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TransformTO, Toronto’s climate plan, has a goal of free transit by 2040. In 2016, Toronto City Council approved the Fair Pass program, a discount of $2.10 single fares and $123.25 passes for Toronto residents receiving OW, ODSP, a Child Care Fee Subsidy, those living in Rent-Geared to Income housing. The final phase of the discount, for residents earning the Low-Income Measure + 15% (approximately $29,000 for a single adult), has not yet been fully funded.

We asked Mayoral candidates: Will you work towards TransformTO’s goal of free transit, by allocating funding for the Fair Pass in your term as Mayor and expanding free transit to people who receive social assistance, high school students, and on extreme weather alert days?

Toronto is planning a 27-stop transit line in Scarborough that will connect Kennedy Station, UofT Scarborough, Malvern and Sheppard/McCowan. City Council has allocated $1.2 billion to the Eglinton East LRT, but the project still requires provincial and federal funding.

We asked Mayoral candidates: Will you champion the expansion of Scarborough’s rapid transit network, including the Eglinton East LRT from Kennedy Station to Malvern, connecting to Sheppard East and McCowan?

The provincial government and Metrolinx took over several key rapid transit projects in June 2019 under Bill 107. The Eglinton East and Waterfront LRT projects remain City of Toronto projects that will require City Council’s support to become a reality.

We asked Mayoral candidates: Will you vote to allocate funding to the Waterfront LRT and its westward expansion into South Etobicoke?

Contracting out public services often leads to higher costs and worse quality of service. A public inquiry into the Ottawa LRT after two derailments found that the line was rushed into service due to financial pressures. Some of the same companies who maintain the Ottawa LRT have a 30-year maintenance contract for the Crosstown LRT in Toronto, which is a public-private partnership. Private garbage collection contracts cost Toronto more money than public collection contracts by 2021 and private garbage collection services recycled less.

In 2020, the provincial government asked the TTC to determine "the feasibility of implementing microtransit options" in order to receive emergency pandemic transit operating funding. In 2018, City Council voted to support keeping ownership of the TTC in the City of Toronto's hands after the provincial government announced a plan to “upload” the TTC subway.

We asked Mayoral candidates: If proposals are introduced to sell off or privatize elements of the TTC, will you vote to keep transit public?

During the 2023 City Budget process, Councillors asked TTC staff if a list of proposed service cuts would be available before the final budget vote. Staff said a list would be available, but information was never published. Yet documents obtained by TTCriders through a Freedom of Information request show that draft lists were available before the vote on February 15, 2023. In January 2023, TTC staff proposed changes to their service standards without debate, to plan for standing room only during off-peak periods. Transit users expect more transparency, including better reporting about TTC service quality and on-time performance.

We asked Mayoral candidates: Will you work towards TransformTO’s goal of free transit, by allocating funding for the Fair Pass in your term as Mayor and expanding free transit to people who receive social assistance, high school students, and on extreme weather alert days?

We asked Mayoral candidates: Will you champion the expansion of Scarborough’s rapid transit network, including the Eglinton East LRT from Kennedy Station to Malvern, connecting to Sheppard East and McCowan?

We asked Mayoral candidates: Will you vote to allocate funding to the Waterfront LRT and its westward expansion into South Etobicoke?

We asked Mayoral candidates: If proposals are introduced to sell off or privatize elements of the TTC, will you vote to keep transit public?

We asked Mayoral candidates: Will you initiate a leadership review at the Toronto Transit Commission?

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