Toronto Transit Commission chair says budget will address safety, customer service

TORONTO:

The chairperson of the board of Canada’s largest public transportation system says its 2025 operating and capital budget is a massive step in the right direction for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC).

Jamaal Myers, who was elected the Toronto city councillor for Ward 23, Scarborough North, in October 2022, and was appointed chair of the TTC board in August 2023, said, as a daily TTC rider himself, he is proud that they are addressing two things that are important to their customers: safety and customer experience.

“This budget will help us build a transit system where parents don’t worry about their kids using the subway at night, and vehicles that arrive when they’re supposed to arrive,” said Myers – who is of Jamaican heritage – about the budget which also plans to freeze fares for the second straight year, add the most service in a decade, improve system safety and cleanliness, and invests more than $16 billion in long-term capital projects.

The $2.8-billion combined operating budgets for both the TTC conventional system and Wheel-Trans represent a 6.5-per-cent increase over the approved 2024 budgets and ensures safe, reliable, and affordable service for TTC customers, notes the transit agency.

“We take the budget increase at the TTC seriously, in terms of the money we spend. We want to make sure that we’re spending the money effectively and efficiently, so one of the things we’ve done in the 2025 budget is we’ve actually identified $37.2m in spending efficiencies and cost avoidances to help with just making sure that the money that we’re spending is being done properly, there is proper accountability, and that we know that we’re getting the most bang for our buck.”

FARE EVASION TARGETED

Myers said that, for the first time ever, the TTC has set a target to reduce fare evasion by $12m and this is helping to fund some of the initiatives in the budget. He said, together, this is about $49m in savings, and that, if the TTC did not go after fare evasions, they would have to either raise taxes, raise fares or cut back on service.

Regarding the Eglinton and Finch LRT lines, Myers said there is provision in the budget that, if they are open by August, the TTC is ready and has funds set aside and training. The TTC is the operator of the lines, not the builder or owner of them. However, its employees will be the ones driving the trains. Both lines are projects of Metrolinx, an agency of the government of Ontario.

Myers thinks these lines will bring a lot of positive change to communities such as Little Jamaica, as there will be increased customers and the disruption of construction would have been over, making businesses easier for customers and employers to access. He said there is always the worry about gentrification, in terms of now that there is transit the citizens will be pushed out by increasing rent. So this is something that the city will have to take into consideration, in terms of how to develop Little Jamaica going forward.

EXPAND RAPID TRANSIT

FIFA World Cup in Toronto kicks off in June 2026, and Myers said it will be an incredible opportunity for the city and the TTC to play a very significant role.

He said the TTC is investing in new vehicles, service frequency improvements, and repair backlog, so that they can handle the surge of ridership. They are also taking the lessons learned from hosting other high-profile events, most recently the Taylor Swift tour.

Councillor Myers said the city hosted four or five concerts and it was universally accepted that the TTC did an excellent job moving many people and making sure they knew where to go, had the appropriate number of staff and made sure everyone could get to the concerts and leave safely.

“We’re also looking at how we can expand rapid transit prioritisation in the city, for example, the Dufferin line, as part of the city’s RapidTO program, having that run as an uninterrupted service. Cars would not be allowed to drive in the streetcar lane along Dufferin, just to speed up the trains to get to the BMO Field, the stadium where the competition will take place.

This will ensure that they can move unimpeded, because they will be moving so many people back and forth to the games, he said.

Yesterday, Mayor Olivia Chow launched the staff-prepared proposed 2025 budget for the city that will be followed with town halls and public meetings to get input and feedback from Torontonians before the mayor presents the budget to Toronto City Council in February for consideration.