Where do Humber River Black Creek councillor candidates stand on transit?

We asked candidates 18 questions on autonomy & funding, affordability, service & reliability, accessibility, and safety. See their responses on the tabs below.

Choose a different ward Pledge to vote for Transit

Will candidates fight to keep the TTC under Toronto's control and work to secure more transit funding?

Local decisions should remain at the local level.

In recent years, the provincial government has increasingly intervened in decisions that are usually made at the municipal level. This includes legislation requiring the removal of bike lanes on major Toronto streets, and eliminating municipalities' ability to use speed cameras. Now, Bill 98 gives the province greater power to intervene in how local transit systems operate, including decisions around fares and service.

TTCriders firmly believes that the TTC must remain a publicly owned and municipally governed transit system that is accountable to the riders who use it. We oppose the privatization of TTC services and do not believe that Metrolinx or the Ontario government should have a say in how our local transit system operates.

Over the next four years, Toronto City Council must be prepared to stand up to make sure local decision-making remains local. Here's what we asked candidates:

1. Ontario's Bill 98 gives the Province the authority to make regulations affecting how the TTC is governed. Do you commit to fighting to keep transit decision-making at the local level so that the City of Toronto and the TTC Board retain final authority over fare policy, service planning, and transit operations?

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

2. Will you advocate for sustainable TTC operating funding from the provincial and federal governments to prevent service cuts and reliance on fare increases to run the system?

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

3. Will you advocate for increased federal and provincial capital funding for the TTC to expand the rapid transit network, address the growing state of good repair backlog, install platform edge doors, and eliminate slow zones on the subway system?

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

Some candidates offered extra comments about their position on TTC autonomy and funding:

Lorna Antwi

I fully support TTC

Amanda Coombs

I believe the TTC must remain a strong, publicly owned transit system, with Toronto maintaining a meaningful voice in decisions that affect our residents.

Toronto cannot carry the financial responsibility for public transit alone. I support stable, predictable and ongoing funding from the provincial and federal governments to improve service, keep fares affordable, maintain infrastructure and strengthen accessibility, including Wheel-Trans.

As Councillor, I would advocate for a sustainable, long-term funding partnership across all three levels of government while protecting Toronto’s ability to make transit decisions based on the needs of our communities. Residents deserve a TTC that is affordable, reliable, accessible and accountable.

Will candidates commit to making life affordable for transit riders?

Torontonians are experiencing an affordability crisis due to international situations out of their control, and the City must do everything it can to make life more affordable. Riders tell us again and again that the costs of taking transit pile up, leaving them with expensive decisions on whether taking transit is financially sustainable.

For some, budgeting for transit can mean being late on rent, missing class, burning out on extra shifts, purchasing less food, or avoiding transit altogether to save on costs. For 30 years, fare increases has been vastly higher than the rate of inflation. On top of that, Torontonians cannot afford any increase in fares. In fact, the TTC's own report says that even a $0.10 fare increase would result in ~500,000 fewer rides being taken. A $1.10 fare increase would result in ~31 million fewer rides every year.

If we want people to keep using the TTC, riders need to see it as the most cost-effective way to get around Toronto. That's why maintaining a fare freeze and lowering the fare cap for all, and deepening affordability for lower-income riders is crucial over the next four years as we face more and more economic uncertainty. Here's what we asked candidates:

4. Will you commit to lowering the monthly fare cap to 40 rides or less, or to implementing weekly fare capping at 10 rides/week or less?

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

5. Will you commit to work with colleges and universities to make transit more affordable to post-secondary students?

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

6. Will you maintain a fare freeze to keep transit affordable?

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

7. Will you commit to establishing a plan to implement phase 3 of the Fair Pass program to provide deeply affordable fares for more low-income riders?

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

Some candidates offered extra comments about their position on TTC affordability:

Amanda Coombs

TTC affordability is especially important for seniors and youth, who may be living on fixed or limited incomes. No senior should have to choose between getting to a medical appointment, buying groceries or paying for transit. Likewise, transportation costs should never prevent a young person from getting to school, work, training, recreation or other opportunities.

I support keeping fares affordable and strengthening reduced-fare programs for seniors, youth and low-income residents. We should also make it easier for eligible residents to access these programs. Affordable transit is about more than transportation, it helps reduce isolation among seniors and connects young people to education, employment and opportunities that can improve their future.

Will candidates lower wait times, improve reliability, and speed up transit?

Improving surface transit is absolutely essential to growing ridership on the TTC. Surface modes account for more than half of all TTC passenger boarding, and given the tight integration between surface and rapid transit, the success of the entire system hinges on buses and streetcars. Furthermore, the bus network serves employment lands, neighbourhood improvement areas and other places rapid transit currently does not reach.

In spite of this, surface transit gets the short end of the stick when it comes to road priority. Buses and streetcars are routinely stuck in traffic at all times of the day; making existing riders late and not incentivizing current drivers to switch to transit. The expansion of RapidTO bus and streetcar lines is urgently needed across the city. The few sections of RapidTO that exist right now have dramatically improved surface transit performance. For example, reliability on the 116 Morningside bus improved 19% after red lanes were introduced on Eglinton East, Kingston Road and Morningside.

