Once the meeting resumed at 6pm, riders spoke to the TTC Commission about their concerns with the 5 to 25 cent fare hike being proposed in the 2014 TTC budget, and the need for more service and government support for public transit.
TTCriders member, Lisa Pozhke, said that TTC fares are going up faster than inflation, despite claims by Karen Stinz and the TTC. “If fare hikes were indexed to inflation rates over the past 10 years, riders would be paying about $2.25 a bulk purchased token not $2.70,” she said.
Helen Liu of the Ontario Chinese Seniors Association said that low-income seniors are left making difficult choices because the cost of TTC fares are so high. Their options are to eat less, remain isolated at home or walk to shopping and community centres. Other cities give seniors a significant discount, she said.
Helen also shared a story of an elderly woman she knows who walks an eight km round trip to visit her friends because she can’t afford to ride the TTC.
Everyone benefits from public transit, including the environment, businesses, and drivers. So why are we making poor people pay?
It seems like the TTC Commission might be starting to listen. In an earlier agenda item calling for the TTC to implement fare reductions for the needy, the TTC board put forward a motion to have the federal government and the province provide a subsidized pass for people on Ontario Disability. Read the TTC report about fares here: http://bit.ly/1dTHQFV How good is that!
TTCriders is calling on the province to increase their contribution to the TTC so service levels can be increased by 25%, and fares reduced, especially for those in financial need. TTCriders is also calling on the city to increase its subsidy, and index the subsidy to ridership levels.
All major transit systems across North America get a much higher government subsidy per ride than Toronto does. If Toronto received the same subsidy per rider as Vancouver, the TTC’s budget would jump from $1.5 billion to nearly $2.5 billion.
Five Things Torontonians Should Know About the TTC Budget
- The TTC wants fares to go up. The TTC is proposing a 5 cent fare hike on the token and a proportional increase to other fares. PLUS the TTC is proposing either a .25 cent fare increase on the cash fare OR a $5.25 increase on the monthly metro pass. Double whammy.
- Subsidy levels will remain the same at about 79 cents a ride. The TTC is asking the City to give a subsidy of $428 million, up from last year's $411 million - which is better than the subsidy freeze we've had over the past few years! That said, ridership levels are predicted to hit 540 million so we won't actually get better service.
- In fact, service levels will remain about the same. Buses and street cars will remain just as crowded as they are now because service levels will just barely keep up with record ridership growth.
- The TTC is proposing a $9 billion 10-year capital budget, which includes buying new vehicles, building new garages, installing automatic train control systems, and more. Great.
- But $2.7 billion of this money for capital improvements is not present. As a result we won't get the new vehicles we need to increase service. Also, the TTC will fall behind on making the TTC more accessible, by, for instance, installing more elevators at stations and buying new Wheel-Trans vehicles. That's not so great.
Three things you can do to better the TTC budget
1. The TTC meeting will be continued on Wednesday, November 20 at 1:00 pm in the 7th floor Boardroom at 1900 Yonge Street. Riders who didn’t speak at Monday’s meeting can speak on Wednesday. You do not have to register again. Contact Dawn at [email protected] for more information.
2. Tell the TTC Commission and our city and elected officials to properly fund the TTC so service can be expanded and fares reduced, especially for those in financial need. Send your message today: http://bit.ly/HAyCnh
3. Forward this email to three of your friends who take the TTC. A million people ride the TTC every day. We are a political force just waiting to happen. Let’s tell our fellow riders what’s up, and what we can do to get more service and lower fares.

Group shot. Nice red t-shirts on display. We were killing time waiting for the commissioners to turn up.
Helen Liu being interviewed by a CBC reporter
Senior group shot.
Still waiting to depute. The Rob Ford saga in the other room kept the commissioners away.
Creative shot of deputant. Thanks Ken Tang for the nice photos.