The great thing about “preaching to the choir” is that the sermon makes the leaders and true believers, the motivated and the ardent disciples feel good about the message and the mission.

Unfortunately, it does little to add new converts — unless the evangelist can transfer the zeal from the pulpit to the pew.

That’s where we are with one of the great civic missions of our time — how to pay for and deliver transit in the Toronto-centred region. The activists and advocates are adept at coming together to wring hands, not change hearts. And more than anything else, we need to change hearts or we will never pay for the massive build-out required.

Torontonians want something done about congestion — but they appear allergic to road tolls, gas tax hikes and congestion charges.

Well, that mindset won’t generate nearly enough money to fix our transportation woes, and everyone knows — or should know — this.

Mayor Rob Ford thinks the private sector will build the Sheppard subway by itself, but that will be exploded by Christmas when we get the report he has commissioned.

Metrolinx, the provincial agency established to plan and deliver transit reforms in the GTA and Hamilton, released a report that calls for $50 billion in transit improvements by 2031. Problem is, Metrolinx won’t release the funding package before 2013, three years after releasing the transit plan.

Metrolinx is in go-slow mode because the options are politically unpalatable: road tolls, parking fees, congestion charges that hit drivers for entering a particular downtown zone, increased gas taxes, higher property (wash your mouth out) taxes or sales taxes.

At another gathering of transit advocates — this one at Toronto City Hall last Wednesday — Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion displayed remarkable optimism for someone who’s seen too many transit dreams die on the vine. Talking about the need for governments and politicians to propose funding tools for transit, she said:

“We can’t wait until 2013. It’s got to happen in 2012. I believe we can sell it if it’s dedicated to transit. I believe the people will buy into it if we present it in a businesslike way.”

History says no. The polls say no. Letters to the editor suggest no. Email from angry readers of any columns proposing the same say no. The majority of our citizens are nowhere near ready to pay for transit improvements out of their pockets — for understandable reasons:

• Taxes and tolls have a way of ending up in general revenues. See the $60 vehicle registration tax Toronto imposed for a couple years before Ford killed it.

• Politicians have fed voter cynicism by constantly changing transit plans, often for dubious political reasons. Former premier Mike Harris arrived and filled in the hole for the Eglinton subway, wasting $40 million. Ford unilaterally cancelled Transit City, wasting millions, and delaying plans that are already funded.

• Our transit networks are not extensive enough, municipal transits are not integrated (Mississauga buses still drive past passengers at Toronto stops), and there are not enough incentives and disincentives to move behaviour.

• We’ve tried to shame drivers out of their cars, telling them transit is good for the environment, the economy and quality of life. Maybe it’s time to demonstrate value.

Answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” with benefits, better commuting experience, time savings and transit as a cheaper travel option, and the stiff opposition to the funding tools will start to dissipate.

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So far, congestion isn’t egregious enough to force solutions to what everyone says is a problem. Until then, it’s slow progress, just like the traffic.

Royson James usually appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. rjames@thestar.ca

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