The streetcar system is the backbone of the downtown transportation network relied upon by hundreds of thousands of riders a day. However, transit priority measures have been slow to implement on the network, making our streetcar network among the slowest in the world.

In order to grow ridership and maximize speed, there needs to be a network-wide streetcar reform. This would include measures such as street parking removal, left turn bans, active signal priority, dedicated lanes, modernized switches, truly level and accessible boarding, improved shelters and seating, and expanding transit malls similar to the King Street zone. These measures are proven in many cities around the world, as well systems close to home like Kitchener-Waterloo’s ION, to be effective in making streetcars faster and more reliable.

8. Will you commit to complete 1 RapidTO route in your ward by the end of the next Council term?

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

9. Will you commit to voting in favour of RapidTO routes in other wards to get bus and streetcar riders moving?

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

10. Will you commit fixing subway Reduced Speed Zones (or slow zones) faster and funding state-of-good-repair maintenance so that slow zones are eliminated entirely?

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

11. Do you endorse adopting a comprehensive, network-wide strategy to reform streetcar service into a world-class, fast, accessible, and reliable system?

(i.e. measures such as street parking removal, left turn bans, signal priority, dedicated lanes, modernized switches, truly level and accessible boarding, improved shelters and seating, and expanding transit malls similar to the King Street zone)

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

12. Will you oppose cuts to TTC service levels and instead invest in more frequent service to grow ridership?

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

Some candidates offered further comments about their commitment to service and reliability:

Anthony Perruzza

Jane Street is the RapidTO route in Ward 7, but Jane Street needs higher-order transit not simply a priority bus lane. It is one of the highest volume bus routes in the city.

I have serious concerns about the proposed RapidTO changes, particularly the reduction in transit stops along Jane Street. The limited time savings being achieved appear to come largely from removing stops. For many residents, any time saved on the bus could be lost by having to travel much farther to reach their nearest stop.

This is also an accessibility issue. Not every resident can easily walk several additional blocks to catch a bus, and we need to make sure our transit system works for residents of all ages and mobility needs.

Jane Street deserves better. We should be looking at higher-order transit that improves speed and reliability without making transit less accessible for the residents who rely on it every day.

Lorna Antwi

For many residents in Ward 7, the TTC is their primary way of getting around. Affordability means making sure residents can access reliable transportation without having to choose between paying for transit and paying for other basic needs.
I support making transit more affordable and accessible, particularly for low-income residents, seniors, youth, students, workers, and families who depend on the TTC every day.

Amanda Coombs

Reliable transit is essential for residents who depend on the TTC to get to work, school, medical appointments and other daily commitments. I support improving service frequency, reducing long wait times and addressing recurring delays. Seniors and residents with disabilities must also be able to rely on accessible transit and Wheel-Trans. Residents deserve a TTC that gets them where they need to go safely and on time.

Will candidates commit to a transit system accessible to all?

A truly accessible transit system means more than being able to board a bus, streetcar or subway. Riders need to be able to navigate the system, understand where they are going, safely get to and from their stop, and rely on door-to-door service when conventional transit cannot meet their needs.

For too many riders, these barriers can make taking transit more difficult, stressful, or sometimes impossible. Confusing or inconsistent signage can make the TTC harder to navigate, particularly for riders with disabilities, seniors, tourists and people who are unfamiliar with the system. For Wheel-Trans users, reliable door-to-door service can be essential to getting to work, medical appointments, school and other parts of daily life.

Over the next four years, Toronto needs to make the TTC easier to use for everyone. That means fully implementing the TTC's wayfinding strategy, protecting and expanding door-to-door Wheel-Trans service for those who need it, and ensuring accessibility is prioritized during snowstorms and other disruptions. Here's what we asked candidates:

13. Do you endorse fully funding the 10 year TTC wayfinding strategy to improve signage and information for riders across the network?

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

14. Will you protect and expand door-to-door Wheel-Trans service for those who need it?

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

15. Will you commit to ensuring Toronto's snow event response prioritizes timely clearing of curbside snow piles at Wheel-Trans, bus, and streetcar stops after snowstorms?

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

Some candidates offered extra comments about their position on TTC accessibility:

Lorna Antwi

Accessibility on the TTC means making sure every resident can move around our city safely, independently, and with dignity.
We need to continue improving accessibility across the entire transit system—not only through elevators and accessible stations, but also through reliable Wheel-Trans service, accessible streetcars and buses, clear announcements and communication, accessible stops, and timely maintenance of accessibility equipment.

Amanda Coombs

Seniors and residents with disabilities must also be able to rely on accessible transit and Wheel-Trans. Residents deserve a TTC that gets them where they need to go safely and on time.

Will candidates commit to a safe TTC for all?

While violence and offence rates on the TTC have declined, and fewer complaints are being made, public perception of safety has not caught up with these trends. We often hear from riders that they continue to view the TTC as an unsafe environment, and it's often mentioned as a real barrier to taking transit more often.

That said, TTCriders believe that improving safety must include non-enforcement as the default response. We hear again and again that the increased presence of police, fare inspectors, and special constables do not make many people feel safer, while raising concerns about the effectiveness of enforcement and who is disproportionately targeted or overrepresented in these interactions, particularly Black, Indigenous, unhoused, and other vulnerable riders.

In contrast, riders have identified community ambassadors, Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS), and greater visibility of TTC staff as actions that make them feel safer. For many riders, however, safety is also about having the infrastructure and conditions to protect themselves in the first place: better lighting in dark and isolated areas, more frequent service, safer places to wait and take shelter, and a TTC environment designed around care, accessibility, and dignity. The TTC needs to be safe for everyone, as everyone has a right to use it, and everyone deserves to be approached with compassion, prevention, and resources. Here's what we asked candidates:

16. Will you support continued expansion of the Toronto Community Crisis Service throughout the TTC network?

The Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS) provides a non-police response to people experiencing mental health crises, connecting them with trained crisis workers who can provide de-escalation, harm reduction, crisis intervention and connections to community supports. Following a pilot in downtown subway stations, this care-centred approach is set to expand to all subway stations in 2027, giving the TTC another option for responding to people in crisis without relying solely on police or enforcement.

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

17. Will you work towards installing platform edge doors across the subway system, starting with installation at busy stations like Bloor-Yonge Station this term?

Platform edge doors separate people and other debris from track level, keeping riders safe and service reliable. This means an 85% reduction in service interruptions, and countless lives saved. Cities around the world have installed platform edge doors in their existing subway systems, now it’s Toronto’s turn.

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

18. Will you commit to more upstream solutions, such as more shelters, affordable, deeply affordable and supportive housing so Torontonians never have to choose the TTC as a safe place to sleep?

Anthony Perruzza (Incumbent)

Yes

Lorna Antwi

Yes

Amanda Coombs

Yes

Some candidates offered extra comments about their position on TTC safety:

Amanda Coombs

As someone who works with the Toronto Community Crisis Service, I have seen the value of a compassionate, community-based response to people experiencing mental health crises. I would support expanding the Toronto Community Crisis Service throughout the TTC network, working alongside existing safety measures. Trained crisis workers can help de-escalate situations, connect people to appropriate supports and contribute to a safer transit system for riders and TTC employees.

"Thank you for your advocacy!"

- Anthony Perruzza

Where do Humber River Black Creek councillor candidates stand on transit?

Choose a different ward Pledge to vote for Transit

Will candidates fight to keep the TTC under Toronto's control and work to secure more transit funding?

2. Will you advocate for sustainable TTC operating funding from the provincial and federal governments to prevent service cuts and reliance on fare increases to run the system?

3. Will you advocate for increased federal and provincial capital funding for the TTC to expand the rapid transit network, address the growing state of good repair backlog, install platform edge doors, and eliminate slow zones on the subway system?

Lorna Antwi

Amanda Coombs

Will candidates commit to making life affordable for transit riders?

4. Will you commit to lowering the monthly fare cap to 40 rides or less, or to implementing weekly fare capping at 10 rides/week or less?

5. Will you commit to work with colleges and universities to make transit more affordable to post-secondary students?

6. Will you maintain a fare freeze to keep transit affordable?

7. Will you commit to establishing a plan to implement phase 3 of the Fair Pass program to provide deeply affordable fares for more low-income riders?

Amanda Coombs

Will candidates lower wait times, improve reliability, and speed up transit?

8. Will you commit to complete 1 RapidTO route in your ward by the end of the next Council term?

9. Will you commit to voting in favour of RapidTO routes in other wards to get bus and streetcar riders moving?

10. Will you commit fixing subway Reduced Speed Zones (or slow zones) faster and funding state-of-good-repair maintenance so that slow zones are eliminated entirely?

11. Do you endorse adopting a comprehensive, network-wide strategy to reform streetcar service into a world-class, fast, accessible, and reliable system?

12. Will you oppose cuts to TTC service levels and instead invest in more frequent service to grow ridership?

Anthony Perruzza

Lorna Antwi

Amanda Coombs

Will candidates commit to a transit system accessible to all?

13. Do you endorse fully funding the 10 year TTC wayfinding strategy to improve signage and information for riders across the network?

14. Will you protect and expand door-to-door Wheel-Trans service for those who need it?

15. Will you commit to ensuring Toronto's snow event response prioritizes timely clearing of curbside snow piles at Wheel-Trans, bus, and streetcar stops after snowstorms?

Lorna Antwi

Amanda Coombs

Will candidates commit to a safe TTC for all?

16. Will you support continued expansion of the Toronto Community Crisis Service throughout the TTC network?

17. Will you work towards installing platform edge doors across the subway system, starting with installation at busy stations like Bloor-Yonge Station this term?

18. Will you commit to more upstream solutions, such as more shelters, affordable, deeply affordable and supportive housing so Torontonians never have to choose the TTC as a safe place to sleep?

Amanda Coombs

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