The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) will receive a $53 million grant increase in the 2023 municipal budget in an effort to “keep both motorcyclists and the TTC’s hardworking frontline employees safe,” Mayor John Tory announced in Wednesday.
The TTC also plans to raise fares by 10 cents.
In total, the transit agency will receive $958 million for conventional service this year.
The combined operating budgets of $2.38 billion for both conventional and Wheel-Trans services represented a 4.2 percent year-over-year increase, the agency said.
In a statement released Wednesday, the TTC said $43 million will go toward the opening of the 5 Eglinton-Crosstown line and the 6 Finch West line, along with the replacement of the 3 Scarborough RT bus.
An additional $4 million will be allocated for safety, security and cleanliness. This money will go towards hiring 10 extra Streets to Homes staff, adding 25 new special constables, filling 25 vacant special constables and introducing improved daily tram cleaning.
The transit agency says nearly $3 million will go towards service improvements on routes serving neighborhood improvement areas and expanding the Fair Pass program to an additional 50,000 lower-income Torontonians.
A more detailed breakdown of remaining funds is expected on January 10.
Although the TTC plans to increase single-trip cash and presto fares by ten cents, users of the Fair Pass program and those with monthly and annual PRESTO passes will be frozen, the TTC said. Adult rates will also remain the same.
Children under 13 will continue to ride for free.
“I know nobody likes the rate hike,” Tory told reporters. “But I think it provides additional funding that will help us make the investments I’m talking about today and help us protect the transit system.”
Tory said the changes are intended to provide security and safety amid a time of low ridership and increased violent crime in the city’s transit system.
In the TTC’s statement, CEO Rick Leary said the new budget “balances [the] must provide safe service while contending with lower revenues and rising operating costs related to inflation and new transit lines.”
“As we emerge from the pandemic and our ridership patterns evolve … the TTC is positioning itself to keep Toronto moving and to be there for those who need us most.”
This year’s portion of Toronto’s capital budget plan allocated to the TTC is approximately $1.34 billion, including $800 million for infrastructure and health-of-repair projects, $455 million for vehicle purchases and overhauls, and $88 million for transit expansion work.
ATU Local 113 President Marvin Alfred. issued a statement Wednesday afternoon in response to the proposed budget, calling it “a step in the right direction.”
“Local 113 welcomes any investment in the operation and maintenance of the TTC to improve service and safety for transit passengers. If we want people to come back into the system, we need to restore trust,” Alfred said, adding that this would be achieved by “improving service and keeping prices low”.
The union said it “looks forward to seeing details of the service increases”.
Alfred pointed to Toronto’s ongoing housing crisis “combined with a lack of mental health services” as contributing factors to the violence seen online.
“The TTC ultimately filled the gaps in our social safety net. “The police alone cannot fix it and Streets to Homes cannot get people into homes that do not exist or are unavailable,” he said.
“We need a comprehensive safety and security plan that provides real housing solutions and a better way to respond to people in crisis.”
In the 2023 budget, we are making critical investments in transit.
We are proposing to increase the City’s annual investment in the TTC to nearly $1 billion—that’s $53 million more than in 2022—reaffirming our commitment to ensuring that transit is safe, reliable and accessible for all. pic.twitter.com/PehOQLa6vH
— John Tory (@JohnTory) January 4, 2023
CALL FOR PROTECTION AGAINST FEE INCREASE
On Wednesday, TTCRiders, an advocacy organization representing transit system users, issued a statement calling on the Tories to protect fares from increases.
“TTCriders is calling on the mayor and city councilors to protect the TTC from service cuts by increasing the budget subsidy for transit,” the statement said. “Tory is asking the lowest-income Torontonians … to pay more to get to school and work, instead of collecting revenue from those who can afford it.”
The group suggested the mayor could raise hundreds of millions for more TTC service “with a parking fee on major malls and retail owners.”
“Instead, women, shift workers, racists and low-income people who continue to rely the most on the TTC are being asked to pay more,” the statement said.
The group called the extension of the Fair Pass discount to a further 50,000 people “an important step”, but raised concerns about who might be eligible.
“It does not appear to cover all eligible low-income Torontonians in need of ticket relief who have been waiting for this program since it was approved in 2016.”
POLICE BUDGET INCREASE
On Tuesday, the mayor proposed a $48.3 million budget increase for the Toronto Police Service, which he said would allow 200 more officers to join the force.
Multiple acts of violence have occurred in the GTA in recent weeks and months, including some incidents that occurred on Toronto’s transit system. Tory said Tuesday that members of the public have expressed concern about TTC ridership.
“We have to do everything we can to deal with crime and keep people safe and make them feel safe in our city,” he said.
As of Dec. 8, the city of Toronto had a $726 million hole in its 2023 budget, which officials say is a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, the city asked the provincial and federal governments to fill the gap.
It is unclear whether the new investments promised for the 2023 budget will widen that gap or be offset by revenue elsewhere.
Tory said that number was “not current” but declined to elaborate.
“We’ve run the city in such a sensible way to make sure that while we need and expect and I think we deserve the support coming from other governments with costs related to COVID that we’re going to make sure that the city can protect its services ,” he added.
Public consultations on Toronto’s budget will take place over the next few weeks before the mayor presents the final version to city council in February. The public can register to make deputations by sending a request to Commissionservices@ttc.ca.
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