JOIN THE ACTION DAY on Thursday September 24.
VOLUNTEER at an upcoming action or in your neighbourhood.
POSTER at your TTC stop:
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| Download bus posters (b& w) | Download MPP posters | Download rally poster (colour) |
The TTC is only operating at 85% service levels and won’t commit to returning to 100% service of pre-pandemic service. But TTC riders have been reporting crowding on buses for months! It is impossible to be physically distant on buses if they are too crowded. This is unacceptable in a pandemic. Premier Ford must provide permanent transit funding without conditions, so riders get more service now.
Public transit is a network. Even routes with fewer riders feed into other bus routes and subways. Transit expert Steve Munro explains why complaints about "empty buses" are wrong:
In Innisfil, Ontario, Uber has now cost the town more than the public transit plan would have. Riders also have to limit the number of rides they take to 30 trips per month, because Uber is costing the town so much. Riders need to fill out an application to extend the ride cap to 50 trips per month. Imagine only being able to use TTC 15 days per month! This model won't work in Toronto, where someone might take Uber for part of their trip then need to pay an additional fare to get on a bus or subway.
People with disabilities have been raising the alarm that ridesharing companies are not accessible. And as gig workers, drivers working for private ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft lack basic protections like minimum wage and paid sick days.
How much funding does the TTC need?
The provincial and federal governments will provide some emergency funding to Ontario transit systems, but it is not enough. The TTC will have a funding shortfall of $700 million by the end of the year, but the TTC will only receive $404 million this Fall. Premier Ford wants to impose conditions on municipalities to access the second phase of funding.
Ontario used to provide permanent operations funding to local transit. Permanent funding without conditions is what riders need to fix the current bus crowding.
What strings are being attached to provincial transit funding?
Premier Ford wants to force cities and towns to consider replacing “low-performing” routes with private companies. This will mean service cuts and higher fares for riders. "Low performing" TTC routes like 132 Milner are needed because they run through smaller streets to pick up racialized & low-income riders. Check out this poster series by Henry Lin of routes that carry fewer than 4,000 daily riders.
Premier Ford is also asking the TTC and City of Toronto to consider "new governance models" and "fare integration." We need to maintain local, democratic control of our transit system. TTCriders supports fair fare integration, including one single fare for transit trips in Toronto on GO, TTC, and Union Pearson Express and a two-hour fare window between TTC and 905 agencies. But the provincial transit agency has long been interested in increasing fares for longer trips.
Click here to read the letter sent by Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney to Mayor John Tory for more details about the strings attached to the second phase of emergency transit funding.
We need better public transit for a green and just recovery
To stop the cuts, transit riders across Toronto must speak out and get organized.
Sign up to volunteer or become a member of TTCriders, and we will connect with you soon about getting more involved. You can also join our rally on September 12 2020 at MPP Vijay Thanigasalam's office.
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.
(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.
(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.