TTCriders

We delivered a "fund evasion" ticket to MPs

TTCriders asks Auditor General to investigate Scarborough RT derailment

Whose safety? Investing in a Safer TTC for All

Protect Wheel-Trans Service: Stop the Cuts!

Donate a TTC fare each month to support better transit

Fund transit and climate action with a corporate parking levy

TTCriders is a grassroots transit advocacy organization that gives TTC riders a voice.

Public transit is a right. TTCriders organizes transit users to take collective action for better transit. We campaign for fully accessible, frequent, dignified public transit that connects all Toronto neighbourhoods. Join us!

Frequent service and affordable fares will win back transit users. That’s why TTCriders wants to fix the transit funding model and win stable transit operations funding from all levels of government.

Public transit is a climate solution. When transit is frequent, reliable, and affordable, more people will use it and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Transit News

Report: Malvern, Lawrence Heights, and Rexdale would be most impacted by planned restrictions to door-to-door Wheel-Trans service

Malvern, Lawrence Heights, and Rexdale would be most impacted by planned restrictions to door-to-door Wheel-Trans service, according to data obtained through a Freedom of Information request by transit advocacy organization TTCriders.

Malvern, Lawrence Heights, Rexdale most impacted by planned restrictions to door-to-door Wheel-Trans service, data shows

(Toronto, ON) – Neighbourhoods with a higher proportion of racialized and low-income residents will be most impacted by planned restrictions to door-to-door Wheel-Trans service, according to data obtained through a Freedom of Information request by transit advocacy group TTCriders. The group held a press conference at Toronto City Hall on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, in advance of a TTC Board meeting.

TTCriders celebrates approval of funds for new subway trains

(Toronto, ON) – Transit advocacy organization TTCriders is celebrating today’s announcement that the federal government has approved the TTC’s request for federal funding for new subway trains on Line 2 Bloor-Danforth.

$3 million now for Scarborough transit

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UPDATE: Thanks to hundreds of transit users taking action, we won! Under pressure from residents, all six Scarborough City Councillors declared their support for funding the design work now, mayoral candidates Olivia Chow, Josh Matlow, and Mitzie Hunter declared their support for funding the full busway construction costs, and City Council approved spending $2.9 million to complete design work at its May 11, 2023 meeting. The next step is to campaign for full funding for the busway's construction from the provincial government or City Council.

The Scarborough RT will close forever this November. Replacement buses will shuttle riders between Kennedy Station and Scarborough Town Centre for at least 7 years until the subway extension is constructed.

During rush hour, 70 replacement buses per hour will travel on the street. That's why we want the RT corridor turned into an off-street busway, so buses don't get stuck in traffic. A busway will save 10 minutes in each direction! The TTC recommended this plan in 2022.

But the busway is stalled. Only 30% of the design work is done, and $2.9 million is needed to finish the plans.

Every day that the busway design gets delayed, Scarborough riders lose another 20 minutes stuck on a bus in traffic! That adds up to 1 hour and 40 minutes every week, or more than 6 hours per month.

City Councillors needs to hear from you before they debate this plan on May 10th, 2023. Use our tool to email your Councillor and Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie to ask them to stop the delays by finding just $2.9 million now to finish the busway plans.

The York University Busway constructed in 2009 was implemented with a cost sharing model between the province, federal government and the City of Toronto, and parts of it remain in use today.

Riders will be taking replacement buses for at least 7 years until the Scarborough Subway Extension opens, which is scheduled for 2030. But if the SSE experiences delays like we are seeing with the Eglinton Crosstown, it could take much longer. The busway would also make the cost of operating the replacement busway service cheaper by $22.8 million.

Collective action works: we won red bus-only lanes!

Turning the RT corridor into a busway will take 1-2 years, so we need a solution in the meantime. Originally, the bus replacement plan for the RT did not even include measures to prioritize shuttle buses in traffic.

