FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Advocates warn TTC delays, crowding will worsen without investment
January 24, (Toronto, ON) – Transit riders and members of transit advocacy organizations will attend this afternoon’s TTC Board meeting to speak against proposed fare increases and urge Board members to increase TTC funding.
WHAT: Transit riders and members of TTCriders and the Fair Fare Coalition will speak at the TTC Board meeting
WHEN: 1pm, Thursday January 24th 2019
WHERE: Committee Room 1, Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West
“Today's delays should be a wake-up call to Mayor John Tory and Premier Doug Ford to properly fund the TTC,” said TTCriders Executive Director Shelagh Pizey-Allen. “Riders are paying the price of chronic underfunding with overcrowded commutes and unaffordable fares.”
TTCriders is warning that delays and crowding will worsen if the province proceeds with its plan to steal Toronto’s subway system. The total unfunded cost of capital investments to maintain the existing subway system and stations over the next 15 years is $16.18 billion. But the provincial government has said it would only provide $160 million annually for subway maintenance if it takes ownership of TTC subways, leaving an annual unfunded gap of nearly $1 billion.
The TTC is the least-subsidized major transit system in North America. The TTC’s 2019 operating budget proposes a 10-cent fare increase, but no significant service improvements. Two approved TTC strategies, the Ridership Growth Strategy and Express Bus Network Plan, lack full funding. TTCriders is calling for increased TTC operating funding from the city and a matching provincial subsidy to fund more frequent service and lower fares for all. The TTC’s 15-year Capital Plan will require $33.5 billion over 15 years to maintain the existing system.
The 2019 City of Toronto Budget will be released on January 28, 2019, and is expected to include funding for the next phases of the low income transit Fair Pass. The program discounts single fares to $2 and passes to $115.50 for people receiving Ontario Works and ODSP. If funded by City Council, the next phases will discount transit for people receiving childcare and housing subsidies, or earning less than the Low Income Measure plus 15%.
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CONTACT: Shelagh Pizey-Allen, [email protected]
January 24th TTC Board meeting agenda: http://ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Commission_reports_and_information/Commission_meetings/2019/January_24/Agenda/index.jsp
2019 TTC Operating Budget: http://ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Commission_reports_and_information/Commission_meetings/2019/January_24/Reports/11_2019_TTC_and_Wheel-Trans_Operating_Budgets.pdf