Mixed Signals: Toronto Transit in a North American Context

Mixed Signals Toronto Transit in a North American Context Fares – Networks – Budgets – Governance 2018 Mixed Signals 2018 About CodeRedTO Report Authors & Contributors CodeRedTO is a consciously non-partisan, volunteer-run, local Cameron MacLeod is a CodeRedTO cofounder and Executive and regional transit advocate. We promote more and better Director, and has explored transit systems in 25 cities worldwide, transit options for more residents; using all available in ten countries and on three continents. So far. By day he runs a nationwide technical team at a Canadian customer intelligence technologies where appropriate; creating better information for software company. better decision-making; completion of efficient and approved plans; and support increased, predictable funding for public Patricia Wood is Professor of Geography and co-founder of the transit expansion and operation. City Institute at York University. She has particular interests in democratic practices and people’s mobility. She is also an urban CodeRedTO is funded through personal donations and grants affairs columnist for Spacing.ca. from non-profit agencies and foundations, and directed by an Matthew Whittier is a graduate of Queen's University in advisory board with no financial interest in any transportation Mechanical Engineering, who has worked in renewable energy projects or agencies. and whose interest in urban planning and transportation CodeRedTO was founded in 2011. brought him into this project. Benjamin Wert works in arts administration, and has a keen interest in municipal affairs. His favourite transit experiences [email protected] include riding every L line in Chicago from end to end, going across Toronto’s Price Edward Viaduct at twilight, and using the Roosevelt Island tramway. @CodeRedTO Acknowledgements This report would not exist without the efforts of dedicated TTC, CodeRedTO City of Toronto, and Metrolinx employees, and transit-involved teams across North America bringing safe and reliable public transit to residents each day, under (as this report shows) significantly challenging variations in funding, network resilience, and governmental accountability. Mixed Signals 2018 Executive Summary This report compares Toronto to similar local and Toronto has… commuter rail transit systems in several cities in Canada • 2nd-Highest public transit ridership level in NA and the United States, examining specifics of fares, funding, • 2nd-Highest public transit commuter mode share in NA network coverage, and governance. The goal of the • Strong suburban coverage and service levels comparisons is to see what Toronto is doing well and how it could do better. Toronto needs… Transit networks are highly complex and dynamic systems. • An improved funding model to address low subsidy While there is no perfect or universal model, there is level and lack of dedicated revenue streams always something to learn from how other cities build and • A less-politicized, more resilient governance structure manage transit. This report finds that Toronto is lagging • More complexity in its rapid transit network behind other comparator cities in key ways, while • Less reliance on tunneled infrastructure in the current outperforming in others. Any changes to Toronto’s regional limited funding environment transit network structures must be considered on the basis • A more accessible monthly pass of both transparency and local accountability. CodeRedTO recommends these immediate investments: Transit systems in Asia and Europe have impressive • Add new, predictable, sustainable revenue achievements, but they emerge from different political and • Add prioritized surface transit lanes on both geographical environments. Similarly, New York City’s inner core and suburban avenues subway comes from an entirely different time period and • Reduce overall cost and early commitment starting point. Comparing Toronto’s transit with other requirements for monthly passes systems in Canada and the United States shows us what is CodeRedTO recommends these longer-term goals: realistic in the North American context. • Create new city-centred but regionally-collaborative Given our unique and vulnerable position in terms of governance structures funding structures, network design, and expansion choices, • Implement regional fare integration which builds on this report finds specific investment goals desirable to the city’s successful no-zone flat fare structure protect the future of public transit in Toronto. ◼ • Implement regional network integration only where it can build increased ridership and mode share 1 Mixed Signals 2018 Comparator City Selection Regardless of criteria, any selection of cities While a comparison to New York City’s iconic By contrast, Calgary’s network consists of a will have faults and negative effects on the and extensive subway system is seemingly single transit mode, and features no regional comparison itself. In this report, an attempt unavoidable in Toronto media and at City