TTC Ridership Growth Strategy 3

[Northern Light]

For lack of a better spot, this deserves its own thread as the previous strategies also had.

The first presentation on options under consideration is gong to the TTC's Strategic Planning Ctte today.

https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2025/tts/bgrd/backgroundfile-257313.pdf

I will not post the entire deck, but here are a few I found particularly interesting:

Going back to the beginning, we see TTC modal share has slipped, notably, so has cycling:

In many threads, we discuss where population growth is and is not, in the City, this is on point:

Lots more in the deck for those that wish to follow the link.

I will share thoughts in due course.

 

[Mihairokov]

Going back to the beginning, we see TTC modal share has slipped, notably, so has cycling

I find this really hard to believe between the increase in bikeshare trips and just anecdotally waiting at intersections downtown and seeing a dozen+ cyclists during rush hours at each light. It feels like way more people are cycling than before. I'd like to see these numbers versus 2021 or 2022 as opposed to 2019 which feels like a completely different world at this point.

 

[Northern Light]

I find this really hard to believe between the increase in bikeshare trips and just anecdotally waiting at intersections downtown and seeing a dozen+ cyclists during rush hours at each light. It feels like way more people are cycling than before. I'd like to see these numbers versus 2021 or 2022 as opposed to 2019 which feels like a completely different world at this point.

I'm just reporting the numbers, which I assume come from the Corden Count.

But I didn't look to see what their data source was in detail. (assuming they provided that).

I agree, in the core, it appears to be up, but that is anecdotal on my part.

 

[11th]

I find this really hard to believe between the increase in bikeshare trips and just anecdotally waiting at intersections downtown and seeing a dozen+ cyclists during rush hours at each light. It feels like way more people are cycling than before. I'd like to see these numbers versus 2021 or 2022 as opposed to 2019 which feels like a completely different world at this point.

The numbers are percentages.
Judging by the traffic on the 401 (or other expressways), they make sense. Those traffic are not likely to be replaced by bike trips.

 

[innsertnamehere]

The numbers are percentages.
Judging by the traffic on the 401 (or other expressways), they make sense. Those traffic are not likely to be replaced by bike trips.

Also with the pandemic commuting trips are a smaller percentage of total trips with WFH. Commuting trips are generally disproportionately taken with alternative modes of transportation, with personal and recreational trips made with a car at much higher rate. Even in Toronto, which sees like a 45% auto modal share for commuting trips, personal trips are closer to 75% from what I remember.

So even with biking growing downtown even for both kinds of trips, the drop of transit trips in the outer 416 and being swapped out with recreational trips which are almost exclusively done by car outside of the lower city, offsets any cycling gains. There are huge numbers of households in Toronto which take the TTC to work but then use their car for groceries, seeing friends, attending events, etc.

This is especially important when you remember that cycling generally represents under 5% of trips. You need massive increases in cycling to see significant changes in total modal shares. A 100% increase in cycling trips would mean cycling would go from 2% of trips in Toronto in the census to.. 4%.

 

[Northern Light]

The Strategic Planning Ctte of TTC is meeting next week and the agenda is now online/public.

Toronto City Council

secure.toronto.ca

It includes preliminary information on the 2026 budget submission (subject to Ctte and Commission endorsement) and Ridership Growth Strategy Priorities.

Here is the link to the proposed RGS:

https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2025/tts/bgrd/backgroundfile-258029.pdf

From the above:

On Generating Revenue:

I will post my thoughts on the above separately.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

The TTC ridership has historically a higher ridership in the non-rush hours than most North American cities, except for New York City. In Toronto, people use the streetcars, buses, and subway in the evenings, weekends, and holidays. Some cities in the USA, lack Sunday service of any kind. It is the high non-rush hour use that the TTC decided on the highest monthly pass price than most other cities.

 

[Northern Light]

@Steve Munro has his first of two articles/posts up on the Strategic Planning Ctte meeting today.

I think its fair to call it a scathing indictment of the conduct of Commissioners.

TTC Discovers Fiscal Conservatism

On September 4, 2025, the TTC’s Strategic Planning Committee met to debate several reports. I will deal with them in a separate article, but one thread in the meeting deserves comment on its …

stevemunro.ca

I, frankly, am deeply disturbed by the tone of Commissioners at the meeting, I agree with Steve that their tone(s) ranged from indifferent/ineffectual to bizarre and counter-productive.

I have difficulty fathoming it to be frank.

Notwithstanding @evandyk 's past endorsement, Chair Myers looks increasingly out of his depth or worse...............

