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An example of those “sunk costs” are the 186 Flexity 2 light rail trains that Metrolinx has already ordered for Sheppard, Finch and Eglinton Avenues. If we build a subway on Sheppard, who pays the penalties for the cancelled light rail order?

Second, Gary Webster, chief general manager of the TTC, confirms that he has 160 employees working at the TTC on what used to be called Transit City, with their wages all paid for by the province of Ontario. “We have 160 staff working on the four Transit City lines that were active,” he says. “They shifted gears and are working on revised plans.” However, he confirmed that the TTC had no hand in the Sheppard subway plan that the mayor’s office brought to Metrolinx this week. So what, exactly, are these 160 employees doing right now? Metrolinx may well wish to be repaid the money it spend on their salaries, too.

But the most expensive new cost is the Rob Ford subway plan itself. Up until now, the model has been to have Ottawa and Queen’s Park finance subway and other transit capital projects. Now, Mr. Ford says we will have the private sector pay for the line, and we will pay them back with development charges — money that otherwise would flow into city coffers. So the mayor’s plan in effect means that, for the first time, the City of Toronto will bear at least some of the financial burden for capital public transit costs.

Hello, fellow taxpayers. How respected are you feeling, right about now?