They hyped the heck out of UPX, and it worked, the fare drop being the clincher, but it was far more than just "word of mouth". My first thought to your post was cynical: "It won't work"....except UPX proves the opposite.
Due to a confluence of a number of events, I'm actually now feeling that Wynne can defy the odds and win, but she's sure got her work cut out for her. If she plays her cards right, and the Infrastructure Bank will play a huge part on this, she can promise a whole new optimistic approach to accelerate the improvements already promised and more, albeit a good part of that will be the Missing Link. That's a Metrolinx lead project, and McCuaig is now the InfraBank's 'Transportation Advisor' (effectively a deputy CEO)...and if the batteries work on this thing...you can start connecting the dots. Wynne has a year to pull this off, the InfraBank should be functional in six months or so, it's going to be tight, but I think she has a good chance. Two weeks ago, I wouldn't have thought that.
She's has a hand to play that I'd still by cynical on, save that all she has to do to win is do something smart, the others are such unsavoury choices. And smart is Transit.