Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner is being asked to investigate Premier Doug Ford’s proposal to sell off the naming rights of GO Transit stations and hand over ridership data to private companies.
Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney said the government is looking to “maximize the value of Metrolinx assets, properties, and services” by allowing companies to slap their names on GO stations.
Metrolinx would charge between $50,000 and $500,000 per station, and sponsorships could also be extended to GO train quiet zones, parking lots, waiting areas and even washrooms.
“This is what the Premier means when he says he’s looking for new sources of non-tax revenue,” Mulroney said in a statement.
“We’re sending the message that Ontario is open for business.”
In order to entice companies to bid on station naming rights, however, Metrolinx acknowledges ridership data would be shared with third-party companies — a prospect that has led to some concern among Ford’s critics.
The exterior of the Pickering GO station is seen. (CTV News Toronto / Brian Weatherhead)
NDP Deputy Leader Sara Singh wrote a letter to Commissioner Brian Beamish asking for a privacy rights investigation into the “ramifications of the use of customer data to further commercial interests.”
“Transit riders deserve to know that when they tap onto a GO Train or any other transit system, the information being collected is being used to make improvements to the routes, schedules and Ontario’s transit grid, not further commercial interests or boost the potential value of selling off public properties or naming rights,” Singh wrote in the letter.
Mulroney says customer privacy is of “utmost importance” and that any agreement made with a private company will protect an individual customer’s identity and privacy.
“No agreements will be entered into without a thorough and complete process, including approval by the Metrolinx management team and the government,” Mulroney said in a statement.
While Mulroney says an expression of interest will be sent today, allowing the government to gauge the response from businesses, the government hasn’t said whether a public consultation will be held on the idea.
