CEO's Report: February Commentary

As we begin 2026, the TTC continues to navigate a period of significant change while staying firmly focused on delivering safe, reliable, and customer-centred service to the people of Toronto. This month’s CEO’s Report paints a clear picture of encouraging progress, persistent challenges, and a shared commitment across the organization to keep improving. Transparency matters, and I want to speak directly to the results we’re reporting and how we intend to act on them.

This month’s CEO’s Report takes a closer look at subway service and the stations makeover pilot.

Ridership and customer sentiment
​Demand for transit continues to grow. Subway ridership reached 7.3 million weekly boardings in November, a meaningful recovery that reflects more people returning to workplaces, schools, and activities across the city. While we remain below pre-pandemic levels, the trend is moving in the right direction, and ridership on weekends is particularly strong, with Saturday boardings now slightly above pre-COVID levels.

Customer satisfaction also improved, rising to 74 per cent on the subway and 72 per cent system-wide. These increases matter, especially after a period of decline last year. But the gap to our target of 84 per cent is still significant. Customers told us clearly that reliability, real-time information accuracy, and cleanliness are the areas where they most want to see progress. These results reinforce that while customers are noticing improvements, we have more to do before their day-to-day experience consistently meets expectations.

Safety and security
​Safety is paramount. Reported offences against customers have declined meaningfully over the past three years. Customer feelings of personal safety rose to 62 per cent, a six-point increase from last year.

At the same time, we are reporting increases in certain categories of offences against both customers and employees. Offences against employees, while down month-to-month, remain higher than last year. These numbers are reminders that safety must remain a shared effort between the TTC, the City, the Toronto Police Service (TPS), public health partners, and the community itself.

Our actions reflect that urgency. We have expanded frontline presence, launched the TPS Neighbourhood Community Officer program on Line 1, increased visibility in stations, advanced fall-prevention campaigns, and invested in infrastructure improvements that address the causes of both injuries and service disruptions. We are also working closely with Union partners on long-term measures to protect workers, including national advocacy for stronger Criminal Code protections for transit staff.

Service reliability
​This month’s report shows a mixed picture of reliability across the system. Subway performance on Line 1 continues to improve, with better headway adherence and lower staff-related delays. Our TR and T1 fleets continue to exceed North American industry standards for reliability, with Mean Distance Between Failures (MDBF) well above target.

However, Line 2 performance was below target, driven largely by restricted speed zones between Islington and Kipling earlier in the fall. Those restrictions have since been lifted, and performance is improving, but it is clear that sustained progress requires continued investment in track, signal, and switch infrastructure. Unplanned delay minutes also rose in November, driven largely by passenger-related incidents, particularly disorderly behaviour and medical emergencies, which accounted for more than half of all external delays.

We are responding through both operational measures (such as targeted inspections, debris checks, and enhanced training) and external collaboration, with a focus on community safety and mental-health supports that reduce pressure on the transit system.

Accessibility, cleanliness, and customer comfort
​We continue to make progress on the Easier Access Program, with 63 of 70 stations now accessible, and Lawrence, Warden, Christie, and Summerhill stations added in December. Elevator and escalator availability remains slightly below target due primarily to construction and planned modernization, but excluding those factors, the system meets or exceeds our goals.

Cleanliness scores also remain strong across vehicles and stations. The City-funded Station Makeovers pilot delivered impressive improvements, with cleanliness scores at all six pilot stations rising above 85 per cent, and we have identified operating offsets to extend the cleanliness enhancements through 2026, even as City funding sunsets.

Looking ahead
​The TTC is in a rebuilding moment. We are seeing real signs of progress, and the work our staff are doing every day is both meaningful and measurable. But we also face challenges: some structural, some operational, some tied to the city’s changing travel patterns.

Our commitment is to face those challenges directly, with transparency, urgency, and accountability. We will continue strengthening reliability, deepening our partnership with the City and community agencies, improving safety, and staying laser-focused on the customer experience.

Thank you for your continued support as we move forward.

Mandeep S. Lali
​Chief Executive Officer
​February 2026

Published in the CEO’s Report presented at the February 3, 2026 TTC Board meeting. The February report highlights subway service, featuring key performance indicators through the end of November 2025, and Station Makeovers.