FROM THE CEO: TTC Board Highlights

TTC Board members had before them several major reports for approval earlier this week.

One key item on the June 12 agenda was a report on sustaining a reliable transit system. This report was presented as both an update and a look-ahead as we prepare for sustained TTC service for 2024 and beyond. The report highlights some significant challenges, both operating and capital, that require partnerships from all orders of government to ensure the benefits of public transit are fully realized.

Our funding partners at all levels will play a key role in the TTC’s future success, and we continue to have discussions with them to reinforce this.

I advised Commissioners, as well, that this fall we will bring forward a new Five-Year Corporate Plan and 2024 Annual Service Plan, which will outline strategic directions and recommendations leading to access to opportunity for everyone. This will also set the foundation for the TTC’s 2024 Budget process and the Five-Year Service Plan in early 2024.

I urge everyone to read the report, Sustaining a Reliable Transit System to Keep Toronto Moving: Outlook 2024 and Beyond.

Decommissioning of the SRT
As you all know, the Scarborough RT line is scheduled to be decommissioned before the end of the year. November 18 is the targeted final day for SRT train service. Express buses are scheduled to start running on November 19.

Kennedy Station will remain in service as an interchange station for subway trains and buses. Scarborough Centre Station will become a bus terminal. Lawrence East, Ellesmere, Midland, and McCowan stations will be permanently shut down.

The closure of SRT will require a very frequent bus replacement service for our customers until the opening of the Scarborough Subway Extension. A comprehensive communications plan to advise the public is already underway, which involves an array of tactics throughout the year to get the message out. Methods to inform riders include in-station signage and notices, both print and digital, system-wide; public address announcements in the subway; station pop-ups; social media posts and e-alerts; and SRT train wraps.

We will also be taking out paid newspaper ads (print and digital); ad space on the exterior of buses in Scarborough, billboards and transit shelters; ads in movie theatres and shopping malls, including windshield flyers; and direct mailers and advertisements in multiple languages, such as Cantonese, Mandarin, Tamil, Urdu and Hindi.

Construction notices will be distributed to customers, Councillors and residents in surrounding communities, and TTC staff will engage with people at community events to share details and answer questions one-on-one. I encourage everyone to visit the project website at ttc.ca/line3 and stay up to date on the latest details.

Please see below for more highlights of Commission decisions approved on June 12. The next Board meeting will take place on July 12.

Richard J. Leary
Chief Executive Officer
June 16, 2023

TTC Board Highlights 
TTC Board Meeting June 12, 2023

Community Safety and Security Update
Commissioners approved the Community Safety and Security Update on progress made to increase support for persons experiencing homelessness and individuals with complex needs on the TTC system. The TTC’s objective is to co-ordinate adequate support with partners at the City to reduce the reliance on the transit network for accommodation.

Recent data analysis has shown that overall incidents have declined, indicating that interventions have been effective, although Offences against Customers and Offences against Employees are still higher than mid-2022 and pre-pandemic levels. The number of individuals experiencing homelessness and persons with complex needs has declined, and the volume of calls related to complex persons has decreased.

Customer satisfaction with personal safety is a key driver of overall satisfaction with the TTC, and while it is improving slowly, it is not where it needs to be, and personal safety remains a key challenge area for the TTC. Frontline employees have also communicated that they continue to feel unsafe, and that physical assaults and verbal threats are impacting their well-being. Employees have noted the increased presence of security supports provided by both Toronto Police Officers and Security Guards has helped improve their sense of safety.

The report recommends the TTC maintain the current level of community safety support provided by the Security Guards and Community Safety Ambassadors. The TTC will extend funding for the community safety contracts to September 30, 2023, and will explore options to further extend the funding, as needed.

The report includes next steps in the TTC’s planning process, both short-term and long-term. As a short-term solution to facilitate transport and shelter, the TTC has identified six decommissioned buses (8000 series) and is preparing to repurpose them as transport buses. The internal design and initial prototype are in progress, and an onsite visit was held with the Shelter, Support and Housing Administration of the City of Toronto on May 12. Three of the buses will be reconfigured, while the remaining buses will have the standard layout with minimal changes.

