TTC proposing fare freeze in 2026, while capital budget concerns persist
CBC
The Toronto Transit Commission wants to freeze fares for a third straight year, while the city agency can’t afford the repairs needed to keep the system riders rely on fully functional over the next decade.
The intention to leave fare prices where they are was shared Tuesday as part of a presentation on the 2026 operating budget to the commission’s strategic planning committee.
The presentation also covered the capital budget and state of good repair backlog, which essentially means work to keep the transit agency's vehicles and infrastructure in good shape.
Committee member Coun. Dianne Saxe said “it is close to miraculous” that the TTC found a way to continue freezing fares while planning to improve service. But she said that’s only possible with a $1.4 billion subsidy from Toronto — a spend the city itself can barely afford.
“Even with that, it’s clear we are in very big financial problems,” she said during the meeting, referring to an unfunded backlog of infrastructure and equipment upkeep work in the capital budget.
“These are urgent repairs we can’t pay for that are essential for being able to sustain the system,” Saxe said.
She said the TTC and city politicians need to take every opportunity to share that message with higher orders of government in the hopes of accessing more funding.
The unfunded state of good repair backlog Saxe referred to has projected to grow to $6.1 billion in the next 10 years, staff said. The city has been working to reduce that backlog, including spending $500 million on vehicle fleet overhaul with money freed up through a deal Mayor Olivia Chow brokered between the city and province in 2023.
But Tuesday's presentation said the unfunded need has risen due to increased procurement costs for overhaul programs.
To attract new riders and keep people confident in the system, the TTC needs to keep spending on infrastructure and asset upkeep, the meeting heard, otherwise it could see emergency maintenance and service interruption.
The presentation to the committee was a high-level overview of the budget, before it goes through the TTC board for approval at a later date.
To be able to freeze fares and do everything else the transit agency wants to do in its 2026 operating budget, the TTC will have to draw on more than half of its reserves to make the 2026 fiscal document work, the meeting heard.
About $35 million of the TTC’s $3 billion 2026 operating budget will be drawn from the transit agency’s reserves. While that draw might represent a small portion of the total budget, the total reserve sits at $68 million, with staff telling the meeting they will look at replenishing it in 2027.
In September, the committee heard the TTC needed to find $232 million to pay for next year’s budget. The draw from reserves is part of that work, with staff also finding savings in areas of the TTC’s operations that wouldn’t impact service for riders.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.