Public transit users concerned proposed TTC service cuts will increase safety risks

The TTC recently proposed its 2023 operating budget with changes to address a $366 million budget shortfall, which includes a 10 cent fare hike.

Adrian Ruiz returned to his birthplace of Toronto five years ago after growing up in Mexico, but after an older woman was fatally assaulted near his home by a downtown subway station on Friday, he’s considering moving.

“It’s not the Toronto that I grew up in. I’m very worried about my wife and my kids walking at night, riding the TTC,” he said.

“I hate driving, but now riding the TTC … it’s very, very dangerous. I think the city is going down the drain.”

Other public transit users are speaking out against proposed Toronto Transit Commission service cuts that they say could further put riders’ safety at risk at a time when violent incidents on subways and streetcars are on the rise.

The TTC recently proposed its 2023 operating budget with changes to address a $366 million budget shortfall, which includes a 10 cent fare hike and running 9 per cent less service this year compared to levels in place before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Subways will run at 6-minutes or better service levels and as low as 10-minute-or-better service levels in some cases, based on demand. The proposed budget says schedules and routes will be adjusted based on ridership demand at the busiest portions, directions and hours of service.

It also says streetcar service will be reduced to 87 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, bus service will run at 94 per cent and rapid transit service will fall to 75 per cent.

Shelagh Pizey-Allen is the executive director of TTCriders, an advocacy organization made up of volunteer transit users in Toronto which has been fighting the planned service cuts and fare hike. Riders waiting up to 10 minutes for a subway car could be “a recipe for less safety,” she said.