There will be four buses available in September 2023, with an additional two buses available by year-end to assist with providing temporary shelter and facilitating transport to City-owned properties. The buses will travel in pairs (one reconfigured and one standard layout), with one of the two buses carrying additional supplies.

Among City Council’s recommendations to the TTC on its Community Safety Issues and Response, Board Members approved the following amendments by TTC Chair Jon Burnside:

• Request the Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Transit Commission, to provide a comprehensive Briefing Note to the TTC Board, with a copy to the City Manager, on the building and operating of its publicly accessible Wi-Fi and telecommunications network used throughout the transit system.

• Direct TTC staff to work with City of Toronto staff, as part of the SafeTO: Toronto’s 10-year Community Safety and Well-Being Plan, to:

  - Purposefully engage with community groups, organizations, and experts in homelessness and mental health to provide input into TTC’s Five-Year Community Safety and Security Plan;

  - Apply an equity impact analysis to all elements of said Plan, with TTC staff from divisions/teams specifically tasked with Equity, Research and Analytics, and Community Engagement mandates to be key internal contributors;

  - Further explore opportunities to augment current capacity to service and support customers who may be homeless or are dealing with or exhibiting signs of poor mental health or distress on the TTC;

  - Reconstitute the TTC’s internal Women and Diversity Committee to include residents with current or recent lived experience, advocates and experts to advise on the development, implementation, evaluation and ongoing monitoring of the TTC’s Five-Year Community Safety and Security Plan; and

  - Develop guidelines for the collection of identity-based data with regard to incidents of compromised passenger safety and well-being on the TTC.

Diversity and Culture 2022 Annual Report: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Motion
Commissioners received the TTC’s Diversity and Culture 2022 Annual Report: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in Motion. The Diversity and Culture Group’s second annual report includes reporting and updates on initiatives aimed at creating an organizational culture of equity, inclusion, belonging, respect and dignity that is free from harassment and/or discrimination. In 2022, the TTC continued to build upon the work started in 2021, and progressed on the commitments made to employees, customers and the community at large.

EDI in Motion includes the following spotlights:

• Provides insight on the people and the work of the Diversity and Culture Group;

• Highlights the activities at the TTC and in supported by the TTC in communities over the last year in fulfilling the 10-Point Action Plan; and

• Identifies opportunities and next steps for continued work to build greater diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging at the TTC.

Sustaining a Reliable Transit System: Outlook 2024 and Beyond
The TTC Board approved the Sustaining a Reliable Transit System: Outlook 2024 and Beyond report recommending a tri-partite discussion on developing a sustainable, long-term funding model for public transit with upper orders of government.

The comprehensive report provides an outlook on key risks and issues facing the TTC in 2024 and beyond. This outlook will inform emerging strategic directions in meeting environmental, social and public health goals; in the TTC’s next Five-Year Corporate Plan and the 2024 Annual Service Plan; and in the 2024 Operating and Capital Budget Process in the fall of this year.

A new Five-Year Service Plan is also under development, including a refresh of the Capital Investment Plan, with a specific focus on the unfunded components, service implications and the costs of not investing in public transit. This work is supported with research by the University of Toronto.

Based on the approved 2023 Operating Budget’s services and service levels, the preliminary forecast of the 2024 Operating Budget’s opening pressure is $455 million. The opening 2024 pressure is comprised of three major components:

• Costs of maintaining 2023 approved services and service levels;

• The incremental costs of funding operations and maintenance cost obligations for the opening of Lines 5 and 6, and the SRT bus replacement service on Line 3; and

• The continuing financial impact of COVID being experienced by the TTC.

The TTC is currently operating at 93 per cent of pre-COVID service to meet a pre-COVID ridership level of 75 per cent projected for year-end.

SRT Replacement Transit Priority Measures
The TTC Board approved a report on SRT Replacement Transit Priority Measures with the following recommendations:

• Delegate authority to the TTC Chief Executive Officer to award the SRT Transit Priority Measures construction contract provided that the contract award values are within the TTC estimate as set out in the Confidential Attachment and subject to prior confirmation by the Chief Capital Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

• Authorize that the information in the Confidential Attachment remain confidential until such time as the Transit Priority Measures construction contract is awarded.

