The TTC reportedly has “hundreds of vehicles” that aren’t being used because of a lack of funding to operate them, according to multiple advocacy groups.
In a series of videos posted to Instagram on Monday by Environmental Defence Canada and TTCriders, the groups asked some riders true or false quiz questions as part of their “April Fools or TTC Facts” campaign. The transit users were asked whether they think it’s true or false that functional but unused transit vehicles are sitting in garages.
Most of the riders guessed “true” and were right, according to the groups.
Nate Wallace, clean transportation program manager at Environmental Defence Canada, says there are 1,700 public transit vehicles sitting idly across the country and 44 TTC streetcars, 13 subway trains and 172 buses that could be operational across Toronto but are currently not being used.
“The number is based on calculating the difference between a transit agency’s ‘spare ratio’ versus where it should be, with reference to an industry standard,” Wallace told Now Toronto in an email statement on Tuesday.
A spare ratio refers to the percentage of a transit authority’s fleet that is reserved for maintenance, emergency shutdowns and shuttle services, among others.
“Typically the industry standard for this spare ratio is 20 per cent. This is the requirement from the Federal Transit Administration in the United States,” Wallace said.
For example, a 20 per cent spare ratio would mean a transit authority has 20 extra buses for every 100 buses in service.
But TTCriders and Environmental Defence Canada says the reason for the TTC’s high spare ratio comes down to a chronic lack of funding.
“Spares can also exist because transit systems simply do not have the money to put all the buses they could potentially use into service. They don’t have the money to pay for all the driver service hours. This number increased significantly during the pandemic across the country due to service cuts,” Wallace explained.
Currently, federal funds for public transit can only be used to purchase new buses or construct new projects such as light rail or subways, according to Wallace.
“It isn’t allowed to be used towards adding service hours or running more frequent service that would help put buses back into service,” Wallace said.
As a result, Environmental Defence Canada and TTCriders are urging transit users to write to their federal members of Parliament to speed up the permanent public transit fund.
The $3-billion annual reserve will be available sometime between 2026 or 2027, according to the government’s website.
TTC spokesperson Stuart Green told Now Toronto that the transit system has two types of vehicles, “those in service/ready for service and those being held for maintenance,” before reiterating that no TTC vehicles are sedentary. “To be clear. The TTC does not have any vehicles sitting in warehouses,” he said.
