Letter: TTCriders calls to prioritize public transit in the Federal Budget

TTCriders is a membership-based grassroots organization representing transit riders across
Toronto, and the largest transit advocacy group in Canada. Over 1.7 million people rely on the
TTC¹ to get to work, school, and other places everyday, but amid decades of disinvestment
from all levels of government, transit service has deteriorated, transit expansion has fallen
short, and ridership has lagged while congestion worsens in Canada’s most populous city and
economic heart.

As such, we make the following timely recommendations to invest in Toronto’s public transit
to tackle growing congestion, enhance economic competitiveness into the future, and
improve mobility ahead of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Budget 2025:

1. Double the Canada Permanent Public Transit Fund from $3 billion to $6 billion
to support investment in much-needed state-of-repair and transit expansion

2. Provide permanent, recurring funding towards municipal transit operations to
increase transit service and keep fares affordable

In April 2025, Liberal Members of Parliament Rob Oliphant (Don Valley West), Salma Zahid
(Scarborough Centre - Don Valley East), and Chi Nguyen (Spadina - Harbourfront) made
commitments to expand the Canada Public Transit Fund and provide operations funding in
TTCriders’ Federal Transit Survey.²

1. Double the Canada Public Transit Fund to support investment in much-needed
state-of-repair and transit expansion

We applaud the establishment of the Canada Public Transit Fund (CPTF), and the November
2024 federal investment towards new subway trains to replace aging trains on Toronto’s Line
2. The CPTF could go much further to support priority transit projects and repairs in Toronto
and across Canada if doubled from its current $3-billion annual investment.

After decades of disinvestment, the TTC faces a $4.3 billion dollar State-of-Good-Repair
backlog over the next 9 years³ and a number of speed-restricted zones on the subway system
that have frustrated riders with delays since February 2024. As of August 26, 2025, there are 23
reduced speed zones across the subway.⁴ Investment into TTC State-of-Good-Repair keeps
public transit safe and reliable, ensuring riders can get to work and school on time.
Furthermore, a doubling of the CPTF supports the funding of Toronto transit priorities
including:

● The Eglinton East LRT, a 27-stop transit line planned for underserved communities in
eastern Scarborough, providing access to over 71,000 people ($4.65 billion)⁵

● The Waterfront East LRT, a transit line that will serve 100,000 residents and 50,000
jobs along Toronto’s developing East Waterfront and Port Lands ($2.67 billion)⁶

2. Permanent, recurring funding towards municipal transit operations to increase transit
service and keep fares affordable

The TTC has one of the lowest public funding per rider among major transit agencies in North
America. Amid population growth and increasing congestion, investment in the day-to-day
operations of the TTC is necessary to keep Toronto moving with more frequent and affordable
transit service. Funding for new transit projects and vehicles have little benefit without
sufficient funding to operate buses and trains.

A 2023 report found that every $1 invested into Toronto's public transit yielded $7.14 in
benefits to the public. Furthermore, increasing transit service to 100% of pre-pandemic levels
provides $737 million per year in benefits - comprising the impact to the economy,
environment, public health, and time savings delivered to both transit riders and drivers.⁷

Budget 2025 is the time to invest in public transit

Investment in public transit drives economic growth and connects people with opportunities,
while supporting Canadian jobs. Reliable and frequent transit effectively tackles congestion
and ensures people can get to work and school on time. Affordable transit breaks down
barriers to opportunity and allows people to put food on the table and make rent.

The FIFA Men’s World Cup in Toronto is also an opportune moment for federal investment into
public transit service, state-of-repair, and affordability. Without adequate transit funding in
2026, Toronto could be faced with record congestion, subway shutdowns, and gridlock during
the World Cup. With Toronto and Canada on the world stage in 2026, public transit needs to
perform.

Amid economic uncertainty, concerns around cost-of-living, worsening climate crisis, and
traffic congestion, greater transit investment is a solution we can’t afford to ignore.

References

¹ City of Toronto (2025). Toronto Transit Commission:
https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/accountability-operations-customer-service/city-ad
ministration/city-managers-office/agencies-corporations/agencies/toronto-transit-commissi
on/
² TTCriders (2025). Here's how your federal MP candidates are promising to improve transit in
Toronto: https://www.ttcriders.ca/2025fedelection
³ Toronto Transit Commission (2025). TTC's 2025 budget freezes fares, increases service
frequency and safety, invests billions of dollars in new vehicles and subway maintenance:
https://www.ttc.ca/news/2025/January/TTC-2025-budget-freezes-fares
⁴ Toronto Transit Commission (2025). Reduced Speed Zones:
https://www.ttc.ca/riding-the-ttc/Updates/Reduced-Speed-Zones
⁵ City of Toronto (2024). Eglinton East LRT Environmental Project Report:
https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/970d-2024-05-28EELRTEPRRev03AODAc
ompressed.pdf
⁶ City of Toronto (2023). Advancing Waterfront East Light Rail Transit:
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2023/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-240154.pdf
⁷ Mobility Network (2023). Benefits of Transit Interim Findings Phase 2, to Toronto Transit
Commission Board:
https://pw.ttc.ca/-/media/Project/TTC/DevProto/Documents/Home/Public-Meetings/B