With ridership down by 70 per cent, TTC says it will need bailout

With ridership flagging, transit agency may need millions in financial aid

The TTC will likely require at least tens of millions of dollars in financial assistance to cope with what the agency describes as an unprecedented ridership drop caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the organization will be facing critical decisions about how to rebuild even after the worst of the emergency is over.

According to the latest figures from the TTC, as of last Friday ridership on the country’s busiest transit system was down from 70 per cent to 72 per cent systemwide compared with earlier in March before the crisis fully took hold.

According to TTC CEO Rick Leary, the pandemic has done unparalleled damage to transit use in the city.

“No one remembers historically (anything) ever having an impact like that,” he said.

The steepest decline has been in subway ridership, which is down about 80 per cent. Streetcar use has declined by 76 per cent, and bus use by 62 per cent. Trips on the agency’s WheelTrans service for customers with mobility issues have fallen 75 per cent.

At this rate, the TTC estimates it’s losing about $18 million in fares each week. During a normal week, it would collect about $25 million.

Even with the dramatic drop, the TTC is still moving close to 500,000 people per day. Although last week the agency attempted to maintain service at something approaching normal levels, it is now operating about 80 per cent of regular service in response to lower demand and also because of lower staffing levels.

Leary acknowledged the crisis will probably cost the TTC tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue. The agency had expected to collect about $1.3 billion in fare revenue this year, which would account for roughly two-thirds of its $2-billion operating budget. The bulk of the other third was to be made up by a subsidy from the city. How the TTC will make up the shortfall is one of the many tough unanswered questions facing the city.

Don Peat, a spokesperson for Mayor John Tory, said the mayor is “is focused on making sure the TTC and all aspects of the

City government will recover from the pandemic.”

Peat said Tory is “on the phone daily with federal and provincial officials” to discuss the economic response to the pandemic and “when this is over the mayor will be working to make sure the transit service we have built remains strong.”

Transit agencies outside Toronto are also hurting.

According to the Canadian Urban Transit Association, the country’s ten largest agencies are carrying nearly 80 per cent fewer riders per day since before the outbreak, and some systems have reported declines of almost 90 per cent. The association said the plummeting ridership represents collective financial losses of about $280 million per month for the country’s transit agencies.

“It is a critical challenge to the bottom line of systems nationwide because operations must continue. And continue with enough frequency to allow safe social distancing,” said Marco D’Angelo, CEO of CUTA, in a news release.

Aspokesperson for the federal government couldn’t immediately respond to questions on the issue Wednesday.

The $17-billion COVID response plan Premier Doug Ford’s government unveiled Wednesday didn’t include a bailout for transit operators.

But in a written statement Christina Salituro, spokesperson for Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney, said the Ontario government is “closely monitoring” the ridership situation and is “prepared to support our transit partners.”