You'll pay more for TTC next year unless city or province does, chair warns

Unless it receives more money from the City of Toronto or the provincial government for is 2017 operating budget, the TTC will once again ask riders to pay more, the TTC's Chair warned at a budget committee meeting on Wednesday.

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A staff report presented at Wednesday's meeting shows the TTC will be facing a $172.6 million shortfall next year.

"If it's the full 172 million, we will be looking at a fare increase," TTC Chair Josh Colle told reporters.

Colle, the councillor for Ward 15, Eglinton-Lawrence, says the possibility of a fare increase depends on the amount of funding the TTC receives from the city next year.

The TTC has been asked to make cuts to deal with a 2.6 per cent reduction in its subsidy from the city, an amount totalling $15.8 million.

Colle hopes next year's deficit can be eased by more cash from city hall or the provincial government.

"I don't expect the province to come in on a white horse to address the budget, but we still have to keep pressing them."

More Wheel-Trans riders

Of the many budget pressures the TTC is facing, one is due to increased ridership on the Wheel-Trans system for people with disabilities.

The staff report says Wheel-Trans demand is up 12 per cent in 2016 compared to last year. It notes that wider eligibility for the service, which is set by the province, is expected to lead to a 28 per cent jump in ridership next year.

"That $30-million pressure on us that is none of our doing, largely from provincial changes, that equal 10 cents in a fare increase," Colle said on Wednesday.

No fare hike this year

The good news out of the meeting for riders is that the committee approved another budget fix that does not include fare hikes or cuts to TTC service.

The 2.6 per cent cut to its city subsidy left the TTC with a $15.8 million hole to fill. On Wednesday, the budget committee endorsed a number of measures, including removing telephone landlines for staff provided with TTC cellphones, reducing overtime, travel and training expenses.

The TTC will save more than $10 million based on fewer employee healthcare claims being filed. Staff attribute this drop partly to an ongoing investigation into fraudulent claims.

The measures also include $1.5 million in savings from not implementing some service improvements. TTC CEO Andy Byford says this decision was made based on lower than expected ridership numbers and is not a service reduction.

"It's definitely not a cut," Byford told reporters at Wednesday's meeting. "It's prudently not adding service that we thought we would need. But with the softened ridership we got during the year we do not now need to add that service because the existing service can cope with the current level of ridership."