After transit users spoke up, Councillors on the Executive Committee voted this week to approve red bus-only lanes on the street. This is the product of YEARS of community work and organizing to keep Scarborough connected.

But the off-street busway is still needed: It will save us an extra 10 minutes in each direction.

Let's keep the momentum for a busway going -- it starts with City Council funding $3 million now!

Take action by sending a message to your City Councillor and Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie.

Ask Mayor Chow: Fund the Scarborough busway in Budget 2024

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A busway to replace the Scarborough RT has been delayed... again! Construction should have started months ago. Now Scarborough transit riders will be stuck on replacement buses in traffic for even longer than expected. A dedicated, off-street busway is projected to save riders up to 20 minutes each day.

Mayor Olivia Chow is not responsible for creating this mess. But during her campaign, she made a promise to get the Scarborough busway built if Premier Doug Ford does not come through.

Take Action! Ask Mayor Chow to keep her promise to fund the Scarborough busway

Fill out the form to send an email message to Mayor Olivia Chow and your City Councillor. Mayor Chow presents her budget on February 1st, then all of City Council votes on February 14th, 2024.

Although Mayor Olivia Chow has proposed to raise property taxes to prevent cuts to services like transit and to invest in freezing TTC fares, there is still a $250 million shortfall that the federal government is being asked to fill. And there are important projects that do not have funding yet, like the promised Scarborough busway.

How delayed is the project?

Construction was supposed to start in November 2023, after the Scarborough RT was officially decommissioned, and was supposed to finish in 2025. Now, construction will likely start in 2025 and finish in 2027!

If the project is delayed, is it still worth building?

The Scarborough Subway Extension is supposed to open in 2030... if we're lucky! It could be delayed. And, TTC staff say the busway will be an important link even after the subway opens, feeding bus riders into the subway extension, future GO rail, and the BRT planned by Metrolinx on Ellesmere.

Why was the project delayed?

The project has already been delayed once due to lack of funding. Between April 2022 and May 2023, staff only completed 30% of the project design due to lack of funding. Now, the busway has been delayed yet again, due to 3 factors: 1) the need for a different type of barrier to separate the busway from the GO corridor; 2) an archaeological assessment, and 3) the need to initiate an Environmental Assessment because TTC staff had assumed that one was not required.

Shouldn't the province pay for a busway?

The province should chip in because they are responsible for delaying the Scarborough Subway Extension by at least 3 years. But transit riders can't afford to lose more time while elected officials argue over who should pay. And a lack of funding has already delayed this project once. Toronto has already spent $3.9 million on busway design and asked the provincial government to reimburse the cost -- they could take the same approach now.

How did we get here?

Here's a timeline of some of the most recent decisions that affected the fate of the Scarborough RT:

2019: Premier Ford announces he will "upload" the Scarborough Subway Extension project to provincial control. He announces it will become a 3-stop project, which requires new design work and delays its opening date to 2030, 3 years later than the TTC had planned to open it.
February 2021: TTC staff announce that the Scarborough RT will close in 2023. Staff report that even if they were to invest half a billion dollars into overhauling and maintaining the RT, they could not guarantee it would provide reliable service until 2030.
February 2022: TTCriders publishes a community report based on surveys with over 300 Scarborough RT users that shows overwhelming support for an interim busway replacement.
April 2022: The TTC Board votes to approve the conversion of the Scarborough RT right-of-way between Kennedy Station and Ellesmere Station into a busway, with stops at Tara Avenue, Lawrence Avenue East, and Ellesmere Road.
May 2023: Staff tell the Executive Committee that they have completed 30% design on the busway, but more design work has stopped due to lack of funds. City Council authorizes the TTC to spend $2.9 million to continue design work, and requests the provincial government to reimburse them.
January 2024: TTC staff report that the busway has been delayed yet again, due to 3 factors: 1) the need for a different type of barrier to separate the busway from the GO corridor; 2) an archaeological assessment, and 3) the need to initiate an Environmental Assessment because TTC staff had assumed that one was not required.