FROM THE CEO: TTC Board Highlights

This February, the TTC proudly celebrates Black History Month (BHM). This year’s campaign theme, City of Belonging: Celebrating Toronto’s Black Community Builders, honours the contributions of Black Torontonians who have played pivotal roles in creating a sense of belonging, safety, and unity within the city.

In collaboration with employees and community stakeholders, the TTC is recognizing six honourees through vehicle wraps, station murals, and social media channels. This year’s honourees include Dr. Akua Benjamin, Debbie Douglas, Adonis Huggins, Louis March (posthumously), Angela Robertson, and Colleen Russell-Rawlins.

Our official BHM kick-off is on Monday, February 3 at McNicoll Division, led by the 2025 BHM Planning Committee. The event will feature inspirational music and poetry performances. We have also collaborated with the Toronto Region of the Council of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) and the Blackhurst Cultural Centre on more events throughout the month.

The TTC remains committed to building an organization that truly represents and reflects the diversity of the city we serve. This commitment continues through the ongoing work of the TTC’s Anti-Racism Strategy, which drives meaningful change across the organization. In addition, our Executive and Senior Management teams are actively engaged in inclusive leadership training, reinforcing our efforts to foster a workplace where all employees feel valued and supported.

By sharing the stories of Black Torontonians and TTC employees, we honour their contributions to Toronto’s Black cultural fabric and their role in making the city a more inclusive and welcoming place for everyone.

TTC Board approves 2025 Annual Service Plan
​Earlier this week at City Hall, the TTC Board approved the 2025 Annual Service Plan, outlining our roadmap for service changes for the year. The plan continues to enhance connections across the network and aims to better serve all riders, including our priority groups – women, shift workers, and lower-income customers.

A key priority of the plan is to improve the Community Bus service through route improvements, better customer communication and clearer wayfinding. Additionally, Commissioners approved a nine-month pilot for a new Community Bus route in Scarborough, running three days a week to serve MasarykPark Homes and nearby destinations.

Please see the Board Highlights below for more on what was approved on January 27.

In Memoriam
​It is with great sadness that I share with you the news that TTC pensioner Joe Mihevc Sr. passed away on January 26 at the age of 101. Joe Sr. was a retired bus mechanic with 36 years of service and the father of former Vice-Chair/Councillor Joe Mihevc. In 2023, the TTC celebrated his 100th birthday by presenting him with a special framed certificate and commemorative TTC 100-year book. A visitation at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal is happening this Sunday. Our thoughts are with the Mihevc family.

Greg Percy
​Chief Executive Officer
​January 31, 2025

​TTC Board Highlights
​TTC Board Meeting January 27, 2025

Subway and Streetcar State of Good Repair, Expansion and Modernization – 2024 Review and 2025/2026 Forecast

After receiving a staff presentation, the TTC Board endorsed a report detailing the TTC’s 2025-26 subway closures and streetcar diversions, including the following recommendations, as amended:

• Endorse the 2025 Subway Closures and Streetcar Diversions Forecast, and request that the Chief Executive Officer, TTC, in consultation with the General Manager, Transportation Services, City of Toronto, work to continually review the forecast with a view to minimize the disruption experienced by riders, including exploring options to dedicate additional resources and personnel to expedite repairs; and

• Direct staff to forward this report to the General Manager, Transportation Services, City of Toronto for information.

The 2025 Subway Closures Forecast has been scheduled to ensure that projects, such as the ECLRT, Rogers 5G, ATC Line 2 enabling work, SSE, and critical SOGR programs are scheduled in an efficient manner to minimize customer disruptions. Co-ordination of these closures takes place in a larger context of what is happening throughout the city and days/weekends where major City events are avoided based on impact and proximity to maintain a good customer experience.

The TTC 2025 streetcar diversion plan aims to ensure asset availability for FIFA 2026, with a particular focus on key King Street track intersection replacements at King and Church and King and Dufferin, along with the replacement of the Fleet and Bathurst intersection, resulting in streetcar diversions on the 504 King and 509 Harbourfront routes. As part of the 2025 strategy, various life extension programs are planned along the King Street route on the tangent tracks.

2025 Annual Service Plan
​The TTC Board approved the 2025 Annual Service Plan – the TTC’s roadmap for service changes for the coming year – with the following recommendations:

• Approve the 2025 Annual Service Plan including its associated proposed route changes.

• Approve routing changes outlined in Appendix 5 – Roads with Transit Service Added or Removed; and

• Direct staff to forward the 2025 Annual Service Plan to all City Councillors, the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure and Development Services, General Manager of Transportation Services, Chief Planner, as well as the General Managers of Brampton Transit, Durham Region Transit, Metrolinx, MiWay and York Region Transit.

