TTC sees low ridership numbers on subway, streetcars

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One of the major tasks facing Toronto’s new mayor will be how to bring people back to the TTC and the downtown core.

Numbers released before a TTC board meeting Tuesday are not positive with ridership at 60% of pre-COVID pandemic levels averaged over the entirety of 2022, 6.5 million fewer rides than the public transit system had budgeted for last year.

“The budget anticipated a return to office (for workers) of three days a week in the fall, but the frequency of actual in-office work remained closer to two days a week,” the report by TTC CEO Rick Leary says. “Even though riders have returned to the system, the actual travel frequency of these riders has dropped.”

Mid-January figures put average weekday boardings across the system at 67% of pre-pandemic levels, with bus rides at 77%.

The telling dip was in subway rides at 61% and streetcar rides at 55% of pre-pandemic levels — both modes of transportation that office commuters are more likely to use.

There have been some high-profile violent assaults in the system as well as complaints about a lack of cleanliness, but the 2023 budget includes money for more police officers, special constables and cleaners to help address these issues.

Toronto will hold a byelection June 26 to elect a new mayor.

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Councillor Stephen Holyday,  a TTC board member and potential mayoral candidate, said the expectation is that ridership numbers will grow by year’s end, but there are bigger issues at play than just the public transit system.

“It’s about the location of work and people’s work habits,” he said, noting that ridership now tends to be down on Mondays and Friday. “Unquestionably, people’s habits have changed.”

Figuring out how to get people on the transit system outside of their commute will be an important task for the TTC, he said.

The return of ticketing for fare evasion, expected at the end of March, can be part of the solution if it promotes respect for the system, added Holyday.

“That is just such a clear, easy, obvious first step that the public transit agency needs to do to show people that rules are important and that people care,” he said. “It’s not about making ticket money on this, it’s about reestablishing a culture that everyone feels it’s a civic duty to make a payment and to follow the rules as they use the system.”

There should be compassion for those who truly can’t afford the fare, he said.

aartuso@postmedia.com