Item - 2020.IE11.16

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:  

1. City Council authorize the Director, Environment and Energy to continue the delivery of the Smart Commute Program, subject to available funding, to employers and the communities of Toronto.

2. City Council authorize the Director, Environment and Energy to negotiate and execute, on behalf of the City of Toronto, the necessary agreements and ancillary documents, all in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor, to coordinate the delivery of the Smart Commute Program with its Regional Municipal Partners.

3. City Council authorize the Director, Environment and Energy to negotiate and execute, on behalf of the City of Toronto, the necessary agreements and ancillary documents with Service Delivery Agents point A, SustainMobility and UrbanTrans for the delivery of Smart Commute Program services in Transportation Management Associations, subject to available funding, and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

4. City Council authorize the Director, Environment and Energy to continue using the Smart Commute brand and logo, including but not limited to Smart Commute and Smart Commute Toronto, in its communications, marketing and advertising materials to support the continued delivery of the Smart Commute Program.

5. City Council authorize the Director, Environment and Energy to:

a. work with its Regional Municipal Partners to ensure continuity of the Smart Commute Program and identify a vendor that can provide a Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) wide ride matching software and other shared commuting online tools; and

b. if a preferred vendor is identified by the City and its Regional Municipal Partners, to negotiate and execute any agreement and ancillary documents to procure the preferred GTHA-wide ride matching software and other shared commuting online tools in accordance with the City's Purchasing by-law, subject to available funding, and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

6. City Council request the Director, Environment and Energy to evaluate the feasibility of enhancing the Smart Commute Program by engaging with navigation providers (Waze, Google Maps, etc.) to:

a. Provide a trip carbon tracking and measuring tool;

b. Provide a multi-modal trip sequencing tool (individuals may use different modes of transit in a single trip, e.g. drive to a GO or TTC station, walking part of their trip, etc.); and

c. Report back to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The purpose of this report is to obtain updated City Council authority for the Director, Environment and Energy Division (EED) to continue delivering the Smart Commute Program in the absence of a Metrolinx partnership and to negotiate a new agreement with its Smart Commute Program regional municipal partners, which include the City of Hamilton, Region of Peel, Region of York Region of Durham and Halton Region (the "Regional Municipal Partners") that will enable Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) collaboration and sharing of resources needed to deliver the Smart Commute Program in Toronto.  In addition, the Director, Environment and Energy is requesting authorization to negotiate and execute agreements with the City's existing service delivery organizations, which include pointA, SustainMobility and UrbanTrans who deliver the Smart Commute Program in Toronto's Transportation Management Associations (the "Service Delivery Agents").  

On March 29, 2019, Metrolinx notified the City of Toronto that, subsequent to its fiscal review, Metrolinx funding and the three year agreement to provide Smart Commute Transportation Demand Management (TDM) programming in Toronto would be ending effective June 29, 2019. The on-line commuting tools and program resources will be made available to the Regional Municipal Partners by Metrolinx until they are transitioned to the City of Hamilton on or before December 31, 2019.