TTC subway delays jumped over 50 percent since 2019, driven by disorderly passengers

Subway delays have more than doubled in six years, with disorderly passengers now the primary culprit — a sharp reversal from the transit disruptions that dominated 2018 and 2019.

CBC Toronto analyzed TTC delay logs from 2018 to 2025 and found that delays resulting in actual service impact totalled 1,179 hours, 28 minutes in 2025, compared to 770 hours, 41 minutes in 2019. Individual delay incidents ranged from 2 minutes to 15 hours, though more than half of the 25,737 recorded incidents last year caused no actual service disruption.

"Disorderly patron" incidents — involving loud, unruly passengers and non-criminal disturbances — topped the delay list for the last three years, accounting for more than 127 hours of delay in 2025. Injured or ill passengers and passenger alarm activations also ranked among the most frequent causes. In 2018 and 2019, by contrast, weather-related delays were most common, with disorderly patrons ranking only sixth.

Transit researcher Jonathan English said the jump appears tied to broader pandemic-related shifts across multiple sectors. "It's hard to understand exactly why this has taken off fairly substantially after the pandemic, but it's something we've seen in many other areas, not just transit. And it's something that we have to get a handle on," English said.

TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said the agency understands the frustration caused by delays and is using data to better address emerging problems. Andrew Pulsifer, executive director of TTCRiders, identified homelessness, drug use, and mental health incidents as contributing factors. The advocacy group cited the addition of crisis workers on the subway as a positive step, while calling for increased staffing to improve response times and reduce delay length.

Some transit experts and advocates say persistent slow zones on the subway also need attention to improve overall reliability.