Read our letter to the Executive Committee about why the TTC subway tunnels and all transit infrastructure should have free, public Wi-Fi and be part of Toronto's "ConnectTO" affordable internet plan.
Include TTC tunnels and all transit infrastructure in ConnectTO
Re: EX8.8 ConnectTO Program Update: City Assets for Efficiency and Connectivity
Dear Mayor Olivia Chow and members of the Executive Committee,
TTCriders is a membership-based organization of transit users in Toronto. We are writing to support the recommendations in this report and express our support for free public Wi-Fi in the TTC, including subway tunnels. The TTC should be among the municipal assets leveraged for ConnectTO.
Public Wi-Fi in the TTC will make transit users feel safer and help bridge the digital divide, because not everyone can afford to pay for a cellphone plan or enough data. Transit users report that they feel least safe in the subway and would feel safer with digital access. The 2021 broadband study found that 34% of Toronto households worry about paying their internet bills, predominantly low-income, single-parent, and racialized households. Most TTC users are shift workers, women, and low-income.
It is concerning that the Toronto Transit Commission is not on the list of agencies consulted in preparing the report before you. In February 2021, the Council directed staff to work with and request support from multiple city staff and agencies, including the TTC CEO, to develop a strategic framework and work plan for ConnectTO.
It is much cheaper to add fibre during construction and renovation. We support the staff recommendation to ensure that “new developments, builds, major revitalizations, and upgrades in City-owned facilities assess the inclusion of City-owned in-building wiring and fibre connectivity infrastructure, and use City defined standards and specifications.”
Rogers’ telecommunications infrastructure build-out in the Toronto subway network is one such opportunity. Provincial priority transit projects such as the Scarborough Subway Extension and Ontario Line should also include public fibre.
TTCriders encourages Toronto City Council to:
It is possible that TTC-owned dark fibre** exists in subway tunnels, given that the project systems design of the Line 1 TYSSE extension “incorporated spare fibre optic dark fibres for YRT use to link communications between the three stations in York Region.” The 2017 Toronto Broadband Study notes that “BAI Canada is building dark fibre capacity into their network for future growth in usage and potential future uses for both BAI Canada and the TTC.” In 2018, BAI Communications reported that they had installed high-count fibre in the TTC subway tunnels.
Fig. 1. BAI Communications: https://www.baicommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Fibre-connectivity-in-Toronto.pdf
Sincerely,
TTCriders
** “Dark fibre” refers to unused fibre optic cable infrastructure.
February 7, 2025 (Toronto, ON) – TTCriders, a membership-based transit advocacy group, released the following statement in response to Premier Ford’s promise that the Eglinton Crosstown LRT will open in 2025.
(Toronto, ON) – Transit advocacy organization TTCriders will hold a rally on February 19, 2025 to call for answers about the Eglinton Crosstown and Finch West LRT projects and ask all provincial parties to commit to solutions for more reliable transit.
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