RE: Item DI9.4 - Wheel-Trans Service Model Update - Accessibility Feedback
Dear members of the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee,
TTCriders is a membership-based organization of transit users. Our members participated in the public consultations about the Family of Services held in April 2024.
We are writing to ask you to clarify whether the TTC has committed to funding a restoration of its crowding standard, and to urge the TTC against making the Family of Services mandatory.
At the February 22, 2024 City Council meeting, the TTC CEO was requested to “inform any potential changes to the design and implementation of the WheelTrans Transformation Program to address concerns around safety, equity, mitigating impacts of service disruptions within the conventional transit system on Family of Services customers, and the impact of crowding on the TTC as service demands increase and number of people with accessibility needs grow.”
Has the TTC committed to ending “standing room only” service during off-peak hours?
The staff presentation before you notes that TTC has made commitments to improve the rollout of the Family of Services, including “resuming off-peak crowding standards, which will ensure that more room is available on board during off-peak periods.” But the 5-Year Service Plan (see table below) does not aim to restore official TTC crowding standards until 2026, and the investments needed to do so are not yet funded ($18 million in 2025 and $18 million in 2026).

Will the TTC commit to keeping the Family of Services optional?
The fact that the commitment to resume service standards lacks a clear funding commitment and timeline calls into question the validity of the other commitments listed in the presentation. Furthermore, the TTC is still silent on the most important commitment that Wheel-Trans users are seeking: that the Family of Services remain optional, and not be made mandatory.
Public consultations held in April 2024 found that:
- 39% of Wheel-Trans users said they would never use the Family of Services.
- 61% of Wheel-Trans users felt that the TTC did not meet their accessibility requirements.
- 60% feel that crowding is an issue that affects customers with disabilities.
The accessibility impact of “Standing Room Only” TTC crowding standards
The 2023 TTC Operating Budget changed the crowding standard from the TTC’s official Service Standards without any reporting from staff or public debate about the impacts of this change. The TTC’s loading standard, which is applied as an average and calculated based on the busiest hour of the service period, is now based on “standing room only” at all times of day.
Ten extra people on a bus might not seem significant, but because this is calculated as an average, some buses will be far more crowded. The changed crowding standard means there is less room on the bus, streetcar, or subway for wheelchair users during off-peak hours. At the same time, the TTC is asking some Wheel-Trans users to travel during off-peak hours under the Family of Services plan.
Please clarify whether the TTC has committed to funding a restoration of its crowding standard, and urge the TTC against making the Family of Services mandatory.
Sincerely,
Shelagh Pizey-Allen
Director, TTCriders
Table: Comparing TTC’s Official vs. Current Off-Peak Loading Standard
Vehicle type
|
TTC’s Official Off-Peak Service Standard
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Off-Peak Service Standard Implemented in the 2023 TTC Operating Budget
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TTC’s Official Peak Service Standard
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Bus
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35 people
|
45 people
|
50 people
|
Streetcar
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70 people
|
90 people
|
130 people
|
Train
|
500-540 people
|
600-650 people
|
1000-1100 people
|
Visualizing TTC’s Official vs. Current Off-Peak Loading Standard

Images of TTC off-peak bus crowding standard adapted from 2018 Briefing Note on Overcrowding.