'TTC customers have been patient enough,' John Tory tells Bombardier

Toronto mayor John Tory came out swinging in an open letter to Bombardier's president Thursday, saying the city is looking into taking further legal action after learning the manufacturer may not be able to meet its revised delivery schedule of Toronto's new streetcar fleet.

• Bombardier could miss more deadlines for streetcar delivery, TTC says
• Bombardier has 'no comments' on new questions about TTC streetcar delivery

Tory and TTC chair Josh Colle both signed the letter, which was addressed to Benoit Brossoit on Thursday.

"The delay of new streetcars has now reached a critical tipping point," the letter reads. "We are no longer able to sustain our current service levels as a result of Bombardier's delay."

TTC staff released a report Wednesday saying they believe there is a risk Bombardier may not meet the revised delivery schedule for the 204 new streetcars the city has ordered by 2019. The transit commission is supposed to have more than 100 streetcars on the road right now — but as of Thursday, Bombardier had delivered 27, with another three on the way.

"Given the delays we're seen over the last couple of years, we are concerned that the contractual commitment may not be met," said Brad Ross, executive director of corporate communications for the TTC. "We're not saying it won't be met; we're saying it may not be met, and it's our obligation as staff to report to our board."

Ross says people who use the TTC are already feeling the impacts of the delays.

"We have a fleet shortage now," he said. "Our older streetcars — the legacy streetcars as we call them — are 40 years old in many cases, and are unable to make service now because of their age. We're having to put buses on streetcar routes now because we don't have enough streetcars."

In October of last year, the TTC board voted to sue the manufacturer over the production delays. The city of Toronto awarded Bombardier the more than $1-billion contract for the streetcars in 2009, but since then, the company has repeatedly missed deadlines for delivery.

In the past, Bombardier has blamed the delays on faulty parts from its supplier in Mexico, labour trouble, the intricate nature of the new streetcars and staff changes.

"Ultimately, this all means fewer people feeling as though the TTC is the best option to move around the city," Tory and Colle's letter reads. "Bombardier delays are having a direct impact on whether people choose transit."

The mayor says when the city met with senior officials at Bombardier, they indicated the manufacturer was taking action to reduce potential further delays — including a program that would dedicate the Thunder Bay plant to TTC production.

"To us this is a bare minimum especially if Bombardier, once a Canadian source of pride, wants to maintain any ability to do business with entities such as ours," the letter reads.

The TTC board will meet on Tuesday to discuss the staff report released Wednesday.