TTC reliability is being overlooked by Toronto's top mayoral candidates, transit advocates warn

As Toronto's municipal election approaches October 26, leading candidates Olivia Chow, Brad Bradford, and Chris Alexander have made various TTC-related promises. But transit advocates say the three are missing the transit system's biggest problem: reliability.

Cameron MacLeod, executive director of CodeRedTO, said: "I would say no" when asked if the leading candidates are addressing the biggest issues facing TTC riders. "The big gap that I see is reliability. Reliability is not being addressed by any candidates, you know, to any great depth."

MacLeod said buses and streetcars must compete with private cars, Ubers, and Lyfts on Toronto roads, and without transit priority, delays cascade. "That's pushing people into cars. It's increasing congestion, and it's even hurting the TTC budget because those fares are not getting spent," he said. RapidTO lanes show what's possible: "Those allow streetcars or buses to move a little bit more reliably in those areas."

Andrew Pulsifer, executive director of TTCriders, said the TTC has made gains in reliability over the past three years but more work remains. "We're still waiting from all three candidates to see a general state of 'I'll make your bus come on time,'" Pulsifer said.

MacLeod pointed out the stark reality on congested streets: "Generally speaking, a streetcar could have 250 people in it waiting for one person trying to turn left because they're blocking that streetcar lane. Same thing happens to buses as well." TTC data shows reliability increases in areas where transit receives priority.

Pulsifer said the city is already pursuing transit signal priority and a streetcar network review. "There's a lot of aspects of reliability that the city itself is already working on," he said. But advocates argue candidates need to make explicit commitments to prioritize surface transit over private vehicles if they want to address the system's core problem.