Mayor, Chair announce proposal for earlier start to Sunday service

Toronto Mayor John Tory and TTC Chair Josh Colle held a joint press conference at City Hall on Nov. 5 to support a proposal enhancing transit service on Sundays, starting at 8 a.m.

“It’s a practical, sensible first step forward on the way to doing what we need to do to take account of the needs of people in a big city in 2015,” said Tory.

Colle added that he will be moving a motion to introduce the Sunday service enhancement at the next TTC Budget Committee Meeting on Nov. 9. The Chair also said that he will be moving a second motion to place a fare freeze on the Metropass, which now sells for $141.50 a month.

The 2016 TTC Operating Budget is scheduled to be on the agenda at the Nov. 23 Board Meeting.

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The following letter was sent to Commissioners on Nov. 4 outlining the Mayor’s and Chair’s request for starting Sunday service on the TTC one hour earlier (to 8 a.m. from 9 a.m.):

November 4, 2015
From: Mayor John Tory and Chair Josh Colle
To: TTC Board Commissioners
RE: Increased Sunday service on the TTC

Dear TTC Board Commissioners,

We are writing to request your support to open service on the TTC an hour earlier on Sunday for subways and connecting bus and streetcar routes. Over the last year we have both had numerous conversations with TTC officials and are encouraged by their work. We believe this service enhancement would be a positive signal to the people of Toronto as we work to modernize our transit system.

As a vibrant and growing city, Toronto does not conform to a traditional Monday to Friday schedule. On Sundays, many of our residents need to get to work, to run errands, to go to church and fulfil the activities of their lives. Our businesses are open, our cultural centres are operating and the engines of our economy remain in motion.

The people of Toronto should be able to move around this city with ease – seven days a week – and the TTC plays an instrumental role in providing this mobility.

We are not the only global centre that is adapting to the evolving realities of peoples’ lives. Other municipal transit systems have stretched their hours and changed their thinking to provide modern service to modern cities. It is important to both of us that Toronto continues to work toward these standards, and provide the comprehensive service our riders deserve.

We believe that increasing the hours of Sunday service is a positive and practical step forward as we strive to make the TTC a convenient, efficient and functional public service. And we thank you for your timely consideration of this matter.

Sincerely,

(original signed)
John Tory
Mayor
City of Toronto

(original signed)
Josh Colle
City Councillor, Ward 15
Chair of the TTC Board