commuter rail nor a modern fare card. was made to provide a reasonable breadth of Council, it is inappropriate for this report. This Cities such as Philadelphia, San Diego, and comparisons across city and urban area area has an urban area population of over Dallas have relevant network structures for the populations, transit network complexity and three times that of the GTA, and a heavy rail curious transit policy researcher, but were not modes, and relevance to Toronto. network which is multiple decades older. included in this report. Rail in Rail in Non- Multi-Mode Fare City Urban Heavy Regional Rail, Bus, Exclusive Exclusive and Card Pop. Area Rail Rail Service Parking, and… ROW ROW Multi-Line System New York City MTA 8.6m 20.3m ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ Los Angeles Metro 4.1m 13.3m ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ Toronto TTC 2.8m 7.2m ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ Chicago CTA 2.7m 9.5m ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ Houston Metro 2.2m 6.8m ◼ ◼ ◼ Montreal STM 1.8m 4.1m ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ On-call / Taxibus Philadelphia SEPTA 1.6m 6.1m ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ San Diego MTS 1.4m 3.1m ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ Dallas DART 1.3m 7.4m ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ On-call / Taxibus Calgary Transit 1.2m 1.4m ◼ ◼ Washington DC Metro 0.7m 6.1m ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ Boston MBTA 0.7m 4.7m ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ Ferries Vancouver Translink 0.6m 2.5m ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ Ferries 2 Mixed Signals 2018 Fare Structures There is no perfect or universal structure for public transit fares. Commonalities Differences Costs, passes, structures, and even whether to charge at all vary • TTC fares have risen far above • TTC the only agency examined widely around the world, but within North America we find similar the rate of inflation over the with an annual pass option, fares, structures, and a remarkable continent-wide conclusion that last twenty years disproportionately benefiting public transit agencies shall charge for their service. • A single fare zone for the core higher-income riders The mobility options provided to residents are part of a city’s urban area, often across • TTC the only agency examined democratic practice. As we examine the costs to riders, we should multiple modes required to cover over two- be thinking about how to more efficiently provide more service, to • No fare capping option for the thirds of its operating more residents, and recognize the diversity of needs and payment core urban transit system expenses from the farebox capacity. It is also key to create a sustainable model to ensure long- • Little regional fare integration term mobility within our cities. ◼ Our report found Toronto’s transit fares and goals what contradictory role for transit riders, as they urban area with expensive core housing, this can contrast with other cities in key ways. are designed to provide a discount for higher- be a form of travel subsidy from short-trip riders volume use, but are usually only available to those to long-trip riders. Toronto’s principal transportation provider, the with sufficient disposable income to pre-pay for TTC, has broadly-typical public transit fares, with a the pass in expectation of benefiting later. A remarkable commonality across nearly every cash fare of $3.25 Canadian, close to or matching city studied is the magnitude of fare increases: in Montreal, Boston, Chicago, and comparable to One technology tool available with electronic fare every city outside Los Angeles, transit fares rose both Vancouver and Washington, D.C. cards is fare capping, which automatically reduces faster than inflation over the last twenty years, or eliminates the incremental cost to the rider sometimes dramatically. The TTC’s adult cash fare All comparator city fares sit within the $1.60- once a certain threshold has been reached. GO rose 29% faster than inflation from 1998-2018. $3.25 CAD range for the single zone or the core Transit provides this in lieu of monthly passes, via zone, and up to around $7.80 CAD at peak for the the PRESTO card also being adopted by the TTC. The most alarming discovery in CodeRedTO’s distance-based and zone-based systems. The However, fare capping remains rare even as research has been that while all public transit regional commuter rail systems typically have electronic fare cards proliferate, due to perceived agencies worldwide contribute to operating separate fare systems, rarely integrated with the fare revenue risk. Some systems “split the expenses via the farebox, the TTC relies on fares core local agency, with exclusively distance-based difference,” such as Houston Metro’s requirement for two-thirds of its base operating budget, a fares. of a custom card in order to gain access to level not seen in any other

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