John Tory is looking to restore some of the Toronto Transit Commission service levels that were cut in 2011 and 2012 — and to do that, Tory told reporters Thursday afternoon, the city will have to find both money and buses.
"We’re going through the normal process of seeing what can be done," Tory told reporters on Nov. 27.
"What we’re looking to do is restore as many as possible of the service cuts that were in place in 2011 and also the reduction of the ridership standards that was the results of further cuts imposed in 2012."
Tory made the comments as he delivered a "state of the city" address prior to taking office as amalgamated Toronto’s fourth mayor Monday. Tory identified numerous challenges and "crises" faced by the city over the next year and beyond. And he focussed on transit.
In particular, Tory said the city’s transit system is straining under the weight of cuts that were imposed in the the first two years of the Ford administration: reduction of service on 41 bus routes, later reductions on 63 additional routes and a roll-back of the TTC’s loading standards to 2004 levels.
Tory said that the resulting deterioration of service was a major concern raised during the campaign—indeed, his opponent Olivia Chow promised to increase bus service by 10 per cent during the campaign, a goal that Tory himself scoffed at during debates. Tory and other critics pointed out that the TTC had already divested itself of older buses, and at present didn’t have enough rolling stock to improve services to that level.
Mayor-elect Tory said he’ll ask TTC CEO Andy Byford to attempt to find buses elsewhere, as council tries to find the money it will take to restore those service levels.
"I think the challenge that rests in front of the city government is to find the money by whatever means are identified," he said. "And I asked if we need to get more buses, well how do we get them? There are buses somewhere."
Byford said that the cuts in 2011 and 2012 "did have a very hurtful impact on the customers of the TTC."
"It’s something we didn’t want to do and we are very keen to add service back to make the service less crowded. There are challenges in that," he said.
Byford said the TTC will not only have to find more buses but also increase the TTC’s garage capacity.
He said that he and City Manager Joe Pennachetti will have to determine how to fund that service in a sustainable way.
"The worst thing we could do is put some service in for one year only to pull it out of there," said Byford.
Tory acknowledged that he understood the city’s surplus from 2014 could include "a little bit more money availabile," but he said the city’s policy of using 75 per cent of surpluses to pay down debt made it unlikely that much would be applied toward transit or other services.
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free).
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation