What to know
- Brad Bradford, a Toronto councillor and 2026 mayoral candidate, is proposing a TTC money-back guarantee that would refund riders for delays longer than 15 minutes.
- He says the policy, inspired by GO Transit’s refund system, aims to respect riders’ time and push the TTC to improve reliability and accountability.
- Bradford believes the initiative could help boost stagnating ridership and address concerns about safety, comfort, and service disruptions.
- As the only councillor to officially enter the 2026 mayoral race so far, he plans to focus his campaign on improving transit and restoring public trust.
In a bid to win over frustrated commuters, Toronto councillor and mayoral hopeful Brad Bradford is proposing a money-back guarantee that would refund TTC riders for delays longer than 15 minutes.
Bradford, who represents Ward 19 Beaches-East York, announced his intentions to run in the 2026 mayoral race in May, and says he hopes to improve transit service for Torontonians, starting with putting money back into their pockets when inconvenienced by the service delays and disruptions.
“It’s saying, if your trip is delayed by 15 minutes, we’re going to refund your fare. This is about respecting people’s time,” Bradford said in an interview with Now Toronto on Wednesday.
Bradford says the promise is based on similar initiatives being done in other jurisdictions and transit systems such as GO Transit, which credits riders back what they paid for when trains and buses are delayed more than 15 minutes.
“I think it’s time that TTC customers and Torontonians are treated with the same level of respect, and that’s something I’m going to deliver for our residents,” Bradford said.
Bradford, who is a transit user himself, says the initiative sends a “big message” to the TTC, and says the agency is in need of crucial improvements.
“We need to improve accountability, and we need to hit our service standards at a higher level. So while there will be a cost, because inevitably, you know things happen and there are service interruptions, the goal should be to minimize that,” he said.
The promise comes at a time when he says ridership levels are low, and he hopes initiatives like this can improve it.
“They continue to stagnate and that is often attributed to the fact that the TTC is less safe, less reliable, less comfortable than it used to be, and having something like this offers reassurance to customers,” he said.
Although election day is still months away, Bradford says his campaign will address key reasons why he believes people are no longer taking transit.
As of time of publication, Bradford has been the only member on Toronto’s city council to announce his intentions to run in the next election.
The Beaches councillor previously ran in the 2023 mayoral byelection, placing eighth with just over 9,000 votes.
Toronto’s upcoming municipal election will take place on Oct. 26, 2026.
