Canada/Transit: Fare freeze and improved service in Toronto

In Toronto, riders won't have to pay more to take the subway, streetcar and bus again this year, and service frequency will be increased, promises Mayor Olivia Chow.

Operating funding for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is to increase by $85.1 million (+6.5%) in 2025 over last year, for a total budget of $2.8 billion.

Mayor Chow promises a 5.8% increase in service hours, to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Service improvements scheduled for next spring or fall include

• Streetcar service every 6 minutes or less along Dundas, St-Clair and Bathurst arteries, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., 7 days a week;
• Subway service every 5 minutes or less outside peak hours along lines 1 and 2;
• Increased bus service, including routes on Wilson, Midland, Morningside and Kipling.

The TTC is also to launch a pilot project to tackle the problem of buses lined up one behind the other in traffic, including on Dufferin Street.

Mayor Chow also promises cleaner metro stations.

In addition, ten social workers are to circulate along downtown streetcar lines to offer beds and assistance to the homeless, she adds.

The TTCriders user group welcomes the extension of the fare freeze and the promised service improvements.

What's needed now is a real plan to increase ridership and discuss its cost, including an end to subway idling zones," says Shelagh Pizey-Allen, TTCriders Executive Director.

Property tax hike

Mayor Chow explains that additional funding for the TTC's 2025 budget will come from property tax revenues, provincial funds and the anticipated increase in revenue from higher ridership.

Torontonians will face another property tax hike this year, Ms. Chow warned, without giving details.

The TTC's 2025 budget also calls for $16.4 billion in network infrastructure investments between now and 2034, enough to cut the repair backlog in half, according to Mayor Chow.

TTC commissioners are expected to approve the proposed budget at their meeting next Friday. It will then be up to City Council to approve it.

Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/