That's not a slag on Evan who knew the Commissioner in a previous, non-political role.

Just saying, Cllr Myers has been a fairly consistent disappointment in his role as TTC Chair.............and I think a change may be overdue at this point.

Cllr Saxe, who can, frankly, muster good ideas at times, and is a sharper mind than many on Council did not look good either here...........

The whole thing was very disheartening.

 

[Richard White]

Just saying, Cllr Myers has been a fairly consistent disappointment in his role as TTC Chair.............and I think a change my be overdue at this point

He always struck me as a token left wing appointment made by Olivia Chow.

I would rather have someone competent than someone who shares similar political viewpoints.

 

[txlseries4]

Clip of the interaction between Myers and August from TTCriders on this Bluesky post for anyone interested:

august 🍂 (@auguststreet.ca)

it takes a lot of audacity from the TTC chair to tell a transit advocacy group to muzzle basic asks we hear from riders. these councillors failed to advance new revenue tools we ask for, cry that there isn't money *every* budget cycle, then call basic transit upgrades "unrealistic". rinse+repeat.

bsky.app

 

[RapidTransit]

Remember Jamaal was 2nd place in his riding, and only got in as councilor because Cynthia Li passed away.

I get the incumbent has name recognition, but Jamaal always rubbed me the wrong way. I do hope he gets replaced next year as councilor.

But even I have to be careful for what I wish for. And this rate , there's a high chance of John Tory running for mayor and actually winning and beating Chow next year. Which will make transit potential worse than what we have now. So maybe Jamaal is the devil we know and should keep than risking a devil we don't know and making transit worse.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

The 2023 six Council positions on the TTC’s Board of Commissioners were: Jamaal Myers, Chair; Josh Matlow; Paul Ainslie; Dianne Saxe; Chris Moise; and Stephen Holyday.

Currently, the councillors and citizens on the TTC board are: Councillor Jamaal Myers, Chair; Joe Mihevc, Citizen and Vice-Chair; Councillor Paul Ainslie; Councillor Alejandra Bravo; Fenton Jagdeo, Citizen; Liane Kim, Citizen; Councillor Ausma Malik, Deputy Mayor; Councillor Josh Matlow; Julie Osborne, Citizen; Councillor Dianne Saxe.

Thought we were going to be better without Stephen Holyday on the board, but the current TTC board members seem to be aiming to become his crony heir, not an effective replacement.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Surely the answer is, and always was the four legged stool of: faster, regular, safer and cleaner.

Where have the TTC’s riders gone? Transit ridership never recovered from the pandemic. We asked why — and what could bring them back

The paths of two types of TTC riders — choice and captive — diverged sharply during the pandemic, depriving the TTC of much-needed revenue and altering the region’s planet-warming emissions.

www.thestar.com

Paywall free: https://archive.is/mPDK7

On the issues of cleanliness and perceived safety; one of the problems with most western liberal democracies worldwide is we have no tools for dealing with vagrancy, junkies and public nuisance on public transit. But I’ll say, once you take the clean, fast and safe subway in Singapore, Taipei and Hong Kong as I did recently, there is just no going back to the TTC. I didn’t see a single addict, mentally ill or homeless person on those systems. How do they do it?

 

[MisterF]

Surely the answer is, and always was the four legged stool of: faster, regular, safer and cleaner.

Where have the TTC’s riders gone? Transit ridership never recovered from the pandemic. We asked why — and what could bring them back

The paths of two types of TTC riders — choice and captive — diverged sharply during the pandemic, depriving the TTC of much-needed revenue and altering the region’s planet-warming emissions.

www.thestar.com

Paywall free: https://archive.is/mPDK7

On the issues of cleanliness and perceived safety; one of the problems with most western liberal democracies worldwide is we have no tools for dealing with vagrancy, junkies and public nuisance on public transit. But I’ll say, once you take the clean, fast and safe subway in Singapore, Taipei and Hong Kong as I did recently, there is just no going back to the TTC. I didn’t see a single addict, mentally ill or homeless person on those systems. How do they do it?

Some Western liberal democracies have essentially solved those issues. I didn't see addicts or visibly homeless people in Scandinavia either. We have the tools, it's just a question of using them.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Some Western liberal democracies have essentially solved those issues.

It’s not about solving homelessness and addictions, but keeping them off the TTC. That’s the challenge we face, in a city where these issues exists, how do you keep the TTC the safe, clean, reliable and fast service it needs to grow. Fare enforcement on the streetcars would be a good start.