The contract will expedite the start of construction on the SRT Transit Priority Measures to ensure that works are in place to allow for the replacement of Line 3 train service with an express bus service until the conversion of the Line 3 right-of-way to a bus roadway is complete.

Contract work consists of the supply of all labour, equipment and materials to modify and upgrade the roadways along the SRT bus replacement route between Scarborough Centre Station and Kennedy Station in order to facilitate the reliable and efficient movement of SRT replacement buses, including but not limited to:

• Modify lanes and widen roads.

• Modify and install traffic signals.

• Paint dedicated bus lanes.

• Revise roadway signage and pavement markings.

• Modify traffic islands.

• Install new concrete pads for bus stops.

The targeted last day for SRT train service is November 18, 2023, with bus replacement service beginning November 19.

Financial and Major Projects Update – Period Ended April 29, 2023
Commissioners approved the Financial and Major Projects Update for the Period Ended April 29, 2023. The report includes the following recommendations:

1. Adjustments to the TTC’s 2023-2032 Capital Budget and Plan for the TTC Green Bus Program by: a) Increasing the 2023-2032 Approved Capital Budget and Plan by $349 million to a total of $799 million for the TTC Green Bus Program to be fully offset by $349 million in incremental funding to be received through Infrastructure Canada’s (INFC) Zero Emission Transit Fund (ZETF) for the procurement of 340 eBuses and 248 charge points; and b) Amending the 2023 Capital Budget and 2024-2026 cash flow funding estimates to align with the estimated project delivery schedule for eBus and eBus charging system purchases.

2. Approve the 2023 Capital Budget in-year budget adjustments to offset projects that have had accelerated spending with projects that have experienced delays and lower spending with no debt impact; and

3. Authorize that the recommended budget adjustments to the TTC’s 2023-2033 Capital Budget and Plan above be included in the TTC’s submission for the Capital Variance Report for City Council consideration and approval.

Major construction projects in east end affecting TTC
Commissioners received a presentation from TTC staff on major construction projects in Toronto that have been or will be affecting TTC services, and TTC communications initiatives underway. TTC staff will be available at Broadview, Pape, Main Street and Coxwell stations to advise customers of the upcoming changes, as well as alternate route options. Complete details are available at ttc.ca on the following construction projects:

• Metrolinx Ontario Line: Queen Station early works (May 2023 to 2027).

• TTC Main Street Station: Structural rehabilitation (May to September 2023).

• City/TTC Coxwell/Gerrard: Sewer and track upgrades (May to July 2023).

• City/TTC Broadview Avenue/TTC Broadview Station: Sewer and track upgrades (May to December 2023).

• Metrolinx LSE/OL Joint Corridor: Queen/De Grassi bridge (September 2023).

• TTC Overhead Upgrades: King Street/Kingston Road (completed spring 2023).

• TTC Queen Street Bridge: Track and bridge structure repair (May 2023).

St Clair West Station Fire Ventilation Upgrade Project
Board members approved a report outlining the St Clair West Station Fire Ventilation Upgrade project, and authorize staff to request the City of Toronto, Corporate Real Estate Management, to acquire the necessary property interests through either negotiation or expropriation, as required and on the TTC’s behalf, on the terms and conditions summarized in a confidential attachment.

Ventilation upgrades include the installation of new fire ventilation infrastructure, such as new fan rooms, mechanical and electrical rooms and associated control equipment, which will ensure safe evacuation of TTC customers and employees from the subway tunnel and stations in the event of fire and smoke.

Appointments to TTC Pension Plan Board of Directors
Commissioners approved the following appointments to fill a vacancy on the TTC Pension Plan (TTCPP) Board of Directors: Alex Cassar, Director – Budgets, Costing and Financial Reporting, as a Director and Richard J. Leary, Chief Executive Officer, as an Observer. Commissioners also approved necessary changes to TTCPP Bylaws in a separate report. Membership approval of the amendments will be requested at the Annual General Meeting on June 24. The 2022 TTCPP Annual Report was also submitted to the Board for information.

Next meeting of the TTC Board
The next scheduled TTC Board Meeting will be on Wednesday, July 12.

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