that wasn't the right thing to do','" Fraser said.

"We need a government that people can count on ... When you make this many mistakes, you are obviously not listening at the beginning, and that's where the listening should start."

Sarkaria, for his part, said the province has made the right decision by reversing the planned schedule changes.

"The intention of the UP Express was to, as we've said before, provide that service from the airport, and now we have listened to the riders, listened to the concerns and we've acted on that." he said.

Sarkaria declined to say whose idea it was from the start to change the UP Express schedule.