The TTC & Rider Backlash: Grappling with Public Perception and Performance
About The TTC
Most Queen’s University students, whether it be for work, travel, or even trips home, have visited the bustling commerce hub of downtown Toronto and, as such, have probably also used the city’s infamous transit system, the TTC. Due to heavy city traffic, costly parking fees, and the high price associated with owning a car, the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) is the prime form of transportation for millions of Torontonians each day.
The TTC was founded just over 100 years ago, in 1921. Since then it has served billions of riders, and while the TTC predominantly transports citizens of Toronto, commuters and tourists also account for a notable portion of their annual revenues. In total, this publicly owned transit system comprises 3 rapid transit lines with over 70 stations, 150 bus routes, and 9 streetcar lines. The TTC holds a monopoly over the Toronto Transit Industry, with its only competitors being Uber, taxi companies, and personal automobiles, all of which are considered far less time- and cost-effective alternatives.
A Billion Dollar Business
In 2023, the TTC earned just over a billion dollars (CAD) in revenue. However, their ridership is even more impressive, with over 2.5 million rides sold on the TTC per weekday in the second quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, Toronto’s population is just short of 2.8 million, which makes it simple to infer that the TTC has almost fully saturated one of Canada’s largest transportation markets.
In most cases, such exceptional customer retention rates would be considered indicators of efficient business operations and high-quality services. Yet, the TTC is under constant fire from its consumers due to the lack of infrastructure, safety concerns, and patchy service quality. In recent years, consumers have begun to vocalise their grievances with the TTC, and the internet has given them a huge interconnected platform to do so. Reddit chains about consumers' negative experiences and distaste for the organisation continue to lengthen. Similarly, there is no shortage of viral TikToKs criticising the TTC for its failure to meet international transit standards. Despite the unreliability of much of the information on social media, these trends reveal the genuine dissatisfaction Canadians have with the TTC's services.
Embarrassingly Failing to Meet the Benchmark
In 2023, Timeout ranked Berlin’s public transit system to be the best in the world, in acknowledgement for its timeliness, safety, and comfortability. The well-known travel website released a list revealing 19 countries with comparatively superior transit systems. Later in March of 2024, CNN then released a list of what they believe are the top 18 subway stations in the world. Both articles heavily praise European and East Asian countries for their complex systems, technological advancements, speed, cleanliness, and well-designed infrastructure. Another thing that both of these lists have in common is that the TTC, despite its vast range of services and millions of daily customers, is not mentioned.
To the credit of the aforementioned TikTokers, it really is difficult not to feel like Toronto’s transit system is lacking after reading about the services of other major cities featured on these lists. Tokyo’s transit is known for its exceptional infrastructure and speed despite the incomparably high amount of people it services each day; Copenhagen’s is as reliable and cleanly as it is efficient; and Seoul’s metro system is known for its technological advancements, which allow consumers to use WiFi throughout their entirety of their journey, even when underground. On the other hand, people often ridicule the TTC for its unreliable and relatively slow services, frequently shutting down subways and buses or evacuating passengers. Not only does the TTC lack a reputation for cleanliness, but it also lacks recognition as a technologically advanced transit system. In fact, much of the TTC's infrastructure is considered outdated, which increases the costs and difficulties associated with enhancing their services to meet global standards.
By the same token, East Asian Metro systems are highlighted for their safety measures and infrastructure. Japan, for instance, installed safety rails along the edge of their subway platforms, which would prevent travellers from falling onto the tracks. Though, it is on this note that the TTC may actually begin to redeem themselves.
Figure 1: Platform doors at Tokyo Subway Station (photographed at Ikebukuro station), Retrieved from “Subway Safety: Platform Doors.”
Recent Outcry from Torontonians demanding the adoption of such measures may have had its desired effect, as in early 2024, the TTC announced various changes it plans to make to the Bloor Line 1 Station within the coming years. These adaptations include the installation of a barrier wall that separates the subway platform from the tracks, similar to those in Japan. Additionally, the TTC is currently constructing a new subway line, Ontario Line, which is completed by 2031, and is also planned to have such barriers.
The TTC is Batting Above Average - But Only in Their Prices
One could easily assume that the price of public transit fares in Toronto would be relatively cheap considering the TTC’s considering the notable quality or their services. That assumption, however, would be wrong. Torontonians constantly complain about the high prices associated with their subway and bus tickets, and they may be onto something. When comparing 45 of the world’s major cities, Picodi determined that Toronto actually had the seventh highest single ticket price in the world, with the third highest rate for a monthly pass.
Not Enough Cash
The TTC has budgeted 1.3367 billion dollars (CAD) in sales revenues for the 2024 fiscal year. Interestingly, the organisation also forecasted just over 2.5 billion dollars (CAD) for total expenditures, indicating they are operating at a loss. While baffling, these figures are far from abnormal. The 2023 budget for TTC revealed a similar need for external funding, as passenger revenue could only support 39 percent of its forecasted annual expenditures, with the City of Toronto providing the remaining 61 percent.
