The TTC will get an emergency bailout of $400 million,
Emergency aid expected to provide agency with ‘immediate relief ’
The TTC will receive more than $400 million in emergency funding through the first phase of a federal-provincial COVID-19 aid program, a cash infusion Mayor John Tory says will go a long way to shoring up the transit agency’s pandemicravaged finances.
The TTC bailout was detailed by the provincial government Wednesday as part of a $666million package under Stage1of the Safe Restart Agreement, which will be distributed to Ontario transit systems based on a formula that takes ridership into account. The crisis has decimated transit use and choked off fare revenue streams for operators across the province.
“Ontario’s transit systems are critical to supporting our economy and getting people where they need to go as the province cautiously and gradually reopens,” Associate Transportation Minister Kinga Surma said at a press conference at Queen’s
Park. “This critical funding will keep municipal transit systems running and will help keep trains, buses, and stations safe, so people can feel confident in choosing public transit as they go back to work.”
Surma said the funding would provide “immediate relief ” from financial pressures transit agencies are facing as a result of both lower fare revenue and increased virus-related costs like for enhanced cleaning procedures and personal protective equipment.
In addition to the transit funding, Ontario municipalities will receive $695 million to help with their COVID-19 recoveries through the first phase of the agreement, plus $212 million through the Social Services Relief Fund, for a total of about $1.6 billion. The two governments have pledged up to $4 billion in pandemic aid for the province’s cities, with as much as $2 billion of that for transit. The remaining funding would flow through the second phase of the program.
The initial $404 million earmarked for the TTC won’t immediately cover the entirety of the $700-million shortfall Toronto is projecting for its transit agency by the end of the year, a figure that makes up the majority of the gaping $1.35 billion budget gap the city is facing.
But at a press conference at city hall, Tory said the funding announced Wednesday represents a “very strong down payment” on addressing the TTC’s financial problems.
In addition to TTC losses, Toronto has experienced a surge in costs for things like additional shelter space and a huge drop in revenue from services including Green P parking lots.
Last month, city manager Chris Murray said his team had found $513.7 million in savings including fuel and wage costs, but the extra costs totalling $1.35 billion remained.
They include $185.2 million to safely shelter homeless Torontonians during the pandemic, $17.6 million for senior services and long-term-care homes and $77 million in refugee costs.
The funding announcement prompted the largest TTC workers union to renew its calls for the transit agency to restore full service and recall the 450 employees it furloughed.
The TTC has been operating at about 85 per cent of pre-pandemic service levels, which earlier in the crisis was enough to allow for social distancing on most vehicles. But Carlos Santos, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, said in a statement Wednesday that as the city opens up, his members are reporting more crowding on the system.
“The TTC must live up to its commitment and take action now to prevent overcrowding and protect public health,” said Santos, whose union represents 12,000 transit workers.
The TTC has said it intends to restore full service once ridership returns to 50 per cent of pre-crisis levels. The agency said that as of this week, passenger volumes are at about 35 per cent what they were before the pandemic, although riders are returning faster to buses than other modes.
A spokesperson for the TTC said the agency doesn’t know when it will hit the 50-per-cent threshold, but it’s expecting a ridership jump when students return to school in the fall.