Board members also passed the following motions:

• Direct TTC staff to collaborate with City of Toronto Transportation Services on the creation of a process to co-ordinate the planning and implementation of temporary parking adjustments and other transit priority measures that reduce congestion on corridors with TTC routes during capital projects that impact TTC service, in alignment with Action 5.3e of the 2025 Annual Service Plan.

• Subject to available funding identified through an in-year budget review, direct TTC staff to implement a nine-month pilot project in 2025, at a cost of $210,000, for a new Community Bus route operating three days per week in Ward 24 Scarborough Guildwood, serving Masarykpark Homes and surrounding destinations, and that implementation be subject to an assessment for operational feasibility, agreements for access to private property and Operator and vehicle availability.

• That the proposed routing changes affecting 13 Avenue Rd be suspended.

The 2025 ASP focuses on enhancing connections across the transit network and making the system more attractive to all customers including the three key priority groups (women, shift workers and lower-income customers) in the coming years.

The key themes for this year’s plan are:

1. Enhancing connections to meet customer needs – service improvements that address customer demand and travel patterns of TTC’s three key priority groups (women, shift workers, and low-income customers), including routing changes to optimize the network, improving first and last trip times, and creating new connections.

2. Improving the Community Bus service – route improvements on the Community Bus Network in addition to customer communication and wayfinding changes to raise awareness about the service and make it more attractive to customers.

3. Planning for construction: from principles to practice – continuing to apply principles from the 2024 ASP to plan for construction, minimize disruptions and maintain service reliability. The TTC will also continue to identify ways to move transit better by mitigating the impacts of congestion.

Proposed Interim Wayfinding Strategy
​The TTC Board received the Interim Wayfinding Strategy Update report for information. The interim report provides Commissioners with fundamental directions informing the development of the updated Strategy and is presented to enable input before a final strategy to the Board in May 2025, in advance of 2026 budget planning.

Commissioners also passed a motion requesting that TTC staff work with the Head of Property and Asset Management of Union Station and the Manager of Transit and Infrastructure at Corporate Real Estate Management, and with relevant staff at Metrolinx, to report back on a wayfinding strategy for Union Station as part of the Final Wayfinding Strategy.

The TTC is undertaking a review and refresh of its Wayfinding Strategy to reflect changes in the TTC operating environment, including emerging best practices. Successful wayfinding promotes better navigation through the system, information about accessibility, reduces travel time, minimizes frustration and increases the likelihood of repeat use.

Consultation with customers, stakeholders, transit partners, TO360 (City of Toronto’s pedestrian wayfinding system) and the surrounding region will be a key component of the Strategy to best meet the needs of transit users in Toronto and the GTA.

Procurement Authorization – Greenwood Shop End of Life Replacement – Replace Paint and Sanding Booths
​Commissioners approved the award of a contract worth $15,029,000, inclusive of HST, to Maystar General Contractors Inc. for the end-of-life replacement of paint and sanding booths at Greenwood Shop, with the following recommendation:

• Approve the recommendation contained in the Confidential Attachment 1 and authorize that the information in the Confidential Attachment remains confidential as it contains information about a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the City or local board.

Greenwood Shop is more than 50 years old, along with the paint booth and ventilation systems, which are well beyond their useful life. The paint and sanding booths play a critical role in supporting the TTC’s subway fleet, and failure to maintain these assets in a state of good repair (SOGR) could cause other SOGR work to fall behind, which could ultimately have a negative impact on service levels. Completion of the Paint and Sanding Booth replacement is needed to start a planned subway vehicle painting program, projected to begin in 2027.

Fare Collection Update
​Commissioners approved an update report on the TTC’s fare modernization efforts and automated fare collection system (PRESTO), with the following recommendations:

• Adopt the recommendations contained in Confidential Attachment 1; and

• Authorize the information in Confidential Attachment 1 to remain confidential until such time as the final negotiations have been completed and all necessary agreements have been executed.

The 2012 TTC-Metrolinx Master E-Fare Collection Outsourcing Agreement has an initial term of 15 years and it expires on November 28, 2027. The Agreement will automatically renew for five years (to 2032) unless either the TTC or Metrolinx gives 24-months’ notice of their desire not to renew. The deadline to opt out of the automatic renewal for either party is November 27, 2025. This option currently remains open for both Metrolinx and the TTC.

Chief Executive Officer Mandate
​The TTC Board received an in-camera update with respect to the mandate of the Chief Executive Officer, and directed that the information contained in Confidential Attachment 1 remain confidential in its entirety as it relates to personal matters about an identifiable individual, including a city or local board employee. The Interim CEO was scheduled to provide an update on the CEO’s mandate and objectives, which were considered by the Human Resources Committee and the TTC Board last October.

Next meeting of the TTC Board
​The next scheduled TTC Board meeting will be on Monday, February 24, 2025.

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