Transport Action Canada is a non-profit, consumer-based organization that promotes sustainable transport through advocacy and education. It is concerned with all modes of public transport, such as passenger train service, aviation including air safety, and urban transit.
Contents
The association functions as a citizen-based advocacy group, compared to transport industry based bodies such as the Railway Association of Canada or the Canadian Urban Transit Association.
Activities
The association regularly communicates with government and industry officials to promote sustainable transport views, including Transport Canada and elected officials of all government levels.
Canadian news media agencies frequently interview Transport 2000 Canada officials on transportation matters.
History
The organization was founded as Transport 2000 Canada in 1976 following concerns about the future of passenger trains in Canada. Passenger train service in Canada had declined in the latter 20th century as train routes were being eliminated by Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway.
The association continued to monitor and address developments in the national passenger transportation system, especially since the 1978 formation of Via Rail Canada to provide national passenger train service.
The association later formed its Air Passenger Safety Group, especially prompted by the September 1998 Swissair Flight 111 disaster off the Nova Scotia coastline.
Urban transit is an increasingly important topic addressed by the national and regional associations of the organization. The organization's support for the O-Train pilot project (today's Trillium Line) was a significant factor in returning rail transit service to Ottawa in 2001. Transport Action Canada has since been critical of the subsequent plans to develop the North-South Light Rail Transit line, citing the proposals to combine the downtown train with bus congestion, disruption to existing O-Train travel (today's Trillium Line) during the line's construction, and longer-term viability of the proposed North-South route.
National office facilities for Transport Action Canada are located in Ottawa, Ontario.
The association has been a contributor to the development of aviation regulation, particularly as it relates to airline passengers, though Transport Canada's Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council (CARAC) process.
Organization
Transport Action Canada is composed as a federation of the following like-minded regional associations:
Publications
The organization publishes a newsletter titled Transport Action which provides news and opinion on topical transportation matters. This is published six times per year and primarily distributed to its members.
Members of Transport Action Canada are often members of one or more of the affiliated regional associations which often publish their own newsletters.
A bulletin of transport-related news is also produced on an approximately weekly basis. This "hotline" is published on the association's official website.