Figure 3: Where the TTC sources their funding, Retrieved from “2023 TTC Conventional and Wheel-Trans Operating Budget”
The issue lies in the amount of money they receive from their municipality. The TTC actually receives far less government subsidisation than some other major transit systems. Vancouver’s Translink system, for instance, is granted relatively more funding than the TTC through various forms of taxes, thus relying on a smaller portion of their revenue for their everyday operations. The lack of funding forces the TTC to allocate most of its revenues to conventional services to balance their budget. In 2023, they allocated 90 percent of their budget to everyday operations and only 4 percent to service expansion. As a result, the TTC's leftover reserves for expansion or infrastructure investments are extremely limited.
With all that being said, the TTC is actively searching for ways to broaden their operating margins. In a disclosure entitled “Financial and Major Projects Update for the Period Ended April 27, 2024,” they place a heavier focus on cost reduction than in previous years. For instance, the organisation plans to adopt hybrid and electric buses to mitigate rising fuel costs and to improve their overtime management procedures, thereby reducing wage costs.
Increased Numbers of Underhoused Individuals After the Pandemic
As mentioned in their 2023 disclosure, entitled “2023 TTC Conventional and Wheel-Trans Operating Budgets,” the TTC has experienced increased numbers of underhoused individuals seeking shelter within the transit system since the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Despite their partnership with the City’s Streets to Homes Program, an effort to support these underhoused individuals, homelessness in the TTC stations and on transit remains a critical issue for the organisation.
The Strike That Never Was
In 2011, Ontario passed a law banning TTC workers from striking, considering them an essential service. This was overturned in 2024 when Ontario's highest court upheld their right to strike…Unless their demands were met, TTC workers planned to strike on June 7th. On June 6th, the TTC reached a settlement that would cost around 176 million dollars (CAD) over the following three years, narrowly avoiding the potentially harrowing consequences of the strike.
But, why did 12,000 TTC workers vote overwhelmingly in favour of a strike?
On top of requesting an increase in economic benefits, TTC workers demanded more dignified working conditions and improved workplace safety standards. Notably, a major point of contention for these workers lies in the escalating levels of violence that transit staff endure while at work.
Violence and the TTC
The frequency of violent attacks on the TTC rose by 46 percent in 2022 compared to 2021, with 1068 assaults occurring that year. While these rates subsided in 2023, indicating a 24 percent decrease from 2022, the number of violent incidents on the TTC continues to present a significant issue.
WWhile many attacks allegedly go unreported, the ones that do make the news are devastating. A 28-year-old woman died after being set-on-fire at the Kipling Station in 2022. The following year, a group of 10-15 assailants swarmed and assaulted two uniformed TTC employees. Not to mention hundreds of other brutal attacks and various horrific instances in the years 2022 and 2023 in which individuals were either pushed or jumped onto subway tracks.
Victim Blaming - A “Red Flag” Trait of the TTC
In 2022, a Shamsa Al-Balushi launched a 1 Million Dollar lawsuit against the City of Toronto for negligence when she was pushed onto the subway tracks at Bloor Station. The victim managed to press herself against the subway platform, avoiding the train's impact as it passed directly over her. Even more shocking though, is that she waited on the tracks, injured and terrified, for 30 minutes before being rescued. Al-Balushi claims that the city failed to take the proper safety precautions to prevent her attack, and acted negligently in taking so long to rescue her.
What raised controversy among news outlets, however, was the TTC’s Public response to the lawsuit. The organisation denied responsibility, stating that Al-Balushi "failed to take reasonable steps and precautions for her own safety and protection," and that she "chose to stand close to the edge of the platform." They further insinuated that she should have known better than to travel, “alone and unassisted on public transit when she knew or ought to have known that it was unsafe for her to do so.” Commentators take issue with the TTC’s statement, interpreting it as an attempt to avoid pressure to allocate greater resources to implementing more effective safety and response measures.
Consumers Can’t Vote with their Dollars
A key principle of the free market economy is that consumers can influence the behaviours and service offerings of businesses based on where they choose to spend their money. Businesses will cater to consumer demands to maintain their market shares. But with the TTC being the sole mass transit system in Toronto and holding an invincible monopoly over the market, the organisation does not need to comply with consumer demands.
However, the newly established right to strike among their staff, coupled with the June 7th settlement already compelling the TTC to improve transit conditions and safety protocols, could potentially force them to make improvements. As such, the ruling that established the right of TTC workers to strike could catalyse several positive changes for TTC consumers, at least in regards to service quality and safety.
Furthermore, many remain optimistic that the TTC, as a municipal public service with an ethical obligation to act in the best interest of Toronto's residents, will eventually respond to public outcries for change, with the hope that the adaptations to Bloor Station are just the beginning.
Final Considerations
While the TTC faces much criticism for the quality and cost of their services, in addition to outcries for safer transit, they themselves are not wholly to blame. Part of the issue, as previously discussed, would be considered Top Down. Without receiving more government subsidisation, which must be approved by Toronto’s City Council, it will be difficult for them to make any substantive improvements to their services.
As per the issue of transit violence and assault, a whole host of factors are to blame. At its core, the TTC’s struggle can greatly be attributed to mental health, drug, and housing issues in the GTA, which, in the organisation’s defence, is something they have actively tried to resolve through partnerships with the city. A lack of security measures within the transit system has only aggravated the matter.
All things considered, the TTC faces substantial barriers which prevent them from improving their services, many of which are out of the organisation’s control.