Will candidates commit to making life affordable for transit riders?
Torontonians are experiencing an affordability crisis due to international situations out of their control, and the City must do everything it can to make life more affordable. Riders tell us again and again that the costs of taking transit pile up, leaving them with expensive decisions on whether taking transit is financially sustainable.
For some, budgeting for transit can mean being late on rent, missing class, burning out on extra shifts, purchasing less food, or avoiding transit altogether to save on costs. For 30 years, fare increases has been vastly higher than the rate of inflation. On top of that, Torontonians cannot afford any increase in fares. In fact, the TTC's own report says that even a $0.10 fare increase would result in ~500,000 fewer rides being taken. A $1.10 fare increase would result in ~31 million fewer rides every year.
If we want people to keep using the TTC, riders need to see it as the most cost-effective way to get around Toronto. That's why maintaining a fare freeze and lowering the fare cap for all, and deepening affordability for lower-income riders is crucial over the next four years as we face more and more economic uncertainty. Here's what we asked candidates:
4. Will you commit to lowering the monthly fare cap to 40 rides or less, or to implementing weekly fare capping at 10 rides/week or less?
| Paul Ainslie (Incumbent) |
Yes |
| Robert Bazil |
No Response |
| Jithender Mulamalla |
Yes |
| Nachi Ramasamy |
Yes |
| Arun Sivanandan |
No Response |
5. Will you commit to work with colleges and universities to make transit more affordable to post-secondary students?
| Paul Ainslie (Incumbent) |
Yes |
| Robert Bazil |
No Response |
| Jithender Mulamalla |
Yes |
| Nachi Ramasamy |
Yes |
| Arun Sivanandan |
No Response |
6. Will you maintain a fare freeze to keep transit affordable?
| Paul Ainslie (Incumbent) |
Yes |
| Robert Bazil |
No Response |
| Jithender Mulamalla |
Yes |
| Nachi Ramasamy |
Yes |
| Arun Sivanandan |
No Response |
7. Will you commit to establishing a plan to implement phase 3 of the Fair Pass program to provide deeply affordable fares for more low-income riders?
| Paul Ainslie (Incumbent) |
Yes |
| Robert Bazil |
No Response |
| Jithender Mulamalla |
Yes |
| Nachi Ramasamy |
Yes |
| Arun Sivanandan |
No Response |
Some candidates offered extra comments about their position